2016 Supporter Shield Winner?

[Vallos]

It is pretty simple for me. I dont look at the regular and post seasons as separate seasons... They are both part of the annual season. If you "win" the regular season, that is great. Good job. However the season is not over; you still have the post season to get through. The way I see it, if you are the "best" in the regular season, then prove it by winning the championship.

 

[Ulrich]

It is pretty simple for me. I dont look at the regular and post seasons as separate seasons... They are both part of the annual season. If you "win" the regular season, that is great. Good job. However the season is not over; you still have the post season to get through. The way I see it, if you are the "best" in the regular season, then prove it by winning the championship.

For me, the MLS Cup is really like the League Cup but stuck at the tail end of the season (with 8 teams not doing enough to earn admission) instead of spreading matches throughout the season. It'd be better if the League's Schedule was even with 2 games vs each opponent, which would be a truer barometer to tally the table, but it's understandable how they skewed it towards the home conference and 3/1 game series. With that said, I'd like to see MLS allocate the same monetary award for winning the Shield as they do the Cup - they are already equal with regard to CCL spots..... The Cup shows which team can get hot for 5+ games, but the Shield demonstrates consistency over 34 games. Each has merit.

 

[JayH]

For me, simply having the playoff system and a champion diminishes the value of best record. It's a terrific achievement (and would be even greater for a new team like us) but in my mind it's not the most important one. It's the reason hockey players don't want to touch the Presidents' Trophy - it's not the big one, and it's not what they dream about winning.

 

[ktdNYCFC]

No, the stadium thread would increase by 35 pages if we just heard that we'd definitely found a site. To hear that a 50,000 seater on Pier 40 was definitely going to happen would add at least 350 pages...

The stadium thread would add 35 pages if a Yankees employee used an atm.

 

[LionNYC]

LA had to go to Seattle on the final game of the regular season and I think Bruce rested some people, signaling that they'd give up the shield to be rested for the playoffs...and then LA beat Seattle and won the cup. Get the shield if you can, but the Cup is what matters most.

Bruce mind games...

 

[LionNYC]

The Supporter Shield is the coaster to put the MLS Cup on when it's filled with ice and champagne bottles.

 

[Falastur]

For me, simply having the playoff system and a champion diminishes the value of best record. It's a terrific achievement (and would be even greater for a new team like us) but in my mind it's not the most important one. It's the reason hockey players don't want to touch the Presidents' Trophy - it's not the big one, and it's not what they dream about winning.

I'd agree with that. The thing about a play-off system is that it rewards the teams which are best at the very end of the season, but it does nothing to justify why being the best at the end is more commendable than being the best at the beginning. Why should a post-season play-off competition winner be prized any more highly than a mid-season or pre-season play-off competition winner? Obviously you can legitimately argue that in pre- and mid-season there's no way to fairly determine which 8 teams don't qualify to even enter, but still, why is putting on a good run late-season so commendable if you weren't that good earlier?

My feelings are, if you want a play-off competition then call it a cup and make it run alongside the season. If you really want to reward short term performance then have 2 or 3 of these cups, just for MLS teams, each running over the course of just a handful of months, a bit like a pared-down League Cup in England. But the league itself will always be the ultimate proof of which the best team is.

 

[JayH]

For me, simply having the playoff system and a champion diminishes the value of best record. It's a terrific achievement (and would be even greater for a new team like us) but in my mind it's not the most important one. It's the reason hockey players don't want to touch the Presidents' Trophy - it's not the big one, and it's not what they dream about winning.

I probably wrote this terribly. What I meant is that if you have a playoff system and a cup to crown a champion, that becomes the most important achievement in my mind. It would be a proud moment to win the SS but not one about which I would cry happy tears (as compared to the MLS Cup where you may see the floodgates open).

 

[Viewfrom226]

I probably wrote this terribly. What I meant is that if you have a playoff system and a cup to crown a champion, that becomes the most important achievement in my mind. It would be a proud moment to win the SS but not one about which I would cry happy tears (as compared to the MLS Cup where you may see the floodgates open).

I agree. Intellectually the SS is the better reflection of a good season with less luck factor, but the cup is the one you want.

 

[canchon]

I want NYCFC to win the shield. It's harder to win and illustrates which team was the best over the 34 game season.

It's true that the MLS cup doesn't choose the best team over the long haul. But it does choose the champion - last time I checked you don't get a star on your jersey for the Shield. Better or worse it is what it is.

Oh, and every year there will be player(s) who say that the Shield is more important because they won the Shield and then lost in the playoffs.

 

[JayH]

Oh, and every year there will be player(s) who say that the Shield is more important because they won the Shield and then lost in the playoffs.

My friend who is a RB fan routinely argues this to me. I think he's full of shit.

 

[Paul]

My friend who is a RB fan routinely argues this to me. I think he's full of shit.

This is the crux of it isn't it? A lot of NYCFC supporters seem to have adopted the position that the shield doesn't really matter simply because it's all the Red Bulls have ever won. I personally think it's shortsighted and contrary to the history of this sport to dismiss the regular season championship. I just wish we had a balanced schedule.

 

[JayH]

This is the crux of it isn't it? A lot of NYCFC supporters seem to have adopted the position that the shield doesn't really matter simply because it's all the Red Bulls have ever won. I personally think it's shortsighted and contrary to the history of this sport to dismiss the regular season championship. I just wish we had a balanced schedule.

If someone were to offer me NYCFC winning the SS or the Cup, it wouldn't even be close, it's the Cup. It has nothing to do with what the RB have and have not won. It doesn't mean I do not think that winning the SS is an incredible achievement and also that it is a much better indicator of the best team throughout the season. I love how it's done abroad, which is what I have enjoyed for many years. But since it's not the format here, I get more excited about a championship, without dismissing the merit of the SS. And I definitely appreciate those who think otherwise.

 

[Goodfella]

Are those facts under contention?

assuming the handball was Lampard's goal in Seattle then yeah.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

assuming the handball was Lampard's goal in Seattle then yeah.

Wait, people think that wasn't a handball?

 

[Kevin]

This isn't the "Would you rather win the SS or Cup" thread. You're a fool if you think there is a soul here that wouldn't want to win the cup over the SS. This was just made because we finished bottom three last year, and to go from that (with a shitty backline) to number one is something to feel good about. Calm down, we all want to win the cup.

 

[LionNYC]

This isn't the "Would you rather win the SS or Cup" thread. You're a fool if you think there is a soul here that wouldn't want to win the cup over the SS. This was just made because we finished bottom three last year, and to go from that (with a shitty backline) to number one is something to feel good about. Calm down, we all want to win the cup.

I want to win MLS Cup.

I want to win the Supporter's Shield.

I want to win the MLS Cup more than the Supporter's Shield.

I'm disappointed if we win the Supporter's Shield but don't win the MLS Cup.

 

[JayH]

This isn't the "Would you rather win the SS or Cup" thread. You're a fool if you think there is a soul here that wouldn't want to win the cup over the SS. This was just made because we finished bottom three last year, and to go from that (with a shitty backline) to number one is something to feel good about. Calm down, we all want to win the cup.

I can only imagine what you would say if you started the Stadium Discussion thread.

 

[LionNYC]

I think the better would you rather win is:

- The American Treble: US Open Cup, Supporter's Shield, MLS Cup
- The Continental Treble: Us Open Cup, MLS Cup, Champions League Cup

 

[Lasker]

I think the better would you rather win is:

- The American Treble: US Open Cup, Supporter's Shield, MLS Cup
- The Continental Treble: Us Open Cup, MLS Cup, Champions League Cup

Has any team ever accomplished either of those?

Maybe it's just me but I think the CCL is huge because no MLS team has ever won it. As long as that's the case, I'd take the CCL trophy over the shield. If we aren't the first, its a toss-up and I'd probably lean towards the shield.

PS - What do you think?