I've been the biggest MLS honk in the great plains, but the league is really starting to piss me off.
Can you explain to me, a dumb guy, why the European promotion/relegation model and calendar wouldn't work?
The calendar and the promotion/relegation model could very well work in the US. The reasons they likely won't be implemented have to do with money and the status of MLS in US sports.
Of the two, I think it is more likely that the calendar could get changed to match the European calendar. However, the reason this probably won't happen is that the current MLS calendar limits competition with the NFL. There is going to always be some overlap between the two seasons, but the current MLS calendar minimizes that. Also, a good amount of the overlap is the MLS playoffs, which has more draw than regular season games. Additionally, with a large part of the regular season in the summer, the only main competition is baseball for a few months. I also think the desire to limit cold-weather games in December, January and February plays into the current calendar. I imagine the thinking is that the cold weather would limit attendance. There could also be an argument about the risk of injury in cold weather. Even the NFL doesn't play any cold weather games in February.
I would love for promotion/relegation to be put into the US Soccer pyramid. It's not going to happen, though. MLS owners would be putting too much money at risk to ever endorse it. The revenue hit that would come with being relegated would be huge and no businessman is ever going to agree to introduce that risk. There is the potential that promotion/relegation would increase interest and grow the game, but I think that would be very limited. The people that care about it are likely already soccer fans and a lot of non-soccer fans don't even know what it is.
In terms of promotion/relegation, I think a more likely outcome is that leagues like the Premier League will get rid of it. I'm not saying that will happen, but it is more likely than MLS introducing promotion/relegation.