PBP: 2025 MLS Playoffs Round 1 Game 3 PBP Thread November 7 - 9 {R}

Wishing you all the best for a speedy recovery!

 

They mentioned on the Spanish broadcast that it's because San Diego State is playing a college football game at the stadium that Saturday.

 

Holy cow this playoff format is terrible. Best-of-three for 16 different teams is impossible to keep track of in your head, and then anybody who does manage to keep up with all that has to wait two weeks for the next round.

Best-of-three is just a bad format full stop. Add to that the ridiculousness of immediate PKs if it's tied and it's nearly unwatchable. I know the idea is that Messi can't possibly lose a best-of-three two years in a row and the format means MLS has now gotten the payout from six Messi playoff games, soon to be seven.

For whatever reason, the next Messi game is not on TV. Instead, it's literally the worst matchup remaining in the playoffs: the 1v5 seed game (east coast bias?).

Also, Sunday and Monday? No games on Saturday? MLS is really choosing for the entire schedule to go head-to-head with the NFL on school nights?

Are we locked into this nonsense for next year, or is there a chance that somebody comes up with something better?

 

The Philadelphia/NYCFC game is on TV? I haven't seen that on the schedule.

 

I like the format. Everyone gets a game at home. It’s not all tactical like aggregate goals can be. Higher seed gets a clear advantage. Penalties are fun. Lots of games to watch. And then simple knockouts later. The international break gives time to sell tickets and make plans. It works for me. I just wish the Rapids would qualify!

 

They are expecting a huge crowd in Vancouver and in Cincinnati tickets prices on resale are expensive.

 

"Let's keep on adding more teams to the league that share a stadium or don't have one of their own so games can be moved around to give priority to the other sport"- MLS

Just have the Eastern Conference semis on Saturday and the Western Conference Semis on Sunday.

As for the best of 3 series just go back to home and away IF getting a home game is so important for the teams that didn't do enough in the regular season to finish higher up the table. Almost everyone in CONCACAF does the home and away series. It's why Liga MX teams are so good at managing this type of series because they do it twice a year in their play offs plus in CCC. MLS is always coming up with weird formats and schedules that really don't maximize fan attendance IF that is their goal.

 

I'm sure if Sd could host on Sunday they would. Given that MWC games are fodder for the late-night slot there's a very good chance that the SDSU game won't finish until around 11pm local time, so they probably can't turn the stadium over in time for a Sunday afternoon/evening MLS game (there would be 16-20 hours between the end of SDSU and the beginning of the MLS playoff game).

Now it will be MLS's luck that SDSU gets picked for an early TV slot that weekend and there would have been time, but you can't put your hopes on that when announcing a schedule right now.

 

I somehow misread the VAN-LAFC date-time-group as being also on Sunday. My bad. Also, as an Atlanta season ticket holder, I'm well aware of Atlanta's dominance last year over the Fighting Pink Barcelona. I'm very upset that we were unable to repeat that episode this year. Apple gets all the games, including the ones on Fox; I assume Fox gets to choose which one(s) it wants to put on TV. Why choose Philly-NYC?

It's on FS1, according to the MLS website.

 

In general, I agree. The only problem with this format is that, heading into game 3, SEA with 4 pts, MIN with 2: The game ends in a draw, so SEA advances no matter what, rendering the game 3 PK shootout moot. And that would have deprived us of that epic shootout.

 

So we had some outstanding tie-breakers and big crowds at the weekend and at the end of day 8 of the top 9 teams in MLS this season advanced.

 

Here’s the thing.

The problems you’re talking about here, they’re all a lot more complicated than you’re allowing for.

If everything was as simple as you think it is, well, every league would be super successful because it’s so easy to do.

 

And the only one that didn’t was a 4-5 matchup in which the higher seed’s best player missed a game due to suspension.

 

Over half a million have watched the playoffs so far and 8 of the top 9 teams in the Shield will meet in the Conference semis.

As messed up as the format is, it's absolutely maximized revenue while preserving the benefits of the regular season.

I would prefer two additional regular season games and a one game playoff but I like the fact that the higher seeded team gets home advantage.

 

Relevant for a certain poster in these threads

 

MLS is scared of going up against the NFL and College Football.....on Sunday and Monday nights, they're only going up against one NFL game each.

 

But you also ended up with a team advancing with two draws and a loss, which should NEVER happen.

Get rid of PK shootouts in Games 1/2, with the higher seed getting Game 3 at home IF AND ONLY IF the first two games result either in one regulation win for each team or two draws (i.e. a tie). If they do what Minnesota did (draw Game 1 at home and lose Game 2 on the road), they should be eliminated after Game 2.

 

You get the same level of drama from a single-elimination game.

In any event, the winner of Game 1 in these series advanced through every single one. Last season was 6 of 8, 2023 was 8 of 8.

If the results are this lopsided towards the Game 1 winner, what's the point of dragging this out over 3 weekends?

 

Minnesota has advanced out of this round twice now with 0 wins in 5 matches, which is frankly impressive.

 

Liga MX has no problem with scheduling games on Wednesday/Thursday and then Saturday/Sunday. Scheduling games on Monday skipping a weekend should really hurt revenues which is what they want the most.