Land of the Free

On the radio yesterday one fan said of the influx of foreign owners; "something needs to be done before the Premiership ends up like American Football". Although his words were surely meant to bring up some horrific image of multiple advertising breaks and the blood-curdling thought of half-time shows, I for one was left thinking, 'would that really be so bad?'

American Football, with all its padding and its multiple in game stoppages is often held up by fans of the other football as some sort of nightmarish image of what might be. But is it really such a terrifying prospect? And is it that far removed from what we have now? Cheerleaders and additional sponsorship opportunities have slowly crept into British football about as subtly as Wyle E Coyote sneaking up on Roadrunner in the desert like mid-west dressed as a shrub. At St Andrews earlier this season the PA announcer was happy to tell all that the opening substitution was brought to us in association with some local building firm or another, as if James McFadden would have struggled to locate the pitch without the aid of Brown's Scaffolding.

The main difference between American Football's head table and the top of the Premier League is that the former is still a very competitive division. In the past decade fifteen different teams have contested the Superbowl, while in the same period of time only seven different sides have occupied the top four places in the Premier League, and bear in mind two of those seven are Newcastle (2003 and 04) and Leeds United (1999-2001). A frightening thought.

American Football may not have the historical community roots of its British counterpart, but its modern corporate owners recognise the need for competition. The league controls all marketing rights, and so though the Dallas Cowboys may have a much more global appeal than say the Tenessee Titans, it doesn't mean they will be able to so easily transfer this popularity into income, and subsequently higher earning players. Similarly the draft system also helps regenerate the balance as the lowest ranked teams from the previous year get to pick first from amongst the upcoming College players.

The Premier League is so far removed from the rest of British football now that a complete switch over to a franchised league controlled existence looks much the better option. It may be against the history of the British game and all it was established for, but at least I wouldn't feel as compelled to turn off the television when it came on.