The LA Galaxy defeated the New England Revolution 2-1 in extra time at the StubHub Center in Carson, California on Sunday afternoon, following an all-too-familiar script to win their fifth championship and deny the Revolution in the final for the fifth time. Here are five thoughts.

1. Landon Donovan Retires A Champion – Said the greatest male US Soccer player even in his last press conference as a pro, “It’s always better to retire than get cut.” In the end, Donovan got the kind of proper finale to his club career that he was denied in with his national – a sixth championship, the same number of titles as Michael Jordan won and the most ever for an MLS player.

It wasn’t a vintage outing from Donovan or his team, but you could see at the final whistle what winning this final title meant to Donovan – and shudder to think at what losing it might have ravaged.

It must be fulfilling for Donovan now to see his introspectiveness and eagerness to understand, be fulfilled by, and enjoy his life be lauded by the media and fans when it was once brutally leapt upon as a sign of Donovan’s softness.

In turns laugh-out-loud funny, circumspect, wise, and nostalgic, Donovan left the soccer world – for the time being, at least – with the lasting image of a gifted but complicated man who have his last measure of devotion to the sport that in turns tortured and made him.

And that, Jurgen Klinsmann, is how a legend should go out.

2. More Cruelty For New England – In the history books, the New England Revolution will be no more than a prop in this MLS Cup, which was about Donovan and the Galaxy, but in reality, the game unfolded and concluded in an almost laughably familiar and cruel way.

From the moment Chris Tierney – the Boston kid perhaps most familiar with the Revs’ tragic history – ripped home his late equalizer and sent the game to extra-time, you knew how it would end.

Robbie Keane’s late goal broke Revolution hearts. Solace will be taken from the talent the team has returning, the fans they made in their stirring run, and the incredibly brave effort their squad gave on the biggest stage in US Soccer, but an overarching question of, “can we ever just win one!?” hangs in the air.

That’s 0-5 for New England and their coach Jay Heaps, who missed the crucial penalty to lose an MLS Cup to LA for the Revs almost a decade ago, and came up just short again.

Perhaps it was a karmic leveler for the Jermaine Jones Blind Draw.

3. Are The 2014 Galaxy The Greatest Ever? – There’s a debate to be had, no question. The Galaxy’s attacking efficiency and proficiency all year was fantastic. When LA turned it on, they were impossible to play.

LA’s attack – starting with Donovan and Keane, but moving to Gyasi Zardes and the central midfield of Marcelo Sarvas and Juninho – played the best soccer in the league.

If you like keeping possession, movement off the ball, competitive zeal, and a certain flexibility that the Galaxy touted all year and used to a great extent with two formation changes in the final, this was your team.

It was also incredibly well constructed – the Robbie Rogers trade, for example, looks like genius-level genius now. LA gets broken up now, with the retirement of Donovan, but this side was a juggernaut.

You would never have guessed that it was a Bruce Arena team, but Bruce’s own tactical renaissance this season found the bridge between the Beckham era and the current Galaxy that he never came up with in 2013, and what resulted was another championship.

It’s worth noting that LA only had eyes for the Cup – that they didn’t win the Supporters’ Shield doesn’t matter and will never matter to them, and that in itself is a measure of their excellence.

4. How Can We Fix Poor Ratings – Ratings for MLS Cup were, once again, terrible. A 0.6 for the marquee event of the American club soccer season is pitiful, but not unusual.

Why are ratings for MLS Cup so consistently dreadful? One factor is the timeslot – going up against the NFL this year was just as bad an idea as going up against college football conference championship games was last year.

Besides, day games detract from the sense of occasion surrounding finals. Moving MLS Cup to a Tuesday night would increase atmosphere and draw in casual viewers. Condensing the playoff season would also help, as by the time MLS Cup rolls around, the momentum from the end of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs has been lost through weeks off and Thanksgiving.

Plenty of people support their local MLS clubs – the challenge now is getting those people to care about the other teams in the league.

5. The End Of An Era – This is very much the end of an era for MLS, and not just the Donovan era. With two new marquee franchises coming in next year – and one doormat going out – along with a total rebrand, MLS’ 20th season will bare little resemblance to its 19th.

There will be a new CBA, and a new slate of stars like Kaka, Frank Lampard, and David Villa to replace the outgoing faces of the league in the 2010s like Donovan, Thierry Henry, and, at least this year, Jermaine Defoe.

For Landon Donovan, this is the end of the road. For MLS, we’re still at the beginning.