Why I Love This Beautiful Game Part 4: League Structure

Ah, Derby County. As one of the twelve founding members of the Football Association, one may expect them to be at the height of the English game. Well, I would hope that those people wouldn't get their hopes up to high.

Derby County fans rejoiced during the 2007-2008 season when their team was bumped into the Premier League following their finish in the previous season. However, the joy would be short lived when Derby stepped back down into the Football Championship League.

I love this beautiful game because the concept of relegation is amazing. If you play hard, you get bumped up and gain the reward that comes with it. You might even get some national airtime or international, if Setanta or Fox Soccer Channel decide to show the game.

On the other hand, if you play poorly, you get to spend a year playing in a league where you are less likely to get t.v. coverage. You are also likely to loose out on revenue. Who would want to see a bumped down Newcastle take on Barmsley? Not many fans.

Unfortunately, relegation isn't a concept that would really work in America. It would be hard to demote an NFL team down to the Arena Football League. It would however, be a tad bit easier to bump a MLB team down to AAA or a NHL team down to the minors.

Returing to a point I made earlier when listing off the pros of relegation, I love it simply because of the chance it offers a team. If you are playing consistent football and you have a spot on team, then you have a chance to pull into the next division.

Also, you gain revenue and that leads to the acquisition of better players. Even if you get bumped right back down, having gained enough to buy a few good players is enough incentive to work toward that goal of getting that top flight spot back and changing the history of your team forever. And that's why I love relegation.

The conclusion to the series will be coming shortly and it will cover how the beautiful game tends to explain the world.*

*Not to be confused with Franklin Foer's book.