The 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs

so you saw Liverpool v Spurs happening in CL last year? or Croatia making the WC Final? the best teams don't always win, but sometimes they do. ATL won MLS cup last year and were only 1 point off the supporter's shield. does that make it a random win since they weren't officially the best team in the league?

I think the playoff/tournament system is a great way to add drama in a shorter timespan than league play. You would expect the best teams to win it, but things happen in shorter time spans and less games. That's what makes it exciting. If the world cup or champions league were played out like regular leagues were, there probably wouldn't be as much excitement about either of them as there is in their current form.

While the top leagues of the world are great to watch as a fan of the beautiful game, it gets a bit boring when you know the league will be won by the same 1 or 2 teams every year. At least the EPL has the big 6.. but even that's more like the big 2 these days.

what you say is true ( though liverpool who was a favorite won, and france another candidate won) I just feel like the chances of randomness are higher in MLS becasuse....its MLS.
 
Why is it any different than any other sport in the US? The best team in those other sports might not win their respective championships. Doesn't bother you there.

The whole playoffs in soccer bashing never made sense to me. The world cup is essentially mini leagues with playoffs. Same with champions league. No one complains about that.

Who said it doesn’t bother me there ? It’s one of the reasons I like European socccer more than American sports . I don’t really bother watching regular season baseball , hockey or basketball because the games are pretty much meaningless only watch NFL because the season is so short the Games at lest pseudo matter .
 
what you say is true ( though liverpool who was a favorite won, and france another candidate won) I just feel like the chances of randomness are higher in MLS becasuse....its MLS.

I won't argue that MLS isn't more random than international or european competitions. I'm just saying the format is the same. they're all playoff/tournament.

I kinda like not knowing who is going to win MLS and other than a few outliers, MLS generally has very good parity in league play as well.

Who said it doesn’t bother me there ? It’s one of the reasons I like European socccer more than American sports . I don’t really bother watching regular season baseball , hockey or basketball because the games are pretty much meaningless only watch NFL because the season is so short the Games at lest pseudo matter .

You're right. I made an assumption about the other sports. But doesn't it bother you seeing the same 1 or 2 teams winning their league every year? Just asking out of curiosity. I personally love watching european soccer and follow EPL/La Liga, but it's moreso because the quality of play is high and entertaining to watch. I would prefer if there were more upsets..
 
The World Cup and UEFA Champions League use a single elimination format because they have to. These competitions are limited in how many games they can play, and so revert to a knockout tournament because that's what requires the fewest number of games.

Domestic leagues do not have a constraint on the number of games, and so they almost invariably do a home-and-home round robin and award their trophy to the team that tops the table - and yes, there are also domestic tournaments, but those cups are not considered as prestigious as the league title.

The USA and MLS are outliers in this regard - having adopted America's love affair with knockout tournaments, which are much more fun, but a much worse way to determine the best team.
 
The World Cup and UEFA Champions League use a single elimination format because they have to. These competitions are limited in how many games they can play, and so revert to a knockout tournament because that's what requires the fewest number of games.

Domestic leagues do not have a constraint on the number of games, and so they almost invariably do a home-and-home round robin and award their trophy to the team that tops the table - and yes, there are also domestic tournaments, but those cups are not considered as prestigious as the league title.

The USA and MLS are outliers in this regard - having adopted America's love affair with knockout tournaments, which are much more fun, but a much worse way to determine the best team.

World Cup is single elimination but CL has 2-legs in the knockout rounds. I get your point though. They are how they are due to time constraints and the logistics of competing throughout europe.

Agree knockout tournaments are more fun but at least there is a supporter's shield to determine the best team in league play, while it may not be as important in status. I also think playoffs are necessary in a league that doesn't have relegation/promotion. it encourages teams, who are basically mid-table in their conference, to keep fighting for the chance to win a championship. If there was no playoff and no relegation, the only things motivating a team is their love of the game and competitive spirit. While it's been shown that even teams with nothing to play for often do continue playing to their potential, playoffs help to ensure there isn't a letdown of intensity toward the end of the season when a team knows it won't be relegated.
 
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World Cup is single elimination but CL has 2-legs in the knockout rounds. I get your point though. They are how they are due to time constraints and the logistics of competing throughout europe.

Agree knockout tournaments are more fun but at least there is a supporter's shield to determine the best team in league play, while it may not be as important in status. I also think playoffs are necessary in a league that doesn't have relegation/promotion. it encourages teams, who are basically mid-table in their conference, to keep fighting for the chance to win a championship. If there was no playoff and no relegation, the only things motivating a team is their love of the game and competitive spirit. While it's been shown that even teams with nothing to play for often do continue playing to their potential, playoffs help to ensure there isn't a letdown of intensity toward the end of the season when a team knows it won't be relegated.
I agree that the lack of pro/rel is one reason that playoffs are important to MLS.
 
all the brackets
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I agree that the lack of pro/rel is one reason that playoffs are important to MLS.

Will also be the reason 50% of the field participates. Can't have teams playing for nothing after August. They want Colorado-type chances every year, where the last place team for the first half of the season can surge and compete for a chance to win the Cup right up until Decision Day.
 
Meaning the door is open for Atlanta to back into the title and then tell everyone how they were the best team all year.
What I actually found more annoying last year than the Atlanta fans themselves, were the fans of all the other teams making sarcastic comments online about how "Atlanta United fans have suffered through so much."
 
I think Toronto is the least annoying option left. SoupInNYC SoupInNYC is right that some of the anti-atlanta stuff has gotten annoying, but that doesn't mean the Atlanta fans haven't brought some of that on themselves. They still seem to think they're entitled to a PK at least once every home game and if not the refs are killing them. Seattle fans act like they invented soccer by winning a Cup with zero shots on goal. Toronto fans are just, Canadian.
 
to be fair LAFC didn't lose in the semi-final.. so technically, they should have regained their rhythm for the conf. final match just a week after the semi-final. but fair point on our game for sure!
Sure, but LAFC looked like a shell of themselves. Gave up 6g in two matches - that’s crazy - and that was from the best defense in the league. They definitely weren’t in sync. And well, NYCFC looked like they woke up about 10min before kickoff.
 
And yet, given the choice, assuming at least some players are exhausted or banged up at that point, wouldn't you always opt for the extra week? Seems like the lesser of two evils.
 
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