MLS and American playoff systems in general are not bad. From an interest standpoint, they simply move some end-of-season drama from the bottom of the table to the middle. I am glad they’re not the only model, though. Variety is the spice of life.
Closed-shop American leagues also make a debatable but not insane tradeoff of fewer fans getting top-flight sport in their towns, but more fans getting a legitimate bite at the apple for a championship.
The American system may not be terrible from a sporting perspective, but the politics is awful. Top-flight teams can be run poorly for years with basically no consequences, and if your team is uncompetitive then the fans just have to deal with that until your team fixes itself. In a pyramid system, your team at least drops to a tier where it will be competitive again.
MLS and American playoff systems in general are not bad. From an interest standpoint, they simply move some end-of-season drama from the bottom of the table to the middle. I am glad they’re not the only model, though. Variety is the spice of life.
Closed-shop American leagues also make a debatable but not insane tradeoff of fewer fans getting top-flight sport in their towns, but more fans getting a legitimate bite at the apple for a championship.
The American system may not be terrible from a sporting perspective, but the politics is awful. Top-flight teams can be run poorly for years with basically no consequences, and if your team is uncompetitive then the fans just have to deal with that until your team fixes itself. In a pyramid system, your team at least drops to a tier where it will be competitive again.