I haven't gotten FM13 yet. Partly because it's too expensive, but mostly because my Mac's OS is too old for the game to run on. So needless to say I'm getting my money's worth out of FM12. I created my very own USA pyramid structure in the editor to more accurately represent the actual one we have, and even started a save game on it, but that wasn't good enough. Why? Because quite frankly, the US pyramid structure sucks. Period. It shouldn't even be classified as a pyramid really. It has 3 independent closed leagues at the top followed by regional amateur leagues from the 4th tier down, and at the bottom we have 3 different youth leagues. Really? Yes really. But that's US soccer for you. And people wonder why the USNMT loses to teams like Honduras...
Anyway to get to the point- seeing as how a real US league system in FM12 wouldn't satisfy me because it sucks, I decided to research why the US "pyramid" is the way it is and how it got to be this monstrosity of a soccer system today. The short of it is, closed leagues like the MLS, NASL, and USL Pro (aka no promotion or relegation) have always existed in one form or another since the early 1900s. All have failed up to this point in time, so for me its not a question of can the current US leagues survive, but when will the die? Why do I say that? Because as Einstein said, if you keep doing the same thing over and over again, and expect different results, you are insane. US soccer is insane, because it thinks it can keep giving Americans sub par soccer leagues without promotion or relegation and releasing soccer clubs into a more free market approach.
After doing much research, I was astounded at the rich history American soccer has and that gave me the idea for my most ambitious project in the editor yet. What if the Soccer Wars didn't kill American soccer, but made it stronger? What if the advent of the NASL actually launched US soccer into the international stage? What if the crappy MLS, NASL (2010), and USL Pro didn't exist and we had a proper Premier division, proper relegation and promotion, and teams unhindered by silly rules and regulations?
In short, I wish to create a fictional, alternate US soccer universe where teams like Bethlehem Steel, Fall River, and St. Leo's have ruled over US soccer for decades, and now upstarts like LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, and Columbus Crew try to upset the balance, while teams from the NASL like New York Cosmos, Portland, Seattle, San Jose, and Atlanta try fight for their place in history too.
So far I have 433 teams. The league structure will be- American Premier League, 16 teams; American National League 20 teams; and East, North, South, and West conferences, 15 teams each. From there we come to the Regional leagues. From the East we have the 1st and 2nd New York divisions, the Mid Atlantic division, and the Keystone Conference which will split into a Pennsylvania 1st and 2nd division and two New Jersey divisions, North and South. Also in the East is the New England Premier League with the 1st and 2nd division underneath it.
In the North there will be the Great Lakes and Mid West conferences. Under the Mid West Conference will be the Northern Star League and the St. Louis Soccer league. From the Great Lakes Conference will be the Chicago Soccer League, the Michigan Soccer League, and the River Valley Soccer League.
From the South comes the Lone Star Premier and 2nd Division, an Islands Division (which I am still working with since it only has 5 teams), and a Southeast Conference. Under the Southeast Conference will be the Florida Soccer League, the Carolinas Soccer League, the Gulf Soccer League, and the Bluegrass Soccer League.
Finally, in the West we have the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountain, and Southwest Soccer Leagues, as well as the California league. Under the California League are the Northern and Southern California Leagues Divisions I and II.
Cups that I had thought of at the moment are the US Cup, the Community Shield, the American Cup, the Peel Cup, and the Lewis Cup. I'll think of other regional cups in the upcoming days. I have sorted the teams into their preliminary divisions as of now. I now need to make their histories as well as the history of the fictional progression of soccer leagues since 1929 (when the Soccer Wars happened). I'll post that and my reasoning for putting which clubs where in future posts.
I hope this interests at least of a few of you. If it does, I'm sure my labor can be used for FM13 or any future versions (yes, it might take me that long to get this done!!)
What I've done
Find teams to fill out database
Organize teams into contemporary divisions
Create individual team histories and standings- thru 1980's
What I'm doing
Creating league standings, year-by-year
Currently in the 90's
What's to come
Crack open the editor and begin to create teams
Add history to created teams
Add leagues
Add fictional players?
Anyway to get to the point- seeing as how a real US league system in FM12 wouldn't satisfy me because it sucks, I decided to research why the US "pyramid" is the way it is and how it got to be this monstrosity of a soccer system today. The short of it is, closed leagues like the MLS, NASL, and USL Pro (aka no promotion or relegation) have always existed in one form or another since the early 1900s. All have failed up to this point in time, so for me its not a question of can the current US leagues survive, but when will the die? Why do I say that? Because as Einstein said, if you keep doing the same thing over and over again, and expect different results, you are insane. US soccer is insane, because it thinks it can keep giving Americans sub par soccer leagues without promotion or relegation and releasing soccer clubs into a more free market approach.
After doing much research, I was astounded at the rich history American soccer has and that gave me the idea for my most ambitious project in the editor yet. What if the Soccer Wars didn't kill American soccer, but made it stronger? What if the advent of the NASL actually launched US soccer into the international stage? What if the crappy MLS, NASL (2010), and USL Pro didn't exist and we had a proper Premier division, proper relegation and promotion, and teams unhindered by silly rules and regulations?
In short, I wish to create a fictional, alternate US soccer universe where teams like Bethlehem Steel, Fall River, and St. Leo's have ruled over US soccer for decades, and now upstarts like LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, and Columbus Crew try to upset the balance, while teams from the NASL like New York Cosmos, Portland, Seattle, San Jose, and Atlanta try fight for their place in history too.
So far I have 433 teams. The league structure will be- American Premier League, 16 teams; American National League 20 teams; and East, North, South, and West conferences, 15 teams each. From there we come to the Regional leagues. From the East we have the 1st and 2nd New York divisions, the Mid Atlantic division, and the Keystone Conference which will split into a Pennsylvania 1st and 2nd division and two New Jersey divisions, North and South. Also in the East is the New England Premier League with the 1st and 2nd division underneath it.
In the North there will be the Great Lakes and Mid West conferences. Under the Mid West Conference will be the Northern Star League and the St. Louis Soccer league. From the Great Lakes Conference will be the Chicago Soccer League, the Michigan Soccer League, and the River Valley Soccer League.
From the South comes the Lone Star Premier and 2nd Division, an Islands Division (which I am still working with since it only has 5 teams), and a Southeast Conference. Under the Southeast Conference will be the Florida Soccer League, the Carolinas Soccer League, the Gulf Soccer League, and the Bluegrass Soccer League.
Finally, in the West we have the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountain, and Southwest Soccer Leagues, as well as the California league. Under the California League are the Northern and Southern California Leagues Divisions I and II.
Cups that I had thought of at the moment are the US Cup, the Community Shield, the American Cup, the Peel Cup, and the Lewis Cup. I'll think of other regional cups in the upcoming days. I have sorted the teams into their preliminary divisions as of now. I now need to make their histories as well as the history of the fictional progression of soccer leagues since 1929 (when the Soccer Wars happened). I'll post that and my reasoning for putting which clubs where in future posts.
I hope this interests at least of a few of you. If it does, I'm sure my labor can be used for FM13 or any future versions (yes, it might take me that long to get this done!!)
What I've done
Find teams to fill out database
Organize teams into contemporary divisions
Create individual team histories and standings- thru 1980's
What I'm doing
Creating league standings, year-by-year
Currently in the 90's
What's to come
Crack open the editor and begin to create teams
Add history to created teams
Add leagues
Add fictional players?