It's that time of year again, when the same old debate resurfaces. Cinderella stories are being written all over Europe, as Wrexham's rise continues, while Ipswich Town won one for the little guys, earning their Premier League place. Promotion playoffs are set to begin all over the continent, several of which will include American players.
And so the same question gets asked once again: Why oh why don't we have this in the U.S.?
It's a nice thought, isn't it? A club rising from the smallest of towns all the way to the big leagues. Lionel Messi's Inter Miami having to take on a club from, say, New Mexico, with that team earning their place right there among the best in the country.
Thoughts aren't realities, though, and the American soccer landscape won't bend itself to accommodate Cinderella stories. As fun as it might be, the fact remains: Europe is much closer to changing to fit the American soccer model than American soccer is to adopting promotion and relegation.