By cramming these early rounds together, two teams had to play AWAY after only 3 days rest, pretty much ending both semi-final series in Leg 1. Yet there is a two week break between the semi-finals and the MLS Cup. Instead, they could have play all second leg games from the quarterfinals this weekend, Leg 1 of the semi-finals next weekend (more rest, better quality), Leg 2 Thanksgiving weekend, and still had the MLS Cup on the same date. Tell me why this doesn't make more sense.
Because it takes time to schedule a major event like MLS Cup when you don't know the location until a week ahead of time? Not to mention Turkey Day being generally a bad time for a niche league to be playing games, all things considered.
So why not just push the MLS Cup back to Dec. 8th if you want that 2 week break? That weekend you don't have all of the college football championship games to compete with like you do on the 1st.
Probably a concern about weather would be my guess. And you still have the issue of playing on Thanksgiving weekend.
This whole traveling thing on short notice for the higher seed team was only an issue because the higher seeded teams shit the bed. If it was San Jose instead of LA, San Jose would have been going to Seattle on a days longer notice, and Seattle would be heading home on short notice.
I guess I don't understand the negatives of having games on Thanksgiving weekend. I would think that you're bound to get better ratings on that weekend because everyone is so desperate to find some kind of sports to watch on TV since the pain of making conversation with the relatives has become unbearable by Saturday. Isn't that why many college football games now get scheduled on the Friday after Thankgiving, because of public demand for any kind of live sports to dull the pain?
This guy proves my theory about Thanksgiving weekend. Say you're not very aware of MLS, have a passing interest in the sport, and related to this clown. Now you're stuck in a house with him for three days eating leftovers. Wouldn't you be willing to watch a soccer game between two teams you don't know much about just to avoid him for two hours? And now, voila, a new MLS fan is created.
Traveling is more expensive, people are tied down to be at home with the family, so you hurt attendance, and on Thanksgiving day itself is pretty much totally covered with NFL games these days.
I don't know that attendance would be that bad. All joking aside, I do think that people are more eager to get out of the house by that Saturday (I agree, holding the games on Thursday vs. the NFL games would be a disaster) and there would be plenty of butts in seats. All I'm saying is that maybe it's worth a shot in the next year of so. If it doesn't work, so be it. But the product we saw on the field today from the visiting teams was crap, and I think Twellman's point during the Seattle/LA broadcast about the short rest and short notice travel is spot on.
On Thanksgiving day? You really don't think a massive, national, family-focused holiday would hurt attendance? Hell, Wednesday matches hurt attendance.
Quite frankly, I wouldn't mind if they just made it straight knockout and ditched the 2 legs all together.
Apparently all those fans who complained about it being harder to watch/get to when the Apple Cup (Washington-Washington State football) got scheduled on Thanksgiving weekend this year didn't know what they were talking about. They missed the obvious benefit of dodging family. Seriously if a rivalry college football game that's been played for over a century has concerns about being played on Thanksgiving weekend, what's the likelihood of a MLS playoff game being unaffected?
So Don Garber posts on here under the handle "Mr. Warmth". Mods, please move this thread to the News forum.
I've never escaped to an NFL game on Thanksgiving (almost went to Baltimore last season), but especially since nobody believes I have to work on Black Friday, I'm always thankful that Virginia Tech-University of Virginia is on Thanksgiving weekend.
The bar down the street from us opens at 5pm on Thanksgiving Day for just this reason. It's full by 7:00.
Well, seeing as how Tuberville smacked someone already I'm not sure who they could bring in before the season is over
For fans attending in person a Thanksgiving day playoff game might produce worse attendance, but a Thanksgiving day playoff game would definitely get better TV ratings than they are otherwise getting these playoffs. For a typical Saturday MLS playoff game slot, the TV competition is 20-25 college football games and some basketball games and on a typical Sunday the competition is 12-13 NFL games. For a Thanksgiving day Thursday MLS playoff time slot, the competition on TV is 3 NFL games and one college American football game and maybe some basketball games.
I'm going to Hell for this, but sometimes it's good when family starts to move on to a better place. //of course I mean move faraway from the great Commonwealth of Virginia.