MLS Supporters' Shield

The Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system —- much like the Presidents' Trophy in the NHL. While MLS is similar to other North American sport leagues in that the winner of the end-of-season playoff final —- the MLS Cup —- is crowned league champion, fans wanted a way to recognize the team that would have become champion in a domestic soccer format: the team that scored the most points in league play over the regular season. To this end, the Supporters' Shield was created and first awarded following the 1998 season. It was retroactively awarded to Tampa Bay and D.C. United for the 1996 and 1997 season.

Since the 2000 season, the system of awarding points in the MLS is the same as the international standard, three points for a win, one for a draw, and no points for a loss. In the event of an end-of-season tie in total accumulated points, the win-loss record of head-to-head matchups between the tied teams is used as the first tiebreaker, goal difference as the second, and the total number of goals scored as the third. Should these measures fail to resolve the tie, the fourth breaker takes the previous methods and applies them only to away games, the fifth does the same for games played at home, the sixth awards the title to the team with the fewest disciplinary points, and, failing that, the seventh and final tiebreaker is a coin toss. [MLS Tiebreaker: http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-177500.html] These are standard MLS regulations for breaking ties in point totals. [MLS Cup Playoff Format and Team-Standings Tie-Breakers: http://web.mlsnet.com/about/league.jsp?section=regulations&content=playoffs]

In February 2006, MLS decided that the Supporters' Shield winner and the MLS Cup winner will represent the United States in the CONCACAF Champions League and its predecessor, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. [Jeepers, Some Wishes Really Do Come True! http://www.wecallitsoccer.com/archives/001032.html] If the Supporters Shield winner also wins the MLS Cup, the team with the second-most points qualifies as well. [MLS announces competition changes for 2006
http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20060214&content_id=52200&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp]

Winners of the Supporters' Shield

Qualifications of the MLS Supporters' Shield

* See Regular_Season_Successes_By_Club

The Supporters' Shield's jinx

On several occasions, the Supporters' Shield winners have in fact faltered badly in the next season(s), notable examples were:

* In 1996, Tampa Bay Mutiny won the first Supporters' Shield, [Technically speaking, the very "first" Supporters' Shield was indeed awarded to 1998 Winners, Los Angeles Galaxy, in the year 1999. Tampa Bay Mutiny's trophy was awarded retroactively, see the following link for more details: http://www.mlsnet.com/content/printer_friendly/y2005/m10/d09/c45257.html] but could not achieve much successes in the next few seasons, either by missing the playoffs (1998, 2001) or getting knocked out in the Conference Semifinals (1997, 1999, 2000). They eventually folded after the 2001 season.

* In 1999, D.C. United won the Supporters' Shield, but missed the playoffs in the next season, finishing last in the Eastern Conference (11th out of 12 overall). In fact they also failed to make the playoffs in 2001 (last in the Eastern Conference, 10th out of 12) and 2002 (last in the Eastern Conference, 10th out of 10), while barely made the playoffs in 2003, finishing 2nd last (just a point ahead of last-placed Columbus Crew) in the Eastern Conference (7th out of 10), and they were knocked out by Chicago Fire in the Conference Semifinals with 2 straight losses.

* In 2000, Kansas City Wizards won the Supporters' Shield, but barely made the playoffs in the next season, finishing 2nd last in the Western Conference (7th out of 12), and they were knocked out by Miami Fusion in the Conference Semifinals. In 2002 they barely made the playoffs as well, despite finishing last in the Western Conference (8th out of 10), and they were knocked out by Los Angeles Galaxy in the Conference Semifinals.

* In 2001, Miami Fusion won the Supporters' Shield, but folded the next season.

* In 2002, Los Angeles Galaxy won the Supporters' Shield, but barely made the playoffs in the next season, finishing 2nd last in the Western Conference (9th out of 10), and they were knocked out by San Jose Earthquakes in the Conference Semifinals, having actually taken a 4-goals aggregate lead in the tie.

* In 2003, Chicago Fire won the Supporters' Shield, but missed the playoffs in the next season, finishing last in the Eastern Conference (10th out of 10).

* In 2004, Columbus Crew won the Supporters' Shield, but missed the playoffs in the next season, finishing last in the Eastern Conference (10th out of 12). They again failed to make the playoffs in 2006, with an even worse record (last in the Eastern Conference, 12th out of 12). The Crew were significantly improved in 2007, but still missed out on the playoffs. However, in 2008, the Crew were the first team to clinch a playoff berth and have the best record in all the MLS. They are on the verge of winning the Shield yet again.

* In 2005, San Jose Earthquakes won the Supporters' Shield, but were relocated the following season to Houston (as a brand new franchise: Houston Dynamo) without inheriting the franchise's successful history (especially being two-time winners of the MLS Cup in 2001 and 2003).

In 2007, D.C. United arguably has broken the Supporters' Shield "jinx" by repeating as Supporters' Shield winner. They are the first club to successfully do so. However, they did subsequently fall to Chicago Fire in the first round of the playoffs.

The runners-up woes

Several Shield Runners-up also collapsed dramatically in the next season(s), such as:

* In 1997, Kansas City Wizards finished as Shield Runners-up, but missed the playoffs in the next season, finishing last in the Western Conference (11th out of 12). They again failed to make the playoffs in 1999, with an equally dismal record (last in the Western Conference, 11th out of 12).

* In 2003, San Jose Earthquakes finished as Shield Runners-up, but barely made the playoffs in the next season, finishing 2nd last in the Western Conference (7th out of 10, only 2 points ahead of last-placed Dallas Burn), and they were knocked out by Kansas City Wizards in the Conference Semifinals, having actually taken a 2-goals aggregate lead in the tie.

* In 2004, Kansas City Wizards finished as Shield Runners-up, but missed the playoffs in the next season, finishing 2nd last in the Eastern Conference (7th out of 12). They again failed to make the playoffs in 2006, with an even worse record (2nd last in the Eastern Conference, 11th out of 12).

Number of Supporters' Shields by Club

4: D.C. United

2: Los Angeles Galaxy

1: Tampa Bay Mutiny (defunct), Kansas City Wizards, Miami Fusion (defunct), Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, San Jose Earthquakes

Notes

External links

* [http://www.mlsnet.com/about/ Supporters' Shield Info on MLSnet.com]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070712003653/http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/exclusives/tellme/index.html?article_id=310 What is the Supporters Shield?]
* [http://www.supportersshield.com/ SUPPORTERS SHIELD Site]
* [http://www.settingthetable.info/stt/Default.asp MLS: Setting the Table]