September 17, 2007
Open Letter to Don Garber
Uncle Don,
It's been nice out here in Colorado this summer. The weather's great. We've had some fun times at the new stadium; thanks for coming out to see The Dick earlier this Spring!
Sure, some of the lads at the camp have gone in the middle of the night, but those of us who are left are enjoying the tailgates and shows being put on nightly here at Camp Colorado.
One thing.
Me and the guys & gals (it's exciting around here at Camp Coed) have talked, and we think you've made great strides in competition in MLS.
Real progress. Good stuff. And we'd hate to see any of that "two steps forward, one step backward" kinda thang going on.
Don't mess with the new playoff format. Along with adding new teams to the league while keeping the same number of playoff spots, going to a wildcard system is the best thing for generating regular season interest and tension. Trust me, we're all Rapids fans here. We know tension!
Again, we applaud recent efforts to improve competition, and with San Jose coming (back) online next year, it would be a shame to simply revert to "4 out of 7" per conference gets in.
Again: we're the Colorado team that has taken advantage of the former system... so if *we* like stronger competition, then I'm guessing the old boys network in DC and New York and New England are just peachy keen with it all.
Let me be clear: Fighting for playoff spots is the best possible scenario. The odds of getting into the playoffs have gotten worse the past few years.
And that's a good thing:
2004: 80% of teams made it
2005: 67% of teams made it
2006: 67% of teams made it
2007: 61% of teams make it
2008: 57% of teams make it
2009: 57% of teams (projected)
2010: 50% of teams (projected)
2011: 50% of teams (projected)
2012: 44% of teams (projected)
From 80% to 50% in just 6 years? Bottoming out at less than half? Wowzers!
Keep the conference system. That's fine, I don't mind. But all the stuff that simulates single table synergy? Pure Guinness.... I mean, Genius!
Like I posted back in April, I'm proud of all the things making MLS a more competitive, fun place to play:
- Supporter's Shield award for winner
- Champion's Cup play next year for MLS Cup winner and reg. season winner
- SuperLiga entry for top 4 teams (with $1 Million on the line)
- Improved chances of a playoff birth for top regular-season points holders
- Adding more teams and *not* increasing number of playoff berths
- Full-time referees hired (now you just need to hire good ones!)
Boy oh Boy, there's a lot to look forward to. Anyway, it's time to get back to our strip poker game here at Camp Con, so I'll sign off now.
By the way, the weather really is usually nice, you should visit again some time.
Love,
Your Nephew BilFish
Posted by BilFish at September 17, 2007 06:46 AM