Now the answer to the last two questions are the easiest ones, so I will answers those first two. Being a higher seed does help in the Conference playoffs, being at home for a one game series, no team will question that, the issue is home field advantage in the two-game aggregate series.
Then following that question was does the playoffs really matter? This question really got me thinking since I am with the minority of Americans who truly care what happens during the regular season. The regular season is the test of longevity and is a better evaluation of who is the better team in the league. I enjoy the regular season, and a looking at every game in a bigger picture-that IS how life works, that is how sports SHOULD work. My love of every game mattering is why I am a fan of European Football and NCAA Football, nothing lack the Champion having to show up and play every day, instead of getting hot and running the table in the last month of the season. In a MLS perspective the regular season definitely matters. The winner of the Supporter's Shield gets an automatic birth to the Champion League group stage, where the club has a chance to earn some big-time money. Also being the best in the regular season gives you the right to host the conference Championship game , which statistically speaking is a great advantage as the home team is the one who usually moves on to the MLS Cup final. For teams who are not in the race for the best in the regular season, the issue of how difficult it is to make the playoffs becomes the reason why regular season games matter. Next year for the first time in league history half of the teams in MLS will not be in the MLS Cup Playoffs, the next year only eight of the eighteen teams will be in the playoffs, that is only 44% of the league. All the sudden regular season games start to matter more in a league that used to have ten teams and eight playoffs spots.
So the issue is how do you give teams the advantage to the higher seeds who work hard to do well in the regular season, an advantage in the first-round of the playoffs. The first problem is I, and most other people love the two-game aggregate system. It gives each team that makes the playoffs a chance to host a game, which usually for most clubs is the game where they draw one of their highest attendances of the season. And also rewards the fans with an all-important playoff game in which they can support their team. However a three-game playoff series is not reasonable in a sport where teams are meant to play only one league game per week. Therefore, a two-game aggregate series is the way to go.
The question is then, how do you give the higher seed the advantage in a two game home-home series. The answer is that their is not a concrete advantage for any team to have in a two game home and home series, that's the idea of a two game series. Since the MLS does not accept the away goal rule (which is one of the dumbest rules in Sport), both teams are equal going into the series, and their really is not a difference between hosting a game first, or hosting second. There for the solution is simple: Have the higher seed pick if they want to host first or second.
The solution should not break any barriers, both teams have a right to host a game, but with this method the team with the team that is supposed to have the advantage can choose what order the games will be played in. This will be a true test as the series will be cater to what the higher seed wants, and what will work best with their strategies. It is time for MLS to put the decider of who has the advantage in which game in the hands of the teams that deserve it. The hands of the teams that worked harder and got better results in the post-season. Then the higher seed will have a true Home Field advantage.
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