Take Me Out to the Playoffs – Finals
The playoff numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||
| Quarterfinals Totals(both legs) | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 17,041 | CHI, CHV, DAL, DCU, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY | ||||
| 2008 | 14,960 | -12.22% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY, RSL | |||
| 2009 | 20,755 | 38.74% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, LA, NE, RSL, SEA | |||
| 2010 | 18,551 | -10.62% | CLB, COL, DAL, LA, RBNY, RSL, SJ, SEA | |||
| 2011 | 20,776 | 11.99% | COL, HOU, LA, PHL, RBNY, RSL, SEA, SKC | |||
| Semifinals Totals | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 20,645 | -3.21% | NE v CHI – HOU v KC | |||
| 2008 | 17,348 | -15.97% | CLB v CHI – RSL v RBNY | |||
| 2009 | 23,548 | 35.74% | LA v HOU – CHI v RSL | |||
| 2010 | 22,390 | -4.92% | COL v SJ – LA v FCD | |||
| 2011 | 22,138 | -1.12% | COL v SJ – LA v FCD | |||
| Finals Totals | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | Venue | |||
| 2007 | 39,859 | NE v HOU | RFK Stadium, Wash DC | |||
| 2008 | 27,000 | -32.26% | RBNY v CLB | Home Depot Center, LA, CA | ||
| 2009 | 46,011 | 70.41% | RSL v LA | Qwest Field, Seattle, WA | ||
| 2010 | 21,700 | -52.84% | COL v FCD | BMO Field, Toronto, ONT, CA | ||
| 2011 | 30,281 | 39.54% | HOU v LA | Home Depot Center, LA, CA | ||
| Playoff Totals | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | |||||
| 2007 | 19,771 | |||||
| 2008 | 16,488 | -16.60% | ||||
| 2009 | 23,559 | 42.88% | ||||
| 2010 | 19,535 | -17.08% | ||||
| 2011 | 19,891 | 1.82% | ||||
Observations
Given the varied capacities of the venues, the percentage variations cannot be judged without taking them into account. I can say this about this year’s final; I was at MLS Cup 2008 at the Home Depot center and the season ticket holder section was fairly empty, despite all of the seats being ‘sold’. Not so this year, even with the foul weather almost every seat was filled. Kind of validates the league’s decision to hold next year’s cup at the home of the finalist with the higher regular season point total.
| Final | |||
| Beckham to Keane to Donovan. | |||
| Los Angeles | 1 | LA – Official Blog | 30,281 |
| Houston | 0 | Dynamo Theory | |
MLS – What’s next
On Mon Nov 21
Protected lists were released prior to Wednesday’s expansion draft
Wed Nov 23
Montreal selects 10 players from unprotected lists
MLS Throw Ins
Three announcements were made at the Supporters’ Summit event with league officials. The Commissioner confirmed the scuttlebutt that next year’s 34 game schedule will be unbalanced. Also, the playoff format and the site selection of MLS Cup Final will change.
Drew Epperly of WV Hooligan posted a good summary of the changes.
I was at the Supporters’ Summit when the changes were announced. Naturally they were met with the usual catcalls from several of the attendees, but that’s to be expected.
| Cups Won | |||||||
| Supporters Shield | MLS Cup | US Open | CONCACAF Cup/CL |
SuperLiga* | Total | Years in MLS | |
| Chicago | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 |
| Chivas USA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Colorado | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| Columbus | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 |
| D.C. United | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 16 |
| FC Dallas | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| Houston(SJ) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 |
| Kansas City | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| Los Angeles | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
| New England | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| RBNY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Portland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Real Salt Lake | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| San Jose | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Seattle Sounders | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Toronto FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Vancouver | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Miami | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Tampa Bay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
* NA Superliga was played from 2007-2010
As you can see, I am listing the ‘old San Jose’ accomplishments where they belong(IMO), with the Dynamo. I know the deal was that the Quakes would retain the ‘legacy’ of the original team, but I choose reality, i.e.; the franchise that won the cups resides in Houston.
They Qualified
2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League
- Los Angeles – Supporters’ Shield Winner/MLS Cup Winner – Group Stage(see below)
- Seattle – US Open Cup – Group Stage – This US Open Cup slot would normally have to qualify in the Preliminary Stage, but since the Galaxy won both the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup, Seattle goes to the Group Stage by virtue of having the highest point total of the other 3 qualifiers and Real Salt Lake goes to the Preliminary Stage
- Houston – MLS Cup Loser – Preliminary Stage
- Real Salt Lake – Next Best – Preliminary Stage