Why winning the MLS Supporters' Shield is overrated, and how it can be so much more

Only six times in Major League Soccer’s previous 19 seasons has a Supporters’ Shield winner won the MLS Cup.

Let’s look at that again. Since MLS’ first season in 1996, only six times has the Supporters’ Shield winner gone on to claim the MLS Cup; the most prestigious prize in USA and Canadian club soccer.

Of the six occasions that this has happened, only four teams were able to claim the double: DC United in 1997 and 1999, Kansas City Wizards/Sporting KC in 2000, LA Galaxy 2002 and 2011, and the Columbus Crew in 2008.

With the Supporters’ Shield winner winning the MLS Cup only six times, this begs the question: does the Supporters’ Shield matter?

The simple answer is no.

MLS’ postseason format doesn’t reward the overall points winner. In fact, the only rewards the top team in the regular season receives is a bye into the Conference quarterfinals and a berth into the CONCACAF Champions League. The latter is a competition no MLS team has won yet, though Real Salt Lake and Montreal Impact have both put on strong showings in the tournament. In the case of the former, the MLS Cup Playoffs is a competition that has shown that teams need to be in form and to be hot at the right moment. Just being the overall points winner in the regular season has little to no bearing on postseason results.

For all the great work FC Dallas has done this term, there is no guarantee the team will make the final. In truth, accumulating the most points in the regular season has been a detriment when the playoffs have arrived.

Despite only six teams winning the MLS double, one would expect more Supporters’ Shield winners to at least make it to the final. Yet, only on one occasion has a team, Chicago Fire in 2003, been the best in the regular season and lost in the final.

The MLS regular season is taxing. Travel across time zones, varying weather conditions in different regions and a salary structure that promotes a few star players, several above average to average MLS competitors and numerous players that lack talent and skill, or both.

How does MLS make the Supporters’ Shield mean more?

The simplest solution to making the Supporters’ Shield mean more is to give teams more of an incentive to win it. MLS Commissioner Don Garber can rest easy, because there is no need to abolish his beloved playoff system or the two conference structure the league believes North American soccer fans crave.

The simplest answer is, the Supporters’ Shield winner should automatically qualify for the MLS Cup Final. No need to play four additional games to get to the final, no need to exert themselves anymore than the team already has. The team should that is the best in the regular season shouldn’t have to prove themselves against teams they weren’t as good in the 34 previous matches.

Looking at the table with one weekend of play to go, FC Dallas currently sits top of the Supporters’ Shield table. If the Texas club hold on to first place, as it appears they will, the club will still need to put down two clubs to get into the final.

Dallas has ten losses this season. Six of those defeats have come against four of the five teams that have, as of today, made the Western Conference playoffs. Again, there is no guarantee the Hoops will host the final. MLS’ 20th season looks just as likely as the 19 before to finish with a team unable to complete the double, which again shows the league’s best team may not be crowned as the league’s best team. 

Follow Drew Farmer on Twitter @DrewMFarmer. Drew Farmer is a Manchester, England-based journalist/blogger that writes for World Soccer Talk.Drew also writes his on blog at Soccer Travels. Drew has contributed to Radio Yorkshire MLS Monday, Forza Italian Football, MLSGB and Soccerly. Originally from southwest Missouri, Drew covers Italy’s Serie A, English Premier League and the USA’s Major League Soccer.