How does the fight to stay afloat in England compare to the MLS Playoffs here in the US? Talk to ex-Red Bulls and current Bolton Wanderers defender Tim Ream, and there’s no comparison. The intensity to stay up in the UK trumps all else by a long shot.
Ream talked to the AP about the pressure he’s feeling with Bolton’s own relegation-avoiding finale approaching on Sunday and he had some very impactful words about what a player goes through at a time like this. As published on FOX News Latino:
“I don’t know if anybody who follows American sports like basketball, baseball or American football would even understand what (relegation) is like,” Ream said. “You watch the [Blackburn] game and as the game progresses and Wigan scores, you see Blackburn and how they react.
“The pit that I had in my stomach watching them be relegated was something I’ve never experienced,” Ream said. “You don’t get that watching a playoff game in MLS. I can’t compare it to anything. It’s a horrible feeling. Sitting there watching the game and you think about your own team and the games that you’ve had in the past two or three weeks that were ties but could have been better results.
“It was heartbreaking to watch and I wasn’t even playing in the game.”
While it’s a stressful scenario for the players, words like this can only make stateside fans pine a bit (at least a bit) for a proper promotion and relegation system here in the US. For those who have experienced the mood around a club that’s “going up” first-hand, there’s really nothing like it.
That said, here’s to hoping that Ream isn’t too tight for Bolton’s match at Stoke City on Sunday. The Trotters need a win to stay up, simple as that. We’ll see if Ream and the boys can pull it off despite suffering yet another recent injury blow to Ream’s fellow central defender David Wheater.
Ream’s star American teammate Stuart Holden recently said he wouldn’t leave Bolton if they did do the drop on Sunday.
Stateside fans are sure to be hoping he won’t have to put those words to the test.