With the English Premier League coming to an end, three teams were relegated to England’s second tier Championship League. Blackpool, Birmingham and West Ham all failed to perform and finished in the last three spots of the EPL. What if other major league sports adopted relegation? More notably for sports like baseball and basketball. But let’s face it, this could never work for football because where would they be relegated to– the AFL? Or even worse the Canadian Football League? And who exactly would be promoted—the best BCS teams? Not likely. But it is an interesting thought…
Think about the pressure it puts on players and coaches to make sure they perform at the highest level, not only for their fans but to keep the teams making money. To think, from GM’s all the way down to coaches and players the pressure would be on to actually make them earn the money from TV revenue and advertisements.
Can’t you just imagine if the NBA had a more developed developmental league, the Cavaliers, Timberwolves and Clippers would all be sent to the D-league and the winner of the D-league post season would then get the chance to compete in the NBA. I personally think this would be a great idea because it would truly make every game count and even the teams that don’t make the playoffs would have something to play for, so fan would continue to come out even late in the season to cheer their team on. Or if we go the baseball route: the Pirates, Oriels and Mariners would have been sent to the AA and the top AA teams would get called up.
I think relegation could definitely work for these sports, but it will never be implemented because there’s just too much money to be made and lost in American sports, but one can dream of the season where I watch 100 plus baseball and basketball games from opening on, without losing interest.
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