OT just needs to go. Another factor is TV time. It may be easier to buy time from networks if they know that a soccer match will NOT interfere with other programming. Just a thought...
The networks they're currently buying time from don't seem to mind. And overtime isn't what's keeping MLS off any other network.
Oh, God. What a bullsh** argument. We're talking about regular season overtime, not a game that went 23 minutes into extra time. I'm surprised ABC didn't dump them for that, or mandate that they get rid of overtime.
One thought that should enter into any rules change discussion from now on, is now that a union has been formed by the players, they will have a say in competition rule changes. Any call to bring back the shootout will almost assuredly be blocked if at all possible, as players widely hate it and speak out against it even now. On the flip side, the same is probably true for my calls for unlimited (or possibly even extended) OT.
Eh. Barring something crazy, I really don't see the players striking over a rules change. They have more important priorities.
Well here's a question that might be relevant to the bargaining table: Do players receive extra pay for playing overtime? An extra time game in the regular season can be up tp 11% longer. Other unions have negotiated pay increases for overtime work, why couldn't the MLS Players' Union? Think about it: If OT exists in MLS as a marketing tool, then it must be considered to have some financial value. Why should the players, whose work establishes all this revenue, be left of of the distribution of the OT Largesse?
A little back-of-the envelope math here: Yes, OT does make the playing time longer by 11%. But not every single match has overtime. Let's say that one in every four has it. So MLS players are playing 2.75% longer for the same pay. I know! Let's raise their salaries by 2.75%! Not that a 2.75% rais is that bad in this economy, but as Stan said, the players have bigger things to fight for.
I did the math in another one of these "Oh, my gosh, overtime is just killing MLS" threads, and there were something like two players who played as many as 90 overtime minutes all told over the course of the 2002 season.