I can't believe that people make statements like this - its this kind of backward thinking that gives us 8 teams in the playoffs now and makes the end of the season so boring. Fewer teams in the playoffs gives us a better likelihood of more meaningFUL games toward the end of the season. Since the beginning of September, the only thing left to decide in MLS is who will finish last in the EAST. If 3 or even 2 teams made the playoffs from each conf. instead of 4, almost every game would have playoff implications. As it stands now, I'll be napping until November when the playoffs start.
I couldn't agree more Jake. I didn't know we had another Wizards fan in St. Louis. I'm living in St. Louis now and drive over for most of the games. Stop by the KC boards sometime.
I may not have made myself clear. When I said that fewer teams in the playoffs meant fewer meaningful games, I meant in the group scenario I put forth above. As MLS stands now, and playoff seeding is next to irrelevant with the home-and-home, aggregate goals system (one devised specifically to NEGATE any home-field advantage), you're absolutely right, once you're in the playoffs, the games mean virtually nothing. In fact, it is often wiser to rest players once you're in, making those games almost farcical. But, if playoff seeding is made more important, and every place above you is worth fighting for, those games are meaningful. And, only when you're out of the playoffs, they are not. Once you're eliminated from playoff contention, what, exactly, is there to play for? I did not mean to say that, in general, more teams in the playoffs mean more meaningful games. That, as you have correctly pointed out, is ridiculous.
This playoff format is good enough for me. I didn't hate the 'first to five' either but this is okay. I think the number of teams that make playoffs is just fine. It'll seem more normal after a couple expansions. (Something I've said in the distant past.) I'd prefer to stay in the aggragate thing on every round but the final, but this is close enough. I'm not big into the Saturday games except that they make more money. (I work Saturdays most of the time...)