Then what would be the point of a Conference Champion? The problem is that this same phenomenon is happening in the NHL and NBA. Western superiority. In two years it could be reversed. Or it could be more even. Don't over-react. As for the WUSA, there are only two teams west of the Appalachians. It would be impractical to have two divisions.
One table should only come about when everyone plays just a home-and-home against every other team in the league. Given the current 28-game season, this can only happen when at least 15 (preferably 16)teams are involved. Having a single table where certain teams have to face SJ four times while others face them only twice seems ridiculous. I do think MLS's master plan should be to have one table, 16 teams, 30 games a year--then grow from there if warranted.
Well, this thread has been interesting, many valid points, most well taken. I must admit that I was playing the Devil’s Advocate when I started the thread, not out of any desire to troll, but rather because I am divided on the issue. I still lean toward favoring a single table, mainly because it seems to make more sense to have an even playing field, where everyone plays each other an even number of times throughout the season. I still don’t think travel expenses would make that big of a difference, as I’m sure most leagues in the country, including MLS, have deals with airlines to get reduced rates for flying frequently and in large groups. Some difference, I’m sure of it – but a big enough difference to warrant the creative composition of the divisions that MLS has seen over it’s history? Anyone want to do the requisite research and post some numbers? As Autogolazo just posted, the only problem, logistically, with the single table as the league now stands is that the season would need to be severely shortened to account for a home and away series or a serious lengthening of the season to account for each team to play each other four times. Either of those things are unlikely to happen. Three meetings between each team would seem out of the question also, as the tough decision would be where to play the third match: a neutral site? A coin toss? Neither sounds palatable. For now, we’re stuck with divisions, like it or lump it. But I do think a single table is something the league needs to look forward to as they formulate long-term goals.
Lucid, You've got a valid point about geography dictating American rivalries. Clearly, divisions in Amer. sports exist to reduce travel-time, expenses, etc., and to foster regional rivalries (i.e., Cubs v. Cardinals, Redskins v. Giants, etc.). A single table works in England because the country is relatively small (vis-a-vis, the U.S.). Why do we arbitrarily divide phone #s btwn/ the 3rd and 4th digit? (555-5555, e.g.) Because our brains can process 2 smaller strings easier than a single, 7-digit string. Why do the Cubs play the Cards more than the Mariners and A's? Because it enhances a pre-existing geographical rivalry, i.e., it's logical. Why do the Mets play the Cubs and Cards more than the Mariners and A's? You got me! (The answer is: they don't anymore. That's why MLB tore down the wall btwn/ the NL and AL. Because, the division was arbitrary and no longer served its original purpose of creating artificially-induced rivalries). The rivalry btwn/ Everton and Liverpool doesn't diminish just because they play each other 2x a year (right?). My point is: if MLB and NFL were single tables, Cubs/Cards and Redskins/Giants would still be major rivalries on account of their geographical proximity.
Well, it is true that humans remember seven-digit numbers more easily than eight-digit or higher-numbers (after seven digits is where people's memory gets spotty), I think the separation actually has more to do with the telephone equipment itself and the switches, which are way too technical for me to truly grasp. Basically everything on, say, 420-XXXX is on one set of whatever it is, and everything on 421-XXXX is on another. At least that's what people in the telephone industry tell me. That's supposedly also the reason that they have to keep adding area codes, and can't just make your phone number 8 digits long...it's more a technology thing, they'd have to replace all the telephony equipment and that's not going to happen. We now return you to another regularly-scheduled, drawn-out discussion of Something Else You Won't See in MLS.
Even the NFL, the richest sports league in America (and probably the world) just rearranged all of its divisions to make more sense geographically and cut down on travel expenses. A few teams still seem out of place when you look at a map, but I know the San Francisco 49ers are happy that they now have divisional rivals in Arizona and Seattle rather than New Orleans, Atlanta, and Charlotte. I read that this year their total mileage for travel to road games will be something like a third of what it was last year, when they did not have a road game west of St. Louis.
They still couldn't get Dallas in the right place, though, could they? The NFL had to do something...with 32 teams, and Houston guaranteed to be an AFC team, they couldn't have 17-15 or just move somebody and go with divisions of 5-6-5 in each conference. They took the opportunity to streamline things. With ten teams, a single table isn't such a bad deal, except you have to figure out who you're not going to play as often as the others (unless you want to play 18 games or 36, and if you play 18, everybody bitches because the rest of the world plays more than that, and 36 is too many). With a 14-team league you can play 26 matches. With a 16-team league you can play 30, which wouldn't be the end of the world, but a 16th-place team is something nobody wants to be, but somebody would have to be.
Re: Re: MLS: One League, One Table When you have twice as many teams as there are games in a season you have to have divisions.
Playoffs, conferences good I love the Supporter's Shield - the fact that some of you guys conceived that and made it happen is awesome. But I do not want to see the playoffs foresaken to ge in line with the way it's done in jolly old ***************land. Remember the World Cup? That tournament stuff is exciting. And somewhere between league table and tournament format you get to the truth of who really has the best team. Besides, the conference thing is a hook for American media and general sports fans. I got no problem with that. It also fosters rivalries between teams and fans who should know better. But that makes sense, we're sports fans, we go out of our way to get excited about a bunch of nonsense and hooplah. Vive la systeme Americaine. Oh, but give us promotion and relegation please.