BrewKnurd
Well-Known Member
Well sure, but MLS recognizes both. Most points in the season is the Supporters Shield winner. The winner of the playoffs in MLS Cup champion.
Yeah, they recognize both, but who gets invited to the white house? Who gets referred to as the MLS champions (I understand that the official title would be MLS Cup Champions, but anytime someone says "MLS Champions", they're not talking about the supporters shield winner). I think its hard to argue that the MLS cup, i.e. the playoff format, is not the one that is held in highest regard in MLS.
Interestingly, if you look at the supporters shield vs the MLS cup, 8 teams have won the supporters shield vs 9 for the MLS Cup. So at least in the case of the MLS, it hasn't been a situation where meaningfully more teams have won the MLS cup, even though it would seem playoff format should lead to more variability due to the "hot streak" scenario.
Honestly, if major European leagues had the same salary cap structure as the MLS, I would expect more parity there as well.