While it's nearly like the European model during Champions League, of course, the playoffs are a little different here.
www.kansascity.com/sports/wizards/story/331820.html
Jimmy Conrad thinks MLS one day will go to the format that's used in Europe: giving greater weight to the road goals. It's just that the average football/basketball/baseball fan doesn't have the brain capacity to figure out how that works. (My editorial comment, not his)
"I think we're just trying to give them small doses of what I think will eventually happen," Conrad said. "You have to give the home team the advantage. They have to go on the road first, knowing they're going to go home. Once they have that result in mind, now they can go home and get the best out of that result. It's not something that doesn't happen now, but teams know if they can get it going and get a road goal, how crucial that is.
"It just gives it a different wrinkle, a different feel. Every goal matters. It it's weighted twice, it's a big deal."
It really is. To me, it seems that MLS went to the current playoff format less to appease soccer fans (although the best-of-three was a bad idea) than to make sure each team gets a home playoff game. So it's the owners who can make a few more bucks rather than worrying about the purity of making sure the best team advances. If the league changes to the current European model (which would include a home-and-home in the conference finals), then I'll admit the owners are doing it to ensure the best team wins.
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