If you hadn’t noticed, there was a big hubbub over the weekend with 12 big European soccer teams announcing plans to stop playing in established European competitions and instead form their own Super League. (Think of it as the Power Six leagues starting their own version of March Madness). The fans went ape, even government officials threatened to intervene, and the Super League has basically fallen apart in 48 hours.
But it’s gotten some American sportswriters thinking who would be the Super League teams in college football and basketball. You will not be surprised to find we’re not on either list. 25 years ago we would have made the hoops list. Probably 40 years ago we would have made the football list. Maybe in five years we’ll be back on both of them.
Not really. The Euro SL would be the top 20 clubs out of hundreds and hundreds; there would have been 15 permanent members and five would move in and out based on performance. Power Five is 65 out of 130+. The articles I read focused on who those top 15 programs in college would be. Bama, Clemson and Ohio State in football, etc.
The Super League would be kind of like saying 12 blue bloods like Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and Duke would be in the Sweet 16 every year, regardless of record, and the rest of us would be playing for the other four spots. So you can understand why the fans flipped. Heck, I’m a fan of one of those 12 clubs (Arsenal) that made the announcement and I hated the idea. So does Hogmaestro who is a Tottenham fan, another one of the 12.
I am a Chelsea fan and we would have been in the Suoer League.
I like the idea of top 12 teams playing each other every week from a fan perspective, but I think there are issues that make the League undesirable. What are your reasons for not liking the Super League?
I don’t know much about soccer, but I hate the concept of the super league. I know I’m biased, but when a program like Arkansas isn’t good enough to be in your league in football and basketball, that’s a genuinely boring league to me. Super power vs super power over and over again will become ho-hum mediocrity after a while–not to mention the cyclical nature of teams. Does anyone really think that Alabama football is going to be this dominant when Nick Saban leaves?
I like the lead up of a game like Alabama football vs a good, spunky Cincinnati team–it’s fun. I don’t really care if Cincinnati gets blown out 9 out of 10 times; I like the 1 time they don’t. At the end of the day, can we just enjoy this stuff again?
This is not an indictment on anything said in this thread.
Because the Champions League would be destroyed and probably the EPL and the other domestic leagues. It’s a money grab by the big clubs. Why should Leeds or Everton or Brighton work to get a top four spot if there’s no Champions League? Plus European soccer is somewhat built on merit. Win and get promoted, lose and get relegated. Chelsea and Arsenal and Real Madrid would have permanent ESL places whether they were good or not. Why should Chelsea spend to improve its talent when they have ESL money guaranteed? Why would Sky Sports, or NBC for that matter, pay for ESL rights when ManU is off playing ESL half the time?
I agree with you. I was thinking if they did go forward with the Super League, eventually there will be promotions and relegations just like Premier League.
But I am glad Super League is not going to happen. At least now.
Super League would have five spots that aren’t permanently assigned and would have promotion and relegation. But the other 15 spots were to be locked in permanently to Barcelona and Liverpool and the other blue bloods.