When the season started, there was a lot of talk about how this season would provide the first ‘balanced’ schedule and the closest we’ll get to a true Supporters Shield winner. Champions of the ‘we need to be like Europe’ philosophy jumped all over this opportunity.

For me, I just saw it as another wrinkle in the league growing and establishing itself. After all, it’s not like the league will be taking a break while the best players spend some time in South Africa next month or anything. I’m sure that won’t have much effect on the results of matches played in June and early July or anything.

Then, a funny thing happened while looking at the MLS schedule; I discovered a major problem, as I see it, in the way the schedule is set up to produce a ‘fair’ Supporters Shield winner. While every team plays against every other team twice during the season, those matches aren’t spread out the same.  I’d always assumed an effort was made to split the season in 2 and everyone play everyone in each half.  Yeah, I’m pretty naive at times.

The first thing I noticed was that Houston & Dallas (the Texas Derby) had played both their matches by May 5^th. The season hadn’t even started and the two matches were already in the books just over a month apart–39 days, March 27^th & May 5^th. Then I discovered that DC and KC played their two matches against each other on the same dates.

Chivas and Houston just finished their two matches against each other May 8^th, only 21 days after they first met on April 17^th. NE and SJ finished their series last weekend as well only 28 days apart.

The shortest time between the two matches against the same team is 10 days (RBNY-Toronto August 11^th & 21^st) with Columbus and Houston 14 days apart (July 10^th & 24^th).

On the other end of the scale are Columbus & Toronto with their two matches 203 days apart (March 27^th & October 16^th) about as far as the two matches could be apart. The LA Derby/SuperduperClassico with those matches 185 days apart (April 1^st & October 3)

There are 120 matches up in MLS this season, 31 are more than 120 days (roughly 4 months) apart—though three more are 119 days apart. 32 are less than 60 days (roughly 2 months) apart.

What’s amusing, though, is that the average for all 120 matches is 90 days though the season is 213 days from the “First Kick” (between Philly & Seattle) on March 25^th to the “Final Kick” [sic] (Between Dallas & LA) on October 24^th. One would think there would be some effort to have more match-ups between 80 & 100 days apart but there are only 22 or 18%. Between 70 & 110 days we still only have 37 matches or 30% of the total matches this season.

What does it mean? Who knows? I guess it depends on when teams meet the other teams. It may be nothing or, it could be a big deal. If RBNY does sign Thierry Henry, will they get better? If Donovan is transferred will they not be as good? What if you have to play a team twice while they are hot but other teams get to play them only once during their streak?

Bottom line, the league is still just set up to weed out teams in order to form the playoffs.    The Supporters Shield will still be a nice thing but it still won’t provide the best possible champion without someone being able to knock the winner.

So, how did your team do?

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