Soccer, Futbol, Calcio... whatever you call the greatest sport in the world, it is just that - a great sport. It has been a passion of mine since I was 5 years old, and I am surprised I haven't posted about it sooner. Nonetheless a few things have happened in the sport recently and I'd like to share some thoughts.
I would first like to take the time to honor one of Major League Soccer's (MLS) best strikers who was recently forced to retire due to a concussion suffered a couple seasons ago. Taylor Twellman, a scoring-machine on the New England Revolution retired last week after years of post-concussion symptoms that hinder his day-to-day life, let alone playing soccer. A true competitor on the field and a great guy off the field - Twellman was an ideal player. If you were a fan you loved watching him score goals, reaching the 100-goal mark in fewer games then anyone else. As a coach, you loved his skill, effort, and willingness to sacrifice his body. For his teammates, he was an offensive target (ask fellow great Steve Ralston about this one), a leader, and a great guy to have around the locker room. It is unfortunate Twellman had to deal with so many injuries throughout his career. I can only imagine the numbers he would have put up, the continued success of the Revolution - the part that was most important to him, and potentially seeing him sport the Red, White and Blue of another team playing in the World Cup.
Twellman #20 - he is the reason I once chose #20 for my soccer jersey and remains my jersey and favorite number. It was an honor seeing Twellman play, and I wish him the best going forward in whatever he pursues.
Please visit here to see his retirement speech: http://beta.revolutionsoccer.net/videos?id=10210
I've also attached a video of of Twellman's highlights with the New England Revolution, enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQIK50WRoj0
Staying on the subject of MLS, we are currently in the middle of the 2010 playoffs. Unfortunately the New England Revolution did not advance this year. Sadly enough, this was a common theme throughout the Eastern Conference. For those of you unaware, 8 teams make the playoffs - and this number does not have to be evenly split between the Eastern and Western Conferences. This year, only 2 teams came out of the East, while 6 from the West. In this case, MLS has put two Western Conference teams into the Eastern playoff bracket. Sound crazy? You bet. Imagine having a team in the AL East (MLB) play in the NL. Very awkward to think about. Well a funny thing has happened after the first round, no Eastern Conference teams have advanced. This means that all 4 teams left in the playoffs are out of the West. This is the only league where this occurrence could happen, and it is not right. Yes the conferences may be lop-sided on a given year, but that shouldn't affect the playoff format. Allow 4 teams from each conference, and let them play it out. Who knows what could happen..
The final comment I'd like to make takes us across the pond... well kind of. Most folks, even those not very interested in soccer should know of one of the most famous teams in the world. That would be Liverpool FC, in the English Premier League. Now if you follow news, and are from the Boston area, you would know that the owners of the Boston Red Sox, recently purchased Liverpool FC from it's struggling owners. These same owners brought 2 World Championships to Boston, and our hoping have similar success again. Prior to their takeover, Liverpool was struggling and on the bottom of the EPL standings. Since then it has been all success, and the season seems to have turned around. Have the new American owners brought a sign of hope to the Reds and their fans? I think so. I wish them all the best, and can only hope more games are brought to Fenway so that we may all enjoy the thrill of watching the best in the world in our backyard.
Cheers and see you on the pitch!
Good post and big ups to Taylor. I think for the MLS play-offs it was a novel approach. This league has never been shy to try new things. Personally it had always bothered me that a under .500 team in one conference could make the play-offs but an over .500 team in another conference might not qualify.
ReplyDeleteThough as you pointed out this is not working. So like the dreaded penalty shoot out MLS needs to change the rules again and go back to a normal play-off system
Thanks for the comment! There is an upside and a downside to the league trying new things. I can certainly understand the concern about always having the leagues best teams in the playoffs. MLS wants the best product on the field for the time when it matters most. The part that frustrates me the most is thinking about baseball as I wrote in the post. The AL East is usually the strongest division, and could easily send 3 teams to the playoffs every October. That is not how it is set up and it is meant to keep balance throughout the divisions. None of these playoff teams are under .500, but the winner of the World Series doesn't always come from the AL East either. Meaning, when it comes to the playoffs anything can happen.
ReplyDeleteEither way, there is no perfect solution and someone will always be unhappy.
The reason for the imbalance between the number of teams that make it into the MLS Cup playoffs from each conference is based on the fact that playoff spots are determined by an overall (single) table, not the two conference tables. In fact, nothing is really decided by conference tables. MLS Cup playoff spots, Supporters Shield, Champions League spots, US Open Cup spots are all decided by the overall table.
ReplyDeleteSo, the solution to this problem is fairly simple: Do away with the conferences. They serve little to no purpose, as it is. That way, MLS still has the best product on the pitch during the playoffs, and you won't run into teams or coaches complaining that they had a better record/more points than so-and-so, yet they're not in the playoffs and so-and-so are.
Thanks for the input!
ReplyDeleteWhat you said is true. I do understand it is essentially a single table rather then conferences. The difference is that the winner and runner up of each conference will be automatically placed in the top 4 of the playoff standings, regardless of how many points they have. Within those four teams they are then positioned based on point totals. I agree that a single overall table would be more helpful (like the EPL), but then a few other questions arise. First is I wonder how the single table system would fit in an American culture so used to have divisions and conferences. The other question is do they one day experiment with a promotion and relegation system with the lower-level leagues in the United States?
Oh how this discussion could go on forever...
Daniel sir, so good to see your first soccer post.
ReplyDeleteAs for Taylor, I too had the opportunity to meet him, though I suspect you have a better sense of him than I do. I think we can all agree though, a damn shame that fluke injury. We'll miss him out there on the plastic.
As for the playoffs... as I sit here and watch LA v Dallas, I struggle to care too much about the fact that last night two Western Division battled for the Eastern Conference championship. First, we must ask do conferences matter... I'd say probably yes. Mostly because if the conferences can get large enough, and most games are "in conference" it would cut down on travel which saves both significant wear/tear on the players as well as one of the largest costs (travel) in a US professional soccer league. (and what typically keeps lower leagues out of making any money.) So, keep the conferences, crown the points winners for each division as the "conference champion" - while the one with the most overall keeps the "Supporter's Shield." Then, just treat the playoffs pretty much seeded similarly today (more or less) and thinking of it more like quarter finals, semfinals and the final. Then, who really cares what teams are in what bracket?
As for Liverpool, time will tell if they turn around the team, but American owners have had pretty mixed success. At least, they seem to understand how to deal with the local supporters. Today's result won't help, but these things are complex.... ask the Revs. ;-)
Thanks for the comment! As I've said, there is no perfect scenario. Does it really matter that there won't be an Eastern Conference team in the MLS Cup Finals? No. So why have the conferences if they don't matter much? - Yes lowering travel costs, etc would be nice down the road.
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone else will have a soccer post soon?