Perhaps one of the most frustrating and comical experiences I have ever had is trying to explain how USA sporting structures work to anyone who wasn’t born and raised in the U.S. I have experienced this multiple times, spoken for hours and hours on this topic… and, time and time again, I have totally failed to educate people.
There are a number of reasons for this, but principally it’s because the U.S. system which closely integrates sports with schools and colleges is radically different from how the rest of the world organizes its sports. It’s not just a little different… it’s totally different. And, while many people grasp that there are differences, they don’t fully comprehend what those differences mean when it comes to developing sports like handball in the U.S. And, as people are want to do… they just plow ahead often trying to recreate what they are familiar with in the U.S. The thinking goes… “We’ll just tweak things a little bit to adjust how sports in the U.S. are a little bit different.”
Sorry, that approach hasn’t worked… and, it’s not going to work. It doesn’t mean the U.S. system for organizing sports is better. In fact, having lived in France for 5 years, I will say something you won’t hear an American say very often: I personally think the “Rest of World” sports model is superior to the American sports model. If I was supreme ruler of the United States I would decree that it be adopted immediately, lock, stock and barrel. Alas, I’m not the supreme ruler of the United States and that’s not going to happen. We’re mostly stuck with our system even if there are some cracks starting to appear in our collegiate model.
So, that means if you weren’t born and raised in the U.S. and want to grow a sport like handball in the U.S., it means you better get educated on how sports are organized in the U.S. And, conversely, if you were born and raised in the U.S. and are trying to figure out why expats think the way they do… well, it would be a good idea to better understand where they’re coming from.
I’m not going to try and explain everything here in this one post. But, what I will share is an excellent primer on how the U.S. and the “Rest of the World” organize their sports and the major economic consequences those difference have for athletes, clubs and fans.
Freakonomics Tackles Promotion/Relegation and other Topics
This education comes courtesy of the Freakonomics Podcast. In a two parter seriers, “The Merger you Never Knew you Wanted” they propose a merger of NCAA collegiate football and the NFL. This merger is not practical for a number of reasons, but the exercise of assessing how feasible it would be they really to a great job of breaking down just how the U.S. and “rest of world” sports models are different.
- Part 1: The Merger you Never Knew you Wanted Website Youtube
- Part 2: Should Ohio State (and Michigan, and Clemson) Join the N.F.L.? Website YouTube
Here are some of the ramifications of the different models that they address:
- How ridiculously unfair to athletes the U.S. Collegiate model was and to a certain extent still is
- How Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) might hurt non revenue NCAA sports
- How promotion and relegation provides more meaning to competition across the board
- How the U.S. closed system with a limited number of franchines for pro sports impacts the number of professional athletes in the U.S. and the salaries for those athletes
- How the U.S. closed system for pro sports makes minor leagues irrelevant
- Why top European clubs look on with envy at the U.S. model and would like to copy aspects of it.
One person interviewed throughout the two podcasts if former pro football player and NFL Player’s Union President, Dominique Foxworth, who made a few comments about handball back in 2020.