I hate the MLS playoffs.
A quote from a Soccernet article frustrates me because it speaks to one of the things I don’t like about American sports:
It really doesn’t matter what you do during the year as long as you get into the playoffs,” Reis said. “And once you’re in the playoffs, that’s when the season really starts.
First of all, it does matter what you do in the regular season because if you don’t perform well there, you don’t go to the playoffs. Of course, in the MLS, you can perform horrendously all year, barely make the playoffs, and then win the MLS cup a la the 2005 LA Galaxy.
And no one seems to care. Everyone is just like, “oh, they hit their stride in the playoffs” or “oh, they fell apart in the playoffs after a great year.”
I especially hate the playoffs for their over-hyped drama: the announcers screaming “THIS IS WHAT THE PLAYOFFS ARE ALL ABOUT!” whenever anything exciting happens even though stuff that exciting happened all during the regular season but was only met with “a great goal” followed by six-and-a-half minutes of what’s-his-name explaining the technical breakdown of every single pass, flick, and trap that led up to the goal as boringly as possible.
And players are always talking to the media about how they don’t like a certain coach or player from the other team. Is it noteworthy news during the regular season? No. But during the playoffs we’ll spend ten minutes before, ten minutes during, and ten minutes after the game discussing it.
So screw the playoffs. It means just as little now as the MLS regular season does in this country.
9 comments
I agree that many American sports allow way too many teams to make the playoffs. As the years have passed, we’ve seen the introduction of wild-card teams, divisional playoffs, etc., which can really water down the importance of the regular season.
Not sure if this is the case for MLS, but I think a huge part of this “generosity” is tied to additional revenue. If baseball went back to the American League champ playing the National League champ in the World Series and nixed the division and league championship stuff, everybody faces a lot less revenue. TV/radio lose ad revenue, teams lose gate/concessions revenue, etc. Just another means to help pay the silly salaries pro athletes often get.
Nate: Funny, that’s almost precisely what I was going to say. So, I’ll only add one thing.
I’ve always wondered what the point of a “regular season” is. More specifically, I wonder how the length of said season is determined. It occurs to me that, in certain leagues (see: NHL) the regular season is worthless in terms of deciding a “winner” and the season is drawn out for money-grabbing purposes only.
There must be a better model.
Does it also keep fans interested for a longer time (which of course translates to more $ as well)? If your favorite squad is hovering near .500, but you know that half the teams will make the playoffs, might you be more likely to keep supporting them until the bitter end, rather than wasting your time/money going to games in the latter part of the season that are all but meaningless?
I also agree with what Nate said first, and I think this is a good discussion to have. In response to what Josh said, what if a league like the MLS did a big World-Cup-style tournament every year–and that comprised the entire season? Would it be too short and gimmicky, or would it succeed by sustaining fan excitement for a longer time?
The NFL seems to have a good thing going, having just 16 “must-win” games a season that have a full week of hype before each one, but I would imagine that would be a tough model to emulate for a young league, because of how high tickets have to be to compsenate for the lack of games.
Personally, I “get into” the NFL games more than ones from the other major US sports (MLB, NHL, NBA). I think it’s a combination of the shorter season, plus the time between games (less is more). Still, more than a third of the teams make the playoffs, so there’s even more reason to stay engaged for most of the year.
I think it’s a battle between the purists (the regular season should determine the two teams who play for the title) and those who must operate the business side of things (the longer we can keep playoff aspirations alive, the better).
As a spectator, I can see both sides. Regular season games should have some significance, otherwise why not employ the World Cup format from the get go, eliminating a few teams every week or two. Yet, if I’m a fan of Team A and Team A gets knocked out of contention early, there’s a good chance I’ll tune out any remaining games for Team A, and possibly and remaining games for the rest of the season/playoffs.
if I’m a fan of Team A and Team A gets knocked out of contention early, there’s a good chance I’ll tune out any remaining games for Team A, and possibly and remaining games for the rest of the season/playoffs.
Not to mention Team A goes broke.
Of course the Champions League IS the playoffs for all of Europe’s teams. And they keep adding more and more and more teams eligible for the competition and more and more rounds to get the revenue from it.
There is this part of me that still thinks the playoffs has something to do with the american dream: the Cinderella stories, the Valporaiso’s and the Porto’s (2004 Champions League Winners) of the world. That things might not go your way, or your may be a small fish in a big pond but you can still end up a champion.
Perhaps a more cultural way of looking at the playoffs that also interests me.
There is this part of me that still thinks the playoffs has something to do with the american dream
I think that’s a good point, at least in how the fans view things. To elaborate on what you said, I think there’s always a sense in American sports that it’s not the team that “looks best on paper” that will win, but the team that tries hardest and plays together the best. That, like in the American dream, the most important factor in your success isn’t who you are, but how hard you work. And the more teams are allowed in the playoffs, the more the dream is kept alive for fans.
I really don’t see where your argument is? You’re angry at a quote that does hold some truth to it. In most American sports plus any other sports, there’s always certain teams that dominate the competition and always find themselves in the playoffs. So wouldn’t it be safe to say for a fan that supports those teams that the season really only starts during the playoffs. Teams that also make the playoffs after a very disappointing regular season bring some excitement to the competition and gives a chance of redemption. Nate is also right by saying that having more teams in the playoffs will also increase the amount of supporters. And I can’t believe you would actually attack the “over-hyped” feeling of playoffs. Dude, playoffs in every sport are important from a Division 1 playoff to little bobbies’ little league playoff. No matter what the sport or league playoffs bring a sense of excitement and fun and hyping it up is part of the game. The announcers can go either way but for the most part their getting paid to entertain the viewers and not to just sit down and sound like their watching any regular game. Their meant to keep the viewer excited from start to finish, while giving interesting facts here and there ha. The media coverage in the U.S is really good and keeps everyone interested and informed. A couple days ago Eto’o of Barcelona even said “European soccer teams would benefit by increasing player availability to the media.” “It would be a good idea to probably implement the same system that you have in the United States in Europe in terms of access.” But of course this is your opinion and it’s a very popluar opinion shared by a lot but I like to thing that the MLS is growing now and getting better every year.