Major League Soccer’s playoffs begin today. You know the playoffs, right?
Major League Soccer playoffs – don’t blink, or you’ll miss ‘em!
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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