MLS Cup 2024 hosting scenarios: Where will the final be held? https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-cup-2024-hosting-scenarios-where-will-the-final-be-held Eastern and Western Conference Semifinals Matchups Set in Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/east...ls-matchups-set-in-audi-2024-mls-cup-playoffs Inter Miami, Lionel Messi suffer stunning playoff exit to Atlanta https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/42296246/inter-miami-lionel-messi-atlanta-united-mls-playoffs Atlanta United shocks Miami, advances in MLS playoffs https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-...s-in-mls-playoffs/HM4LXEXKKVDF3CBFABJXSHJM5I/ Messi, Inter Miami ousted from MLS playoffs after stunning 3-2 loss to Atlanta United https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mls/inter-miami/article295263059.html Ex-Aston Villa man laughs in Luis Suarez’s face as his taunting backfires in MLS Cup https://talksport.com/football/2249818/brad-guzan-laughs-in-luis-suarez-face-mls/ “Cry More”- Fan War Erupts As Lionel Messi Fans Attack Referee Over Controversial Decision After Inter Miami’s MLS Cup Elimination by Atlanta United https://www.essentiallysports.com/s...-miami-mls-cup-elimination-by-atlanta-united/ Messi’s Playoff Defeat Is An Upset Of MLS, Apple TV’s Own Making https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianquillen/2024/11/10/messis-playoff-defeat-is-an-upset-of-mls-apple-tvs-own-making/ 'You're a coward!' - Jordi Alba's furious rant to referee after Inter Miami shockingly eliminated from MLS playoffs by Atlanta United https://www.goal.com/en-au/lists/co...s-playoffs-atlanta-united/bltc3b5b1f1e8203de0 Tata Martino Throws Shade at Atlanta United For Lack of Sportsmanship As Inter Miami Crashes Out of MLS Cup https://www.essentiallysports.com/s...er-miami-crashes-out-of-mls-cup-lionel-messi/ Inter Miami's Jordi Alba calls MLS postseason format 'unfair' https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/42301274/inter-miamis-jordi-alba-calls-mls-postseason-format-unfair Orlando City draw even late, sink Charlotte FC in PKs https://www.espn.com/soccer/report/_/gameId/722584 Facundo Torres rallies Orlando City to 4-1 shootout win over Charlotte in first-round rubber match https://www.stardem.com/ap/nation/s...cle_d47de3b4-e6f6-5d93-83fe-ff0d7c61797e.html NYCFC eliminates Cincinnati in wild shootout https://www.espn.com/soccer/report/_/gameId/722581 NYCFC advances to Eastern Conference semifinals after 9-round penalty-kick shootout https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5910767/2024/11/09/nycfc-fc-cincinnati-mls-cup-playoffs/ FC Cincinnati eliminated from MLS Cup after falling short to New York City FC in penalty kicks https://www.wlwt.com/article/fc-cincinnati-narrowly-falls-to-new-york-city-fc-in-mls-cup/62859825 FC Cincinnati's 2024 season ends with penalty kick shootout loss to NYCFC https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/soccer/fc-cincinnati/2024/11/09/fc-cincinnati-nycfc-play-for-a-spot-in-eastern-conference-semifinals-mls-playoffs-inter-miami/76159319007/ David Beckham rocked by Lionel Messi quit claims weeks after FIFA scandal https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/lionel-messi-transfer-inter-miami-34076762 North Texas SC wins MLS NEXT Pro Cup with a 3-2 win over Philadelphia Union II https://www.bigdsoccer.com/north-texas-sc-vs-philadelphia-union-ii-mls-next-pro-cup-recap-scores/ Union reserve team loses MLS Next Pro league title game, in another blown lead heartbreak https://www.inquirer.com/soccer/philadelphia-union-mls-next-pro-north-texas-pedrinho-20241109.html
Ouch! Messi and Inter Miami have been eliminated in the MLS Cup Playoffs. pic.twitter.com/xbqkZcyjru— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 10, 2024 This just shows how difficult it is to win in MLS and overaged superstars don't win MLS CUPS or even help advance in the playoffs.
it shows the best of three format is garbage and no matter what people complain. Vancouver fans are complaining because they think they should win on aggregate and Miami complains because they get nothing for being the SS winner. It all sucks and no one is happy. 18 out of 29 teams making it is further dilution of the level of play.
My team in San Jose won the SS in 2012, lost to the Galaxy in the playoffs and LA won the MLS Cup that same season. The Quakes fired their coach of the year (Frank Yallop) the very next year (in 2013) and no one cared or really remembered their historic season two seasons later (in 2014) when they came in 18th and lost to Chivas USA , a team that folded shortly after. Anywhere else in the world they will have gone from winning the entire league to being relegated only 2 years later but that didn't happen here. It is not impossible or uncommon to go worst to first in MLS but still, the table in this league anyway, virtually means nothing other than a place in the CCL and even that tournament is still trying to establish itself with fans. Sadly, North American sports are all about "the playoffs" who wins the final championship game and I don't think that will ever change.
I’m a bit disappointed because I wanted to see Miami and Messi make a run, but they lost so that is that. The SS does not mean you won the league or deserve to win the league.
The SS like the wooden spoon is a made up award and doesn’t mean much at all. There is no prize for getting the SS other than maybe a plaque and getting into the CCL or a better placement in the postseason playoffs. That CCL tournament also still is not all that relevant in the eyes of fans and even though the powers that be want to make it into some type of UEFA CL, it’s still light years away from anything like or close to it. I’d say it may be a little better or more competitive than playing summer exhibition games against top teams but I don’t think it’s close to drawing as many fans and there isn’t much money in that tournament either. In North America we are all about the Super Bowl, The World Series, The Grey and Stanley Cups and NBA Finals. The MLS Cup is modeled after them and I don’t see it changing anytime soon.
The SS is a made up award but the regular season winner is the league champion in 99% of pro soccer. It is important to the players for the hard work of winning and main ring a good record over a 10 month period. Have a different tournament or cup for the bullshit post season but diminishing the real work is disrespectful.
Oh yes and I would agree but that’s not the case in the USA , Canada or for that matter, in MLS. It’s all about , “The Playoffs” and the winner or the Final game.
Even if that number is true why should it be 100 percent? Playoffs are an ingrained part of American sporting culture, and our traditions count for something as well. Can’t get it done in the playoffs? Your “real work” is not good enough.
Even further , if you don’t win the big game, you are in the eyes of many, considered a loser. Fran Tarkenton & Jim Kelly losing 4 Super Bowls each have never lived it down. Same with Dan Marino losing the only one he appeared in as a rookie. This is just just the way people think and there is no changing it that I can see.
The math. How many leagues are there and is the number that awards the champion simply by the regular season table really 99%?
Really? Apparently the point went way over your head. There are 211 major leagues in the world considered top-tier by FIFA. 190 of those use a single season and the winner of that season is the winner of the league. 15 of those 211 use a apertura/clausura format where the champion is determined by the winner of each of those seasons. 205/211 is 97%.
The main leagues that don't use the single season winner or the apertura/clausura are USA/Canada/Belgium/Australia/China/Peru.
Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Greece, Colombia. More than six. But I'm glad we agree that it isn't 99%.
Including these 5 leagues brings to 11 the number that's relevant to the point. Allowing for 11, it brings the percentage to roughly 95%. For the sake of the discussion, I'd contend that anything at 90% or higher supports the spirit of the point made, and that the differences between 99 and 97 and 95 or even down to 90 are too nuanced to change anything in the discussion. 9 outta 10 leagues represents a preponderance, which I think is the point the commentor intended to convey.
My list was not comprehensive; it was just a few more that I knew of without looking up much. If I were inclined to get deep in the weeds, I would also quibble with using the full FIFA membership of 211 as the denominator. There is no dispute that awarding the championship based on the league table is the standard used in the large majority of leagues. However, throwing out figures like "99%" presents the false narrative that MLS, in deviating from that standard, is on the edge of being a unique outlier, and it ignores the variety of league formats that exist.
Leagues that have two playoffs in a year are leagues that have playoffs. They are not leagues where "the regular season winner is the league champion" as per your original assertion.