Major League Soccer playoffs – don't blink, or you'll miss 'em!
by Steve Davis on Oct 26, 2011 11:44 AM EDT
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Major League Soccer’s playoffs begin today. You know the playoffs, right?
It’s that high-anxiety time everyone around MLS points toward for eight months. Really, longer than that if you count the anticipation that builds as early as the annual January draft.
And the playoffs as a concept even serve as a flashpoint for debate; plenty of supporters would rather they be eliminated outright. Others enjoy the do-or-die tension attached to Major League Soccer’s “second season.” Either way, I think we can safely say that playoff soccer sparks high emotion and ample conversation on various fronts.
So why will it be over just 12 short days from now?
OK, they won’t be totally over. MLS Cup will be decided Nov. 20 outside Los Angeles.
But 89 percent of the playoff excitement will be crammed into the next 12 days. Both conference finals are set for the weekend of Nov. 5-6. (The full playoff schedule is here.) So he most exciting, most inclusive bulk of the post-season is done and dusted over a disappointingly short stretch.
I understand Major League Soccer’s challenge here. The season footprint is fairly long as it is. (Long by U.S. sports standards, but still too brief for U.S. boss Jurgen Klinsmann.) Commissioner Don Garber and league leaders are committed to keeping the championship game a pre-Thanksgiving affair. This year, a looming international window (Nov. 11-15) added even more pressure to squeeze the proceedings into a compact space.
In the bigger picture, I know all aspects of MLS scheduling remains a major discussion point. What to do about FIFA dates, for instance, is a bruise that just won’t heal. And the playoff structure probably needs more tweaking (or a more thorough makeover in some opinions), and scheduling is inextricably linked.
So here’s hoping that the length of the playoff process can be addressed as part of the evolving structure. Because I truly believe Major League Soccer misses an opportunity to capitalize on its most exciting time. If MLS is going to have playoffs (count me among the side that favors playoff soccer, a beneficial American slant on the world’s game), then league officials should make the most of them. That probably means home-and-away series in the conference finals (rather than a one-off at the higher seed’s ground) that will prolong the window of max interest among fans and media.
I know the one-game conference finals format is partially set as such to reward regular season performance. The balance could come in one other change: allow the highest seed to host the MLS Cup final. There surely would be no higher reward for eight strong months than the right to host the final at your home ground. That’s a change I’ve advocated before – and still do.
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Bring back the best of 3 series
American sports figured out a long time ago how you reward regular season performance while getting in enough games to make sure one team doesn’t get flukily lucky (*cough*Colorado*cough*). I can’t believe the eurosnobs convinced us to abandon it.
But ...
… With ties, best-of-three is tricky. Remember how the MLS best-of-three became first-to-five points? It got kinda goofy
Replace PKs with...
best team wins the tiebreaker. That would insure obvious advantage for regular season performance and guarantee that the lower would be aggressive, creating much more open games.
Hmmm
Now that is an interesting idea. Adds weight to the season, makes sure the “weaker team” doesn’t play for 0-0 then a shootout.
For what it's worth
That’s what they do in Mexico. Home-and-home with higher seed being the tiebreaker. There are still a lot of upsets in that format.
I kinda don’t like the advantage not ‘playing out on the field.’ I don’t like “winning 2-2.”
'Gentlemen' he said,
'I don't need your organization,
I've shined your shoes,
moved your mountains and marked your cards,
but Eden is burning.
Either get ready for elimination,
or else your heart must have the courage,
for the changing of the guards.'
Steve, what went wrong???
That FCD game last nite was a true debacle from the kickoff, which I didn’t see because I was in line to get my tickets from will call at that time.
How many chances does Jackson need to score? How many errant passes can Uhemelu hit straight out of play? How many shots can Chavez hit 20 yards wide of the target? Who is #5 at left back and who told him to get on the field? Who’s idea was it to trade for Dos Santos? Why was our 1 designated player relegated to the last 13 minutes of the game? Why does Schellas still have a job today?
Could you get the answers to these questions for me please? I’m befuddled. If the Rangers weren’t playing for the WS crown tonite I would be livid still.
Chad the Ref
