Submitted for your consideration

In the US, we have the major sports (the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA at the top) and there are teams that play in those leagues.

But the wild part is that there's no threat of being demoted or being discharged from the league.  Some teams, then, are basically incentivized to not even bother trying to win (and just roll with it),  to keep payrolls low, or to  do what is known as "tanking" where they attempt to lose on purpose in order to get some return in the long-term

As fans, sometimes you get stuck wanting to root for the team you "love," but there's never going to be a championship, and you just accept it and maybe even remain hopeful that someday your team's fortunes will change.

For their part, the leagues also see an opportunity to generate revenue, by imposing hefty fees to relocate or to bring in a new franchise to that league (when they think it's the right time).  

But meanwhile, in many other leagues (the English Premier league of soccer being the most notable), there's a promotion and relegation system so the teams that are at the top have to play hard to stay at the top - and if they lose, they will get relegated down to a lower league.  And teams in that lower league can be promoted up to that higher league if they play well and win enough. 

So they're incentivized to put their best foot forward and always try and win because there's a threat that if they lose, they're going to get demoted and have a lower income level.

And why am I mentioning this?  Well, to put it bluntly, leagues that have promotion and relegation are a capitalist type of economy. You win to stay relevant. You win to keep making money.  You win to have the biggest TV contracts. You win to have the biggest fan bases. And there are no salary caps. So big money can (and must!) be spent to stay at the top.  Even a "small market" team can have success because that's capitalist way.

Whereas teams in the United States are essentially a socialist system. TV contracts are negotiated by the league, and every team benefits from them through revenue sharing.  There are salary caps, and salary floors to ensure a level playing field. Teams are guaranteed an equitable portion of all proceeds from the league in which they play, so some teams are able to just coast along.

And the reason this amuses me so much is that most Americans rail against socialism as really, really bad! The worst thing ever! And yet sports are essentially socialist constructs in this country and people love the leagues, their teams, and could never imagine their team having to play just to stay at the top. I don't want my team to be considered an also-ran (just like I don't want to see my team abandon my city!). And the capitalist owners just see the money and don't care, either. 

To me, it's so funny how people get so hung up on an ideal that they can't even see it happening in something they get passionate about.