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I get why people who like the NISA project -- and I am one of those people! -- are upset. It's a big blow and really impedes the growth of the league. 2/
But having been on the inside of a club's decision as to what league to join on more than one occasion and being part of a small group that continues to evaluate and re-evaluate that decision, without knowing more, I won't criticize the Roots' FO. 3/
There are just too many variables, and the margins of error, for both profit and judgment, are just too thin, for an outsider to fully judge unless they have seen the data that the FO was looking at 4/
As an aside, I know a few of the people in that FO, in degrees ranging from acquaintances to people I've had some long convos about this stuff with to people I legitimately consider close friends, and I believe that they all want the right things for US Soccer 5/
Unlike other clubs we've had around here (you know who I'm talking about), the Roots are run by decent and competent people, and assuming the worst of them is just unwarranted 6/
But the ultimate fact remains: the fact that a club even has to make this kind of decision is an insane indictment of our entire club soccer system 7/
Running a soccer club is difficult enough; why are clubs also expected to fend off all counter-vailing economic considerations in order to be in a league they like? Why don't we have a system that rewards actual club-level competence? 8/
As it stands, clubs can't make money by developing players, because there's no system in place to sell them to bigger clubs. Clubs can't make money by winning, because they can't get promoted. 9/
Clubs can't even really independently generate money by sponsorship, because their exposure is based on league-wide factors out of their control. 10/
I don't mean to sound too down; some clubs, like Detroit, Chatta, the Cosmos, and a few others (SF City included) have found ways to transcend their league affiliation to a certain degree (and some more than others). But it's not easy and it's not nationally sustainable 11/
The fact is that our current system is designed to protect an incumbent power structure, and criticizing an individual club for their league affiliation is like criticizing someone who backs MFA for having private insurance. There may not be much a real choice 12/
But yeah, this sucks and there is no way around that, especially because successful alternative leagues remain the best hope we have of getting rid of that power structure. 14/ (end, for now). And oh yeah: #prorelforUSA
