There’s a lot of annoying arguments among soccer supporters in the USA, one of them which rears it’s ugly head pretty much every week is the Promotion/Relegation debate. This debate is like any political debate, very harsh, and all the time. The anti-pro/rel people are shouted at via social networking, or on various mediums. I’m going to put something clear for you guys, Pro/Rel can work but will never happen here in the states writes Stephen Brandt.

As a point of reference the United States soccer teams aren’t in any type of pyramid or structure. Basically it’s a loose association of leagues and clubs all looking to be up in the top league in MLS. However, that doesn’t happen unless there’s an expansion, and some teams come up, most recently Orlando City SC from the USL- Pro. MLS and USL-Pro have an affiliation agreement, where clubs in the MLS can have a USL Pro club as an affiliate to send up to three players down to the club.

Then there’s the NASL, NPSL, ASL, and NPSL, outside of this partnership. NASL and MLS really don’t like each other. If MLS says something, NASL says the opposite. MLS has always said that they aren’t going to do pro/rel, so NASL comes out and says they are for it. NASL is the league that has Cosmos, Rowdies, Strikers, all the old clubs from the first NASL. They don’t have any chance of having any of their clubs moving up to the MLS, ever. So enough of that.

The people who are for Pro/Rel led by Tinfoil Ted, if they weren’t so attacking of everything could be a formidable force. Sadly, they go after everyone writing on anything in the sport, this author included. Here’s the secret, Pro/Rel can work. To get it to work you have to get the old guard out of the sport. Anyone from 50 on up, have to retire and allow the people who went out and got the Sports Administration degrees the jobs. Instead of allowing us to get minimum wage jobs, like they are doing. Society is about contracting the work force and “GIVE ME ITS  MINE”.  Instead of what got them their jobs, a chance.

A clean sweep of backwards thinking people, we could change the game for the good. These older people are scared of the sport being big. The thing is the sport is big enough, and can compete with the big boys. We’re just too scared to fail again, TAKE A CHANCE. What would be great is to see Toronto FC come to play FC Buffalo in Ralph WIlson Stadium, FC Buffalo doesn’t play in the Ralph, but if they had the chance to move up and down with the parachute money, etc they could takeover the Ralph for big matches. MLS doesn’t want to share the money or how they get it. It’s their money, not ours.

Face it folks, Pro/Rel won’t happen, the leagues are too greedy. We’re to spend our money and take it like a fan. Until there are mass riots or mass non-spending in the sport, the status quo will change. So you want to yell about Pro/Rel, but not do anything about it? We’ll have no time for that, come back to us when you start organizing boycotts and riots.