What strong independant team would do this team-based league rather than reaching out to a GA/MSL or ECNL club with a struggling team in their age group?
It's not the "top team based competition in the US" and is misleading and confusing for families. ECRL playoffs is not that interesting, it's a 2nd tier league. It's like playoffs for NBA G-League or AAA baseball.
ECRL used to be equal to or even above GA, but now GA has moved ahead as the second-tier league. ECRL is 3rd now, and I don't want to disparage it because there are strong teams there, but it's pretty clear. We had some epic debates about this in years past!
