The Gametime Guru

What American Sports Fans Don't Understand About Relegation with Todd Smith

Listen on

Episode notes

In this episode of The Gametime Guru, I sit down with Todd Smith, author of Relegated, to break down one of the most fascinating systems in global sports: promotion and relegation in English soccer.

As an American sports fan, I've always been intrigued by the idea that a team can lose its place in the top league based on performance. In the United States, struggling teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS can have bad seasons and still remain in the league. But in English football, the stakes are completely different. If a club finishes at the bottom of the table, it can be relegated to a lower division, losing money, visibility, players, TV revenue, and even part of its identity.

Todd Smith experienced this system firsthand while researching his book Relegated. He traveled across the English football pyramid, visiting Premier League stadiums, lower league clubs, small towns, gritty industrial cities, and passionate football communities to understand what relegation really means beyond the scoreboard.

In this conversation, Todd and I talk about how relegation works in English soccer, why promotion and relegation creates real stakes every season, how football clubs impact local economies, and why soccer fandom in England is so deeply connected to identity, history, class, community, and pride.

We also discuss whether relegation could ever work in American sports. Could the NFL, NBA, MLB, or MLS ever adopt a promotion and relegation system? Would American owners ever allow that much financial risk? And what would happen if a major franchise could actually lose its place in the top league?

This episode is perfect for soccer fans, Premier League fans, MLS fans, sports business fans, and anyone interested in the cultural and economic impact of sports around the world.

Make sure to grab a copy of Relegated by Todd Smith and follow his work:

Website: toddsmithauthor.com

Instagram: @relegatedthebook

Subscribe to The Gametime Guru for more interviews with athletes, coaches, authors, sports figures, and leaders from around the world as I help you see sports through a different lens.