Poll: Does the Format for the MLS Conference Semifinals Need Changing?

By: Laurie | October 31st, 2009

MLS Dynamo Sounders FC Soccer I had a post on the the MLS Conference Semifinal format all ready in my mind before I wrote it. It was about how the format is flawed because in a home-and-home series without an away goal rule in place, the away team in the first match plays a cautious and defensive game. So cautious and defensive, in fact, that these tend to be excruciatingly and butt-numbingly boring to watch and frequently end scoreless.

Exhibits A and B were going to be the first two games of the semifinal series: Seattle vs. Houston, which ended 0-0, and Real Salt Lake vs. Columbus, which looked set to end 0-0 as well. But then RSL’s Robbie Findley goes and scores on the Columbus Crew iin the 88th minute and ruins my post.

It was still a boring game. And with the away team going into the second leg with the advantage and having no need to score, chances are the second will be worse.

Of course, it could be argued that the Seattle-Houston game also doesn’t fit my argument, since despite the scoreline the match was fast and end-to-end and highly entertaining. (Or at least I thought it was. As a hardcore fan of one of the teams, I can’t be 100% certain that my view isn’t tainted by a bit of homerism. If you saw the match, what did you think?)

But let’s forget about these two games. I’ve seen enough of these to know that a high-entertainment match is the exception. With no away goal rule, there’s just no incentive for the away team in the first leg to do anything but throw ten or eleven behind the ball and defend, fans and entertainment be damned.

findley Yawn.

On the other hand, though, some like the format the way it is. And there’s a real benefit to the home-and-home format, where every team in the playoffs gets a home match. If the semifinals were played in one game only, with the higher-seed team hosting, MLS this year would have missed out on the 36,000-fan match in Seattle and all the money and enthusiasm that came with it. In a league that has a hard time generating interest, especially in the fall when the sport is competing with American football, there’s something to be said for catering to the home fans in every city.

Which leads to our poll. What do you think? Is the format fine the way it is? Or would you like to see an away goal rule implemented? Or would you like to see the semifinals dropped to one match with the higher-seed team hosting, like they do for the Conference finals? Or would you prefer something else altogether? (If so, tell us what you’d like to see in the comments.)

Should the MLS Conference Semifinal Format be Changed?(survey)