While I'm trying to "stick to sports" with this blog, I feel a little background is necessary. I'm what you call and exvangelical. I was born and raised in an evangelical church surrounded by people who believed in extraordinary things. Demonic possession, faith healing and my favorite sub genre young-earth creationism. Thankfully, I had intelligent parents who fostered a love of learning and I escaped the community about a decade ago. My experience with this particular sector of American society gave me a clear understanding that when someone is peddling something that seems like BS, it probably just came from a cow's rectum.
How does this fit into the American pro/rel "movement"? In my experience with those who are fans of the standings gimmick known as promotion and relegation, I've come across two types of people:
Pro/rel acknowledgers: These folks make up the bulk of the pro-promotion and relegation fans. They like the idea but they acknowledge that while they think it would be cool, we probably won't see it in the US. They'll also acknowledge that there are many hurdles to overcome before its implemented and at the end of the day, it's really not that important. Most of them follow their teams and have a good time enjoying soccer with the rest of us.
Pro/rel truthers: These are the ones that slide into your Twitter responses and see pro/rel as some sort of moral crusade. Like 9/11 truthers and young-earth creationists, they readily ignore evidence and have no interest in debate. Their side is right. Your side is wrong. Even those who like pro/rel but aren't 100% in their corner are traitors to the cause. ML$ is a ponzi scheme, the NFL is holding soccer back on purpose and Soccer United Marketing and the Bilderberg group are behind a secret cabal holding pro/rel back.
The truthers also make some extraordinary claims such as: Kicking a team out of a league for one bad year will open floodgates of investment into the game. Kicking teams out of a league for one bad year will help the development infrastructure in the US. We'll win a World Cup if we kick teams out of their leagues for one bad year. Soccer will become the most popular sport. The US is in violation of some FIFA statute.
For all of this, they offer either no evidence or they misconstrue the evidence to make it fit their narrative.
This reminds me of the run-ins I've had with young-earth creationists over the years. Oh, you say there was a flood that covered the planet 4,000 years ago? Where's your evidence? Ah, the geologic column? Why don't we see bones of cows mixed in with bones of dimetrodon? Why don't we see evidence in the archaeological, linguistic, or historic record?
It's a similar trope with the pro/rel truther brigade. Alright, pro/rel creates investment, why do we see literally billions in investment in the current system without pro/rel? How do you work around television contracts? How do you account for the gargantuan pile of lawsuits that will occur if you suddenly force leagues to implement pro/rel?
Of course, the answer from the truthers is that pro/rel will solve all of this, or there's no answer at all.
In a previous life, I spent over a decade working in sports. I still have many friends and former colleagues that still work in the industry from the majors down to small colleges. I have a unique insight into how the business (and it is a business) of sports operates, so you can imagine my interest when Peter Wilt started touting his "Pro/Rel Manifesto" on the blogs, podcasts and SiriusXM. Imagine my disappointment when, instead of picking apart each hurdle that pro/rel would need to overcome to be viable in the US, Wilt (a man who should know better) skimmed over the hurdles and fantasy-booked a pro/rel system.
Currently soccer is thriving in the US. To say otherwise completely ignores reality and is an opinion that should be dismissed outright. The game at all levels is growing and investment is bullish. The claims of the pro/rel brigade are extraordinary. Where is the extraordinary evidence?
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