Brand Mix

Last season was a disaster for my home team. Leicester City Football Club (LCFC) was relegated* to the third flight of English football division for the first time in its 125 year history. I can assure you, when relegation was confirmed after the last match of the season, there was lots of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Sample quotes from the LCFC Facebook Supporters Group: "This is the worst moment of my life" and "I'm dead inside."

Well the new season is underway and things are off to a good start. After four games, LCFC is top of the table and the Facebook group's mood has changed: "Wat a gr8 day!" and "Finally got my love affair with Saturdays back." Supporters are much happier winning in this league of minnows than they were losing week after week in the higher league.

But none of these supporters want to stay in this league. All of them want LCFC to get promoted back to the higher level. Then the misery will, most likely, start all over again. It's the price of ambition, I suppose.

* There's nothing in U.S. major league sports similar to the European promotion and relegation model where, at the end of a season, the bottom two or three teams of a division are replaced by the top teams of the lower division. It would be like the San Diego Padres, if they finish last in the NL Division West, switching places next year with Sacramento from the Triple-A's Pacific Coast League.