# Could a European style "soccer" league survive in the US **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 19, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-european-style-soccer-league-survive-in-the-us/740821 "2015-12-19T01:11:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-european-style-soccer-league-survive-in-the-us/740821/121 "2016-01-05T04:59:02Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I have no clue how you can miss the obvious that if lack of drafts prevents parity (as you’ve asserted) and if promotion/relegation systems prevent drafts then promotion/relegation systems have quite an important bearing on preventing parity. I mean this is basic stuff. You can disagree as to whether they can’t co-exist, but its quite evident that if they can’t, it falls right into your argument about why there is lack of parity Then WHY are you arguing the point. That was all I initially said: drafts and playoffs would create more parity. For some reason, you have become maniacally fixated on a completely orthogonal and unsubstantiated point about why these leagues can never have a draft. Again, even if that were true, it has nothing to do with the original point. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-european-style-soccer-league-survive-in-the-us/740821/122 "2016-01-05T05:06:31Z")
I’m not sure how this isn’t registering. If you are saying that drafts would create parity, and there is an argument that promotion/relegation prohibits drafts, then the statement that dominance is “less because of regulation and more because of drafts” misses the point entirely. Especially when there were numerous posts above that one which were discussing things that promotion/regulation makes far more difficult (like a salary cap). ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-european-style-soccer-league-survive-in-the-us/740821/123 "2016-01-05T14:20:33Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I’m not sure how this isn’t registering. If you are saying that drafts would create parity, and there is an argument that promotion/relegation prohibits drafts, then the statement that dominance is “less because of regulation and more because of drafts” misses the point entirely. > > Especially when there were numerous posts above that one which were discussing things that promotion/regulation makes far more difficult (like a salary cap). First, relegation doesn’t prevent drafts. Second, even if it did, it doesn’t speak to the point. Let’s use an analogy to hopefully help you understand a very simple concept. Let’s say manual cars are uniformally faster than automatics. Let’s also suppose two racing leagues exist; one uses automatic cars and the other uses manuals. Now if someone is wondering the automatic league is slower, and someone else says it’s because they don’t use manuals cars, does it make sense AT ALL to talk about how the automatic league cannot use both automatics and manuals at the same time? No, because the comment wasn’t speaking to that at all: it wasn’t a perscriptive comment, it was stating an observed fact. The history of the two leagues doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter whether one wants to be slower on purpose, or if automatics and manuals could indeed be used in conjunction. If you still cannot comprehend this, then I don’t know what else I can do. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-european-style-soccer-league-survive-in-the-us/740821/124 "2016-01-05T15:15:43Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > does it make sense AT ALL to talk about how the automatic league cannot use both automatics and manuals at the same time? Yes, of course it does (assuming one can’t have automatic and manual shifting on the same car & that including manual shifting on top of an automatic shift is not possible in this universe). The question is about why is the automatic league slower than the other - the agreed reason being that one can’t shift gears as quickly (as you would in a manual league); if someone claims, no the issue isn’t automatics, its about quick gear shifting they are being silly because automatics are the the reason you can’t have quick gear shifting. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-european-style-soccer-league-survive-in-the-us/740821/125 "2016-01-05T18:30:58Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Yes, of course it does (assuming one can’t have automatic and manual shifting on the same car & that including manual shifting on top of an automatic shift is not possible in this universe). The question is about why is the automatic league slower than the other - the agreed reason being that one can’t shift gears as quickly (as you would in a manual league); if someone claims, no the issue isn’t automatics, its about quick gear shifting they are being silly because automatics are the the reason you can’t have quick gear shifting. Cool story bro ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-european-style-soccer-league-survive-in-the-us/740821/126 "2016-01-05T19:24:16Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > No. What I am saying is that if there were 8 professional leagues just like the MLB with similar pay, competition, etc., but without the draft system that makes even can’t miss superstars play minor league ball in almost all cases, many future superstars would play in those leagues to avoid languishing in the lower ranks. Why would there even be eight leagues, though? It’s a virtual certainty they’d end up merging, as in fact happened with MLB and the NFL/AFL. You couldn’t have eight major baseball leagues unless they had 4-6 teams apiece, and it would take maybe a week for them to see the logic in merging. > [@](#): > > Once again, you missed the point. Those leagues at not at all comparable. Those aren’t comparable options for a future professional. Of course they aren’t, which is why anyone who can make it in the NFL goes there and goes to the CFL only if they have to. But players do move from one to the other if the need/opportunity arises. If you tried to have eight MLBs or eight NFLs, it is absolutely inevitable some would become the REAL major leagues and some would become the CFL. No matter how you slice it, Toledo isn’t a big enough market to be in the same league as Chicago. You would end up with precisely the same system. Major League Baseball only created a draft in 1965, but it was still The Major Leagues for decades before that. The talent got to the big leagues anyway; 99.9% of players who played for lesser leagues but who had the talent to play in the majors grabbed the opportunity as soon as they could. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-european-style-soccer-league-survive-in-the-us/740821/127 "2016-01-05T20:17:14Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Why would there even be eight leagues, though? There wouldn’t. It was an hypothetical used as an analogue to pro soccer at the elite levels where a player could play for a top team in at least 5-8 different leagues without sacrificing much. The point is that is such an environment, a draft and collusion among teams in one league represents a hurdle that most good players won’t stand for since there are multiple conparable options. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-european-style-soccer-league-survive-in-the-us/740821/128 "2016-05-02T21:01:33Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I had the standings in front of me. We’ll see how things turn out, but Chelsea will move up (though they aren’t going to win) and Leicester City won’t finish first. I’m just going to leave that there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-european-style-soccer-league-survive-in-the-us/740821.md?page=6)