It's collapsed? Spent a bit of time in the North East and went to a few Newcastle games with my chum. Still shows how great the league was I hadn't realised it didn't exist anymore. But you're right about the whole 'false excitement' aspect. It just doesn't work over here. Reasons? Well, I like to think our unique brand of uber-cynicism has something to do with it.
Unfortunately, the idea of a playoff is so entrenched in the American psyche that there's no way it will ever be abandoned. It ruined baseball. At one time, only the top team from each league made it to the World Series. Now there are even the so-called "wild-cards." Blasphamy! And I read this week where the NFL is meeting and will discuss adding yet another "wild-card" to their playoff scheme. I don't expect much outrage from the fans. Most of them seem to believe it's fine for their team to "back-door" its way to a championship. Specifically to MLS, since a playoff is inevitable and the league only consists of ten clubs, they should get rid of the East-West nonsense and have a single table with the top four clubs qualifying for a post-season tournament, to be played throughout on aggregate. The season itself can be 36 matches long. Everyone plays four matches against each other.
has it collapsed? yes & no. It started the season with 8 teams, but two teams pulled out before a ball was kicked...err... a puck was hit. One folded mid-season and another resigned, leaving the league with only 4 teams. So it's now reformed for next year with a much lower salary cap and some teams who played at a lower level. Their big mistake was signing loads of expensive imports believing the public would flock to see a new higher standard of play, and that TV would also welcome them on board and finance the higher wages. Naturally neither prediction was true. As you said, perhaps we just are more cynical over here though. Whereas to us the total devaluation of the whole season just to create a contrived close finish outweighs any 'excitement' such a situation causes, over the pond the reverse could be true.
Thank goodness you flipping bitter purists will die out in due time, so the kids who take to the local field every Saturday can appreciate their game and their league.
Not according to the way we were raised watching & playing sport - that's the difference. The winner on the last day of the season is the winner, simple as that. The real trick is not having too may teams in the finals. This year the Australian National Soccer League has won the prize for the stupidest attempt to compromise. At the end of the season the top 6 teams went into a "playoff" round. But instead of elimination games they played a full home & away 10 round league, with the top 2 teams at the end to play the final. The top 2 at the start carried through 6 & 3 points respectively Funnily enough the top 2 at the start of thius borefest look like being the top 2 at the end.
You just stated the real fact as to why the MLS needs playoffs. The fans nor the media would be as interested if not for the playoffs. Sad but true. And I personally believe the NBA and NFL playoffs rule.
Yep, playoffs have led MLS to sold out stadiums, record TV ratings, huge profits... er, maybe not. There is something to be said for being different. Turn the "playoffs" into the MLS League Cup and maybe everyone is happy. NFL playoffs are nice. NBA and NHL playoffs are at least one round too long and take forever.
Well I was at one match where the tension was palpatable yesterday, at points joyous and at others like the world had ended, all thanks to the wonders of no stupid play off's, so I think the original analogy doesnt stand up too well in the first place, or else you just like your "sports" to have good "product on field" with its forced mediocrity and artificial title race.
Purist? Dunno about that. It's been pointed out that a few traditional soccer nations have playoffs. And you're the one who sounds bitter, hoping for folks to die out and all... The league would be ours regardless of the format used to determine a champion. And the kids would appreciate it and the Game just as much. Their minds are still open. It's the adults who dismiss anything they don't immediately understand. They're the ones who aren't cultured enough to support a team here even if it gets relegated (not an option with ten teams, but the point stands). And they're the ones who buy tickets, so MLS does the smart business move. And that's all it is- a business move. The well-worded arguments about toughness and the extra mile, well, that's just hot air. This -all of it, from logo jerseys to overtime- is really about pandering to the xenophobic masses. Some here have described them as "fans". Who else would need to see significant differences in the American presentation of the Game to remain interested? Would you or any true soccer fan or potential soccer fan that you know reject MLS if it didn't have aspects that made it appear less "fern"? I hope not.
I have never been a fan of 'play offs' and never understood how the US fan can get excited about a "Best Of 57 game series" (That's what it seems like) BUT the stadiums fill and the franchise owners make money and that is the bottom line. Supply and demand. Having said that I watched Wolves and Wednesday in a "One Game" play off this morning. Great match to watch, winner took home the marbles. Different countries, different customs Danny lad...! Peachy Carnahan. 'The Man Who would be King'
Let’s look at this another way. The MLS right now has only 10 teams. (Franchises) That makes for a limited season for a league system of only 19 matches per team. And they have to play at the worst time of the year to get fans away from other sports. During this time they have to pay the players, the staff (Coaches, managers, grounds people etc) Travel costs in a country this size have to be a major factor as is paying for a stadium. As well as trying to get some costs back they’d like to make a small profit. That’s why they invested their money in the first place. So NINE home matches to get the people into the ground and get them to part with a little cash to support the team though a FULL YEAR. Or the next year you don’t have a team at all…! This starts to sound a tougher proposition now, doesn’t it..? So what do you do? You sell merchandise and the fans buy it as another way to support their team. You introduce a couple of tournaments and ‘start a tradition’. If the fans will support it you do it playoff style. Can’t do it without the backing of the fan. It’s getting better in this country, the kids are the key. I’ve just passed one team off to the High School they’re 16 now and I’ve had them since 11. The new U11 team we picked this year has a higher skill level already. It’s coming and a good show in the next WC will garner more support. WE do need some real mainstream media help though. End of diatribe…!!!
For the first time England's rugby union championship was settled by a play-off final. League champions Gloucester, who won the league by (I think) a record margin, lost to second placed Wasps. The general media opinion is that calling a team who finished so far behind, 'the champions' is a farce. So what if they were the best team yesterday. It's the 2002-2003 season, not the 31st May 2003 season.
The US is much bigger than England. Travel costs are the main reason our leagues have divisions (east, west, etc) in them. Playoffs are required to determine the winner of a league with divisions. However, I do agree with those who say that having 8 out of 10 teams make the playoffs is too many.
Yeah, playoffs suck. Why should the club that finishes 6th have a chance to get promoted over the 3rd, 4th, or 5th best clubs? Oh, you were talking about something else. I admit, I would prefer the supporters shield winners just be the champs, or even a conference champs go straight to the MLS Cup final format. because playoffs can be very annoying. I realize thought that single-table is not very feasible considering travel along with competition with other sports. Why not only allow six and give the conference champs byes into the semis? Or if you want to keep 8, have the tie-breaker of a 2 leg playoff be the higher seed (in case of an aggregate draw, the higher seed wins). You could even have extra time, but then the higher seed goes through. I just think that lower seeds should be punished more for their inferior regular season performance.
I'm not so sure about that. Note that until last year the NFL had teams in East Rutherford, Washington, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Arizona in the same division. And that doesn't even account for midweek games in Costa Rica or wherever the Champions Cup sends us. MLS doesn't need divisions. From perhaps the second or third division onwards that makes sense, but not necessary for MLS. Which means playoffs aren't necessary once a pure double round-robin schedule can be put in place.
The NFL is much better off financially and can afford higher travel costs than MLS. BTW, when the football Cardinals were originally placed in the NFC east, they did not play in Arizona.