This was the thing that killed it for me[0]: if you can't be relegated where's the incentive to bring your A game? And where does that leave fans? Even more ripped off than they are now by teams who, under the new system, simply can't be arsed because there are no consequences?

[0] Not that I'm particularly a fan of soccer - the English-style long-ball (aka hit and hope) game with possession carelessly given away all the time drives me up the wall to watch (admittedly much less in evidence under Gareth Southgate at the 2018 World Cup). There's also too much diving and associated on pitch drama/gamesmanship that has nothing to do with playing, and disrupts the flow of matches, for me to find it particularly enjoyable.

And that's exactly what makes US football different from European football (soccer as some call it). Yes, major teams enjoy a de facto superstar status, and the US model is exactly what they had in mind with the ESL. But here even the matches between minor teams live from the fans of the minor teams, as football is here not only for the show but a part of community life. Even big teams still have that community status and that's exactly what burned them now.