1. Top 7 teams go to the Playoffs. The Supporters Shield winner gets a first round bye an dgoes straight into the semi-final round against the lowest seed. Seed 2 v Seed 7, Seed 3 v Seed 6, Seed 4 v Seed 5 Semis like we do them now. Now - that is a HUGE reward for the SS winner. 2. First to 4 Points. Not the first time this has been brought up - but how about this: Game 1 at the home of the low seed. Game 2 and Game 3 if necesary at the home of the higher seed. Game 1 Saturday - Game 2 Saturday - Game 3 that Wednesday. 1st to 4 is a glorified home and home. Here the top seed knows the result it needs and will be at home to get it, no matter what. It reduces travel expenses and travel fatigue and Game 3 tickets can be sold immediately after Game 2 to fans already there - discounted even. Aside from LA, attendance this playoffs has been a tour de depression. 1st to 5 is a farce. This wed - sat - wed - sat - wed - sat grind is a farce. There is no frigging way anyone outside of MLS will take the league and its playoff seriously when we can only muster between 8,000 - 11,000 fans at a game. Why would ESPN and ABC want to show these games? Why would they take the league seriously when MLS turns its own playoffs into a joke?
If MLS goes to a mid March to mid November season like they are planning next year, every playoff game could be played on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Even with a mid-season break. MLS Cup could be played 11/16/2003 SF - Game 3 11/8/2003 SF - Game 2 11/1/2003 SF - Game 1 10/25/2003 QF - Game 3 10/18/2003 QF - Game 2 10/11/2003 QF - Game 1 10/4/2003 28 - 9/27 27 - 9/20 26 - 9/13 25 - 9/6 24 - 8/30 23 - 8/23 22 - 8/16 21 - 8/9 20 - 8/6 (WED) All Star Game - 8/2 19 - 7/4 18 - 6/28 17 - 6/21 16 - 6/14 15 - 6/7 14 - 5/31 13 - 5/24 12 - 5/21 (WED) 11 - 5/17 10 - 5/10 9 - 5/3 8 - 4/26 7 - 4/19 6 - 4/16 (WED) 5 - 4/12 4 - 4/5 3 - 3/29 2 - 3/22 1 - 3/15
Don't know if it's good to compare the A-League to MLS in terms of operation... ...however, the top two seeds this year (Seattle, Charleston) both received their byes, then crashed out in the quarterfinal round. To be fair, Milwaukee won the whole shooting match, and did have a bye to speak of. Of course, they had the added inducement of battling their dear friends Minnesota off the bye. #1 crashed out after their bye in 2001, as well. Hate to think that the Shield would turn out to be a curse. That would have more of a deleterious effect on the end of the regular season IMO.
You guys are probably thinking about improvement from a fans standpoint. If you look at the league from a MLS financial health standpoint here are some points to mull over. 1. Having 8 of 10 teams make the playoffs, and having extreme parity (which MLS now has) was great for late season attendance at the bottom end of the table. Yeah, fans may not like having 8 of 10 teams make the playoffs, and it makes us worse than hockey, but it does make money, keep fans in more cities interested, and more late season games enjoyable. I say keep it until MLS expands. 2. Nobody attends the midweek games, and if they're shown on TV it's just sad. Eliminate as many midweek games as you can, and pile special events such as doubleheaders on as many as you have left. It boosts attendance and generates a better atmosphere for TV. 3. Nobody goes to the early season games in cold weather, so eliminate the early end of the season. Also, start the first two or three weeks in the warmer climates. Delay season openers for teams like New England, Chicago and Colorado. 4. Nobody wants to attend games in brutal heat, so minimize the July-August games in places like Dallas. If the league is toying with the idea of having a doubleheader in a dome, then this is the time to do it in a hot weather town. 5. Casual fans lose interest once the NFL season begins, so try to end the season (and the first round of the playoffs) before it does. The first couple of weeks of the college season there are very few big games as many contenders play weaklings, so there is some wiggle room in there for a couple of weeks, but after that, our attendance disappears. While MLS doesn't have a huge overlap with baseball fans, it does have a considerable overlap with NFL fans. 6. Shorten the playoffs. Either make it a one game affair, or a two game aggregate deal. Eight teams with 3 game series make things difficult. It forces midweek games and it pushes the season into an NFL overlap. 7. Cross-market with many different things. The international double headers with big foreign clubs is great. The doubleheader with foreign national teams is great. Having halftime events like singers or fireworks is great. 8. Make the 4th of July and Cinco de Mayo MLS staples. Colorado already has a July 4th tradition which is very successful. Like the NFL's Thanksgiving games involving Detroit and Dallas, MLS needs to brand half the league for each event. Some areas, like New York, New England and DC already have heavy competition for July 4th festivities, but I'm not aware of any well organized Cinco de Mayo activities along the same scale. I think MLS could fill this void as well. 9. Try to fix more dates in advance so the ticket promoters can do their job well. Difficult I know, but somehow we need to find a way. 10. Let clubs negotiate their media rights independantly with help from the league, rather than centrally. The goal should be to put every game on radio, and as many on TV as possible. I think grass-roots negotiations may make this a reality sooner. Well, those are my ideas to help the league improve. I think the playoffs would be improved most if more people followed the game, so that's the key for me. (well I'm trying to bring my post back on topic ).
Honestly, the best improvement that could be made to the MLS playoffs would be a change to single-elimination: It's easy to schedule. Seven games total, including MLS Cup. No more, no less. You could put all the playoff games on the weekends and still keep the playoffs relatively short. Three weekends, including MLS Cup. It rewards the teams with the better records in the regular season. You win enough games, you play at home in the playoffs. It's damn exciting. Victory or death. It's that whole Game 3 tension without the bother of Games 1 and 2. It's ridiculously easy to understand. I dismiss the whole "some teams wouldn't get any home playoff games" argument, by saying "So what?" This ain't friggin' AYSO. If you want home playoff games, you gotta earn them over the previous six months. If your team isn't very good, then don't complain that they're not playing at home at all during the playoffs. Go complain to your team.
In two seasons, WUSA has has had a grand total of 6 post season games. And let me tell you this. They've all been riveting, pulsating, exciting soccer. Everything is on the line, all games are winner-take-all. I am not adverse to single elimination in MLS.
I say goto Single elim also... But for the person saying don't play in the cold weather months, then end the season before NFL starts...I have the same view, but its impossible no matter which way you look at it... What the season runs from april-july? MLS Cup playoffs in August??? a 5 month season, what is that? hah...especially if they take the break in july or whenever? April-October season looks good to me, with MLS Cup and its single elim 2 week playoffs (3 weeks counting the final) in november... And Get rid of the All-Star game..please... If ABC wants to do 3 games why not opening day, 4th of July and MLS Cup...and if 4th of July can't be done cuz of local committments have em show a freakin playoff game...way more important..
I think that MLS shouldn't announce how many teams get into the playoffs until the regular season ends, that way everyone feels suprised.