First, penalty kicks are not free points. On average, players convert about 80% of the time from the pk spot. Second, people do know when the game is going to end. There's a 4th official that uses an electronic display that indicates how much injury time is going to be added at the end of 90 mins of regulation play. It may also be displayed on the big screen and sometimes announced as well. Third, a two-game home and away series based on aggregate number of goals is a good way of determining who advances during a playoff and who does not. Remember, there are no time outs and you're only allowed three substitutions. Thus, you can't expect the 22 players or so that see regular mins to play more than a couple of games a week without the product on the field suffering. Also, in most soccer leagues there are a wide-range of competitions that teams are involved in (domestic league, domestic cup, regional competitions, etc..). Therefore, every game is important. As a result, the stakes are extremely high, which brings out the best in both teams. Away goals during a two-game playoff count more in order to encourage the visiting team to play more aggressively and deter them from playing for a tie. You did care enough to post about it...just sayin'
Dynamo losing to the Galaxy 2 years in a row is like Houston lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship twice in the late 70's, or the Rockets losing to the Lakers or Jazz in the Western Conference playoffs. The city of Houston is starving for a championship. Let's hope the Texans win a Super Bowl. 2012 season is over but the 2013 Dynamo will be better. Also, they will be playing for more titles not just only the MLS Cup. There is of course the Supporters Shield and the U.S. Open Cup. There is the CONCACAF Champions League and if they win, the Dynamo get to play in the FIFA Club World Cup.
The stoppage time was too short 3 and 1. The penalties were bs but the refs didn't win the game for the galaxy, the dynamo lost. The cup belongs to the winner of the final not los angelas. Congrats galaxy
Just a couple of thoughts: man, how different could yesterday's game have been if it was played at BBVA vs. the HDC? Dynamo missed out on hosting by one point - can be attributed to resting the first team on the last day of the year in a seemingly "meaningless" game. Second, I hope that Cameron and Gonzalez become mainstays on the USMNT backline for a long time to come.
that's not a valid argument, the Big Bang Theory is the most watched comedy on tv, that doesn't mean it's not a piece of **** not true in MLS soccer Also, I'm not sure how you can argue the aggregate works and then not use it in the championship matchup. I enjoy watching soccer (hell, I made this thread), but there are plenty of flaws in it that will never allow it to become mainstream in the US
yup. there's only 1 reason why soccer is not popular in america. not enough time to show the 5000 beer and car ads. and unfortunately that's not going to change anytime soon. advertising runs everrrrrrrything in this country. from google to facebook to superbowl.
You are blind if you think that is the only reason. You can't ignore that it is a slower paced sport, low scoring and most importantly, it can end in a TIE. Many people have a Huge problem with that. I watch every dynamo game and I am still pissed that games can end in a tie. There is no point to competition if no winner is declared at the end.
I always felt that the main reason the sport wasn't a huge success in the States, was do to the fact the they aren't very good at it. A similar situation would be how after many consecutive years of watching the Rockets, I pretty much gave up trying to look for site that carries the game.Mind you that I still come on here to lurk and see how the game went for the good guys. Anyhow,I know of many times that US "soccer" fans have gotten upset do to the fact that they weren't able to watch their team while Mexico's game always get air time here in the States.
Except it's worse, because the Dynamo are owned by the same group that owns the Galaxy...right? I read that AFTER having watched the game, and couldn't believe I wasted time watching it.
yes it's extremely frustrating being little brother to the galaxy in the AEG mantle. I wish the deal with Les wouldn't have fallen through, it was so close
Yeah, i don't recall where i read the article. But is there a bigger farce in all of pro sports than that? My immediate take-away thought was that I had wasted my time watching the game, and I felt stupid for it.
This is just my theory, but I get the feeling the reason the deal with Les Alexander fell through was because AEG is his main competitor for entertainment bucks in Houston. They own the rights to a ton of touring artists, which normally have to pay Alexander to play the Toyota Center. AEG built BBVA with the central interest of hosting their touring acts there, thereby cutting Alexander out of the picture all together. Les didn't like that competition (in addition to the competition of the Dynamo for sports entertainment dollars, but those are small beans comparatively), so of course he made a bid to buy them out. Problem is, AEG doesn't want to give up that stadium and the rights to host its events. Buying that from them would cost Les a fortune. AEG says they're trying to sell the team to rid itself of the conflict of interest between the Galaxy and Dynamo, but honestly, I don't see it happening unless they find a buyer that is willing to let them retain some kind of control over the event scheduling and production.
Lol. I have a feeling you've not watched any Futbol outside of the MLS. Don't let that be your league that represents the sport. It's a below minor league level compared to the ones overseas
Forget LA. I am so forgetting frustrated about this whole LA Gals thing in the spotlight and how they're the league's forgetting baby. The forgetting ref didn't call a foul but he called a forgetting handball all on the same play. Forget LA and their Gals and its forgetting players. Forget'em all I'm glad you're coming back HOME, my Vato Loco Forever, homes. Forget Tres Puntos. Forget LA. REGULAR season is based on points. Scoring is harder to come by in football, man, hence the allowed ties. Nonetheless: FIRST ROUND of the World Cup is based on points. KNOCKOUT stages like playoffs and Round of 16 declare a winner and there are formats for that. CUP games have a decided winner. When don't you declare a winner? I am sorry you're still pissed, man. When do you ever see Alex Rodriguez, Beltran, LeBron James, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Dwayne Wade, or Wayne Gretzky go salute and thank his fans, up in the secluded area of the visiting section in the rival stadium after they've been cheering their team ALL GAME LONG? In no other sport than in FOOTBALL (Soccer). From PManning, DWade, or WGretzky, you won't get ^ this.
Disappointing loss for the Dynamo, but I'm still really pleased with how the season turned out. I'm also with those that say that the 2013 Dynamo will be better than this past version of the squad. There is a really good nucleus in place and I can't wait to see what Boniek Garcia has in store after in a full season with the club. Matt Doyle, a soccer writer/analyst that I really respect, actually has the Dynamo winning the Supporter's Shield. I know it's ridiculous to predict such things before the offseason has really even begun, but it's cool nonetheless.
I'm not really concerned with the MLS. It works because it's predetermined that that is how the tournament will be structured, the final game also takes place at a neutral site (except for the rare occurrence when the club team or country of where the venue is located makes it all the way to the final), and participants have accepted the parameters of the tournament in advance. Other sports like American football (which was mentioned earlier), Australian rules football, boxing, cricket, and hockey (for the longest time) have ties/draws. As another poster explained, the reasons for this in domestic soccer leagues throughout the world is that the regular season is how the champion is determined. Thus, there are no post-season playoffs and every regular season match and every point counts. My only criticism of the rules of soccer is that elimination games should continue in a sudden death format until somebody scores. I don't like brief overtime periods followed by penalty kick shootouts deciding anything. The teams should continue playing 45 min halves with a normal break in between until somebody scores. You can give each team an extra substitution for every half of extra time that is played. For the record, I couldn't care less about soccer being unpopular in America.
