MLS is again choosing the cheap thrill of artificial chaos over the cold, clarifying logic of the table, and the proposed AFL-style double-elimination playoff is the most cynical admission yet that this league cannot trust its regular season to hold our attention. The global game is defined by the stakes of elimination, not by the consolation prizes of a reset bracket. Australian rules football can stage a convoluted double-elimination carnival because it is a domestic curiosity with no rival league to impress. MLS is actively trying to sell itself to a footballing world that reveres the penalty
The AFL-ification of MLS: Why Playoff Overhauls Won't Fix a Broken Product
