A 4-tier Pro/rel Pyramid By 2024

FC Tulsa doesn't exist.

It might have caused Randy Lerner the odd sleepless night at the tail end of the season, but quite frankly, I can't imagine the other american owners care in the slightest. They are in no danger of it impacting them.

Neither do the Cosmos, but people support them.

You did not support them that is why.

Nope. It's cuz I didn't support them... Not a fan of semi-pro soccer; would rather watch high school or college or any of the club level competitive leagues here... I believe they didn't field a men's team this year because sponsors balked at the travel costs...

That is still 12 years away. When you look at the MLS and the way it was 12 years ago as opposed to today, its like night and day. Its not unthinkable that the MLS can not have rel/pro in that amount of time. I mean all they have to do is just buy the NASL and USL in the near future if they really wanted it but I don't think the powers that be or at least the heads of those leagues will want or even like that. If they did, they would have sold it to them when they had their USSF 2/ NuRock split a few years ago. Without the MLS owning all the leagues, I can not see this promotion relegation thing working and even if they do buy all the leagues I seriously doubt the owners will want to invest all their money on stadiums and teams to quickly find themselves in the 2nd or even 3rd tier. I mean if that were the case, you would have seen the great Beckham relegated after his first year in 2007 & 08 and I doubt anyone would have wanted that.

It's entirely unthinkable that pro/rel could work in the system the currently has created the most successful a. Soccer league in US history b. sports league, of any kind, founded after the Beatlemania.

Well said. The risk is just too great for that amount of radical change.

Maybe the IPL (Indian Cricket league), but at least #2 for sure.

IPL gets an asterisk for simply unifying what was already a wildly popular sport in India. Nothing of the sort going for MLS in 1993

Well if that is going to be the criteria then MLS is the most successful league ever.

Since the EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, FMF 1ra, were started in countries were soccer was wildly popular. (Same with Australian Football).

The NBA and American expansion in the NHL might disagree with you, but I'm fine with MLS being the greatest thing ever

But were the sports (Basketball and Hockey) wildly popular?

I really don't think so. (I'm sure someone will prove me wrong almost immediately)

I'm not planning on proving you wrong. But....

Since the NHL is technically a Canadian league that has expanded into the U.S., I think hockey would count as already being popular. At least until they expanded into non-hockey playing parts of the States.

I'm very upset that, as Stanley Cup Champions, the LA Kings took the title of "Best Amateur Hockey Team in Canada" away from my Bruins.

So the National in the name stands for Canada, nice to know

While I do admire your post and its contents, the anal retentive part of me wishes to point out that since the first American team to compete for the Cup did so in 1919, no one can really complain.

That being said, didn't some amateur hockey group think about suing to get the Cup from the NHL during the lockout?

SaveLordStanley.com, if I recall, since the agreement the NHL had with the trustees of the Cup were explictly to award it every year.

But, alas

You didn't finish my quote.....As I stated.....

I for one won't believe in pro/rel until I see it.

The J-League might give MLS a run for its money, depending on how you define successful. There was a league before, but support was terrible as most teams were based on companies.

Overall though, how many completely new start-up leagues have there been since 1993 anyway in any sport?

Oh, I wasn't quoting you to disagree, but to add on

Just going from Wikipedia (and extending the time from the founding of the NBA in 1949) and in the US only: American National Rugby League, American Ultimate Disc League, Arena Football League, Grand-Am-Road Racing, IndyCar, LPGA, MISL, Major League Lacrosse, NASL (new) National Hot Rod Association, National Lacrosse League, PBA Tour, Professional Bull Riders, Professional Inline Hockey Association, Rugby Super League, United Football League, USL, United States Australian Football League, USA Rugby League, Women's Flat Track Derby Association, WNBA, World Team Tennis

Not to mention the already failed: All-American professional Basketball League, the second Amerivan Basketball League, Global Basketball Association, International Basketball Association, International Basketball League, World Basketball League, Continental Football League, Indoor Football League, Indoor Professional Football League, the A-League, the 3rd American Soccer League, the first MISL, the first National Lacross League, Professional Indoor Football League, World Football League, Women's Pro Basketball League, Association of Volleyball Professionals, NASL (old) National Pro Fastpitch, Major League Cricket, Pro Cricket, USFL, WPS, WUSA, XFL, and the American Lacrosse League.

I'd say we have enough sample size to say MLS is doing something that other people can't figure out.

The NHL is headquarted in NY and 23 of the 30 teams are American. How is it technically Canadian ? I mean sure it was founded in Canada but at this stage it most definitely an American based league ... they just play the most popular sport in Canada.

I mean the NHA expanded because first the WHL and then the WHA were rivaling the league.

Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Pricy Council, 6th Governor General of Canada...

He was just some kid from Brooklyn, right?