Boy, are things moving fast! Sunday saw the announcement of this Super League thing that everyone hates, which in one fell swoop felt like it had ruined the most popular sport in the world. A few hours ago, not even two whole days since its official announcement, the Super League was already starting to show cracks. And now, with more rumors of Super League clubs getting cold feet, all of the English clubs dropping out of it, fans protesting their own clubs, and players and managers issuing some of the firmest rebukes yet of the plan, it looks like only a matter of time before the Super League meets its swift and gloriously humiliating demise.
Some of the best scenes came outside Chelsea's stadium, as the club prepared for its home Premier League match against Brighton. Fans showed up to protest the club's involvement in the Super League with lots of great picket signs:
These fans obstructed the team's bus as it tried to drive the players to the pitch, causing a 15 minute delay of the match. Former Chelsea player Petr Cech, who now works for the club, came outside to try to plead with fans to let the bus through:
Eventually, reports emerged that Chelsea, along with Manchester City, were beginning the process to formally back out of the Super League. The fans on hand were elated:
Sure enough, Manchester City became the first club to officially announce its plan to withdraw from the Super League. The players seemed happy:
On the other side of Manchester, United's longstanding head executive, Ed Woodward, announced that he would be stepping down from the club at the end of the season. Woodward was regarded as a financial genius and the man in charge of the club's business side back in the Alex Ferguson glory days, but he quickly exposed himself to be totally incompetent at building a team once Ferguson retired and Woodward became the floundering club's main decision-maker. He had to have played a big role in Manchester United's contributions to the Super League, and for that, as well as his inept stewardship of the team in recent years, he will be missed by exactly no one.
Not long after Woodward's resignation, news started breaking that all the English clubs were officially out of the Super League:
Outside of the boardrooms, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson released the following statement expressing his teammates' opposition to the Super League:
Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa, the wonderful bloke that he is, also had a great quote placing the forces behind the Super League in context:
Here's some La Liga coaches' reactions while we're at it:
David Beckham also got in on the action, which is good, but also, maybe he should take a look at the rules of the league the club he owns plays in ...
That's about where we are today. There are unconfirmed reports flying that more teams are on the brink of dropping out. Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez chickened out of an interview he had scheduled for tonight, after showing his ass in an interview last night. There is talk of a meeting between the remaining Super League teams tonight, though with all the Premier League clubs beating them to the punch, they're all probably better served admitting defeat and releasing their resignation statements sooner than later. What a fantastic day.
