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MLS: Why Supporters’ Shield devalue is a tragedy

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 24: Carlos Vela #10 of Los Angeles FC celebrates his second goal of the game, to take a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Galaxy, during the first half of the Western Conference Semifinals at Banc of California Stadium on October 24, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 24: Carlos Vela #10 of Los Angeles FC celebrates his second goal of the game, to take a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Galaxy, during the first half of the Western Conference Semifinals at Banc of California Stadium on October 24, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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The Supporters’ Shield is devalued in comparison to MLS Cup. Given that sport is to determine which team or individual is the best, that is a tragedy.

Sport is competitive. Ther very point of competition is to determine who is the best, whether it be a team or individual. And while there is an element of entertainment and drama that comes with any sporting event, the structure of a competition should be geared towards to providing the fairest method of determining who is the best competitor.

There are other factors. It must be exciting, it must also fit in with the general sporting calendar, especially the schedule of that particular sport, and fans have to be attracted to it to make it commercially and financially viable.

But the foundation of any competition should be to find out which competitor is the best at that particular event. This is the starting point.

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All this brings me to the two methods of ‘victory’ in Major League Soccer. The U.S. Open Cup and other competitions are formed differently on purpose, but for MLS especially, each season, two ‘winners’ are crowned.

There is the team that wins the Supporters’ Shield, which is awarded to the team who has the best record in the regular season. And then there is the winner of MLS Cup, which comes at the end of a playoff system split between Western and Eastern Conferences.

Typically, MLS Cup gains more traction and celebration. The Columbus Crew won the Supporters’ Sheild in 2008 and 2009, but it is the former year that is praised as they went onto win MLS Cup. The same can be said about the LA Galaxy’s Supporters’ Shield-winning years in 2010 and 2011. The Galaxy actually maintained the same points per game in both regular seasons, but it is the one that squeezes through the playoffs that everyone remembers.

In American sport, playoff systems are championed. The NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA all use a playoff system to crown their champion. They are the most exciting sporting events to watch every year. The pressure of it being a knockout format intensifies all emotions. But the system does not always yield the best team being crowned champions. In fact, invariably, it doesn’t.

Of the last 10 MLS seasons, only two of the Supporters’ Shield winners progressed to win MLS Cup. The regular-season points record was broken three seasons in a row from 2017-2019. Only Toronto FC in 2017 won MLS Cup.

Some may argue that it is just tough luck, but if sport is meant to produce a structure that determines who the best team or individual is, this is clearly not fair. Even with the unbalanced schedule, testing teams over a 34-game regular season is a much more accurate analysis than the playoffs. The sample size is entirely different.

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The devaluing of the Supporters’ Shield, then, is tragic. If you want to make the most exciting, entertaining product, then yes, the playoffs are unrivalled. But sport is meant to be the fairest, most comprehensive test that is logistically possible. MLS has a competition to produce precisely that, and yet it seems to ignore it. And that is a great shame.

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