Random Thoughts

[Andalusian girls]

technically only Ms. Frizzle is directing that bus and exerting any kind of agency so he's only plowing her the kids are more observers

[Andalusian girls]

still not, not great

[Andalusian girls]

that's on Ms. Frizzle tho

[Andalusian girls]

the freak bitch

[Koyangi]

If you wondering what those arrows are for to the right of the league names, it means (example taking the top 2) the worst 3 in Premier at end of season go to Champions next season and the top 3 in Champions go to the Premier league in their place.

[Mertron]

nah too confusing for my simpleton american mind, ill just continue to not care about soccer and only watch it if a bar im at has a random game on

we’re on to spring training

[Xno Kappa]

nah too confusing for my simpleton american mind, ill just continue to not care about soccer and only watch it if a bar im at has a random game on

we’re on to spring training

World Baseball Classic starts March 8th!

[Xno Kappa]

Not to brag but Dominican Republic might pitch a no-hitter every single game.

[Roranora]

nah too confusing for my simpleton american mind, ill just continue to not care about soccer and only watch it if a bar im at has a random game on

we’re on to spring training

once i learned how relegation and promotion worked, i dream about it in American sports even though it'll never happen

like basketball, we have plenty of talent and athletes to easily change up the D league situation and make the NBA two divisions. so the cost of Kobe's farewell tour and shot selection (nevermind his salary) might have been a season in the lower league traveling to Sioux Falls and whatnot

[Roranora]

tanking is an integral part of the NFL season every year, but it doesn't exist with the threat of relegation

[Rhyis.]

there's not enough quality quarterbacks or linemen to sustain the current 32 nfl teams, let enough send any of that talent to a farm league

... if you had sent the jags to a farm league last year, for being the worst team in 2021, they would have absolutely destroyed whatever cfl/usfl/ncaa team you pit them against. the talent disparity is absurd. it would be bad

there's just so few people on the planet that are elite at throwing foosballs or being 300 pounds and still be an explosive athlete.
with soccer there isn't a size limitation and the sport is also global so the talent pool you can draw from is so much greater

also, unlike in other sports, 1 injured individual player on a 53 man roster can completely tank your season in the nfl. there's no other team sport like that. even basketball isn't like that and it only has 5 players on the court at one time

[Roranora]

I know it wouldn't work for the NFL but 32 teams is way too many for one league like this. However, the way college football feeds the NFL and the spectacle that is the draft run counter to this structure.

The NBA and the MLB could both be reimagined though. The new NBA top flight, if you will, could be 20 teams, 76-game season with every team playing home and away twice with every other team.

[Roranora]

I swear dental hygienists are always fine as fuck. I know I've said it before here but god damn

this latina this morning had an absolute dump truck and my filling was a great time i tell you hwhat

[Rhyis.]

I know it wouldn't work for the NFL but 32 teams is way too many for one league like this. However, the way college football feeds the NFL and the spectacle that is the draft run counter to this structure.

I will say that college football is essentially already setup like this soccer is... or arguably even more structured

Division 1 FBS (split into 10 conferences and 133 schools) > Division 1 FCS (split into 14 conferences and 128 schools) > Division 2 > Division 3

And you can go even further than that. The NFL is predominately made up from only 5 conferences out of like 300:
25% SEC
18% Big 10
12% Big 12
12% Pac 12
8% ACC
25% The rest

So like 50 schools out of multiple thousands have the talent that make it to the NFL, and the teams that are in those conferences go up and down every now and then based on viewership mostly.

[Xno Kappa]

MLB also already has a relegation system in place, albeit on the individual level.

Hell I’d argue it’s a fuckton better and more comprehensive because you’re allowing the player to retool whatever they need to work on mid-season. Versus just broadly sending an entire team to whatever the Triple A equivalent is in soccer for however long they have to.

[Roranora]

I will say that college football is essentially already setup like this soccer is... or arguably even more structured

Uh.. (what have I done) no. They are not alike at all. There are numerous teams? That's about where similarities end.

College football divisions and subdivisions don't cross compete, don't promote based on sporting performance, and don't relegate based on sporting performance. This isn't more structured or less structured; it's a wholly different structure. A cup tie with non-league club hosting (or traveling to) a large club has no American parallel in sports, professional, amateur or in between.

MLB also already has a relegation system in place, albeit on the individual level.

Hell I’d argue it’s a fuckton better and more comprehensive because you’re allowing the player to retool whatever they need to work on mid-season. Versus just broadly sending an entire team to whatever the Triple A equivalent is in soccer for however long the premier league runs.

Goodness me, sending a player down to the minors or calling one up is not relegation on the individual level. It's a cute comparison that fails to capture the fundamental difference in sporting competition when a team is 'punished' for being the worst of the lot. The battle to avoid this fate can be incredibly intense. Again, no real American sporting equivalent anywhere. (which is fine! all of our sports are bastardized versions of another's sport anyway)


I love you all, and it might be difficult to discuss too effectively comparisons with soccer you admittedly don't understand well.

[Roranora]

And the Triple AAA equivalent idea is especially flawed when it comes to player wages. We have minor leaguers living poorly and no mid-table Championship club has players struggling financially. They're not on Mo Salah money sure, but players aren't paid like our minor leaguers until -- help me out Demo -- probably five tiers and thousands of players down the pyramid.

Edit: A soccer club's youth academy and U21 team are more like its farm teams but still very different. Sadly I'd reckon Liverpool pays its U21 side better than a MLB team's AAA affiliate pays its players but I am not sure. A few clubs like Barcelona even have a B team elsewhere in the country's pyramid. Our sports seldom have such elements.

[Xno Kappa]

Goodness me, sending a player down to the minors or calling one up is not relegation on the individual level. It's a cute comparison that fails to capture the fundamental difference in sporting competition when a team is 'punished' for being the worst of the lot. The battle to avoid this fate can be incredibly intense. Again, no real American sporting equivalent anywhere. (which is fine! all of our sports are bastardized versions of another's sport anyway)

You complain about NFL teams purposely tanking but wax poetically when several dozen players are sent to the soccer minors arbitrarily or “punished” because the team as a whole sucked? There’s a disconnect here. Especially considering the NFL’s parity is second to none.

Baseball’s farm league is 100% a better system because it’s an effort to maintain the highest quality of competition.

Do teams still suck ass and penny pinch? Of course.

However, seeing Bubblegum Joe playing for the Scranton Riders getting called up to the big leagues and possibly win his team the game is a much better story for the audience. Meanwhile soccer fans have to watch their favorite team with thumbs up their asses because they’re playing in an inferior league against inferior opponents for an entire season because they were “punished.”

And the Triple AAA equivalent idea is especially flawed when it comes to player wages. We have minor leaguers living poorly and no mid-table Championship club has players struggling financially. They're not on Mo Salah money sure, but players aren't paid like our minor leaguers until -- help me out Demo -- probably five tiers and thousands of players down the pyramid.

The discussion wasn’t about salaries.

[Koyangi]

You're arguing why you like or prefer the system(s) you know about, Rora is simply explaining how the other one works and how they're not similar (his opinion on footy's being a better system or not is just his opinion).

[Xno Kappa]

I guess I just don’t understand the excitement in watching the New York Giants play against TCU, or the Yankees playing against the Somerset Patriots.

Simply because they sucked the season before? I’d be pissed as a fan.