The Clash-Wiz game in San Jose had a dramatic finish, complete with a desperate, last-gasp equalizer by 10-man Kansas City. An exciting conclusion to a memorable game.
Until the shootout.
Players, coaches and officials bumbled their way through 16 dreadful rounds of one-on-ones, while the din of 17,000 fans at Spartan Stadium subsided into smatterings of polite applause.
MLS’s ploy to dramatically break a tie within the allocated TV boundaries turned into a pathetic, farcical anticlimax that ran well over the scheduled two hours, and left a bad taste in many a mouth.
What the folks who run MLS don’t realize is that fans appreciate fast-paced, well-played matches, regardless of the outcome. Plenty of National Hockey League games end in ties (with each team getting a point), and that hasn’t prevented thousands of people flocking to see the San Jose Sharks, Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins .
Allowing the result after 90 minutes to stand certainly wouldn’t affect the two-hour time slot.
And if MLS remains hell-bent on deciding matches, then why not sudden-death overtime? It might take less time.
The shootout is akin to eschewing extra innings in baseball for a home run derby, or deciding the Masters golf championship by having Greg Norman and Nick Faldo alternate putts from 15 feet until one misses.
And how many shootouts will fans put up with before they decide there are more exciting ways to spend their afternoons?
by Soccer America Online Editor Pete Bailey