Raise your hand if you are clueless about the Roman numerals involved in this upcoming NFL Super Bowl on Sunday.
Ok, so it's "XLVI" and I've drawn a massive blank on that grade school class that I need to decipher it.
When it comes to the Super Bowl, I lost count a long time ago, which is why I think it’s inevitable that the NFL will eventually buckle and go the MMA route with how they identify their main event: Super Bowl 60, Super Bowl 61, etc.
And MLS should give some thought to making the switch as well.
In the event the regular season ever moves to a winter-spring schedule that overlaps two calendar years, attaching the actual year to "MLS Cup" will be irrelevant. Take England for example: How muddled is it to call Manchester United the 2010-2011 Premier League Champions? No, they were technically never champions in 2010.
And so why not take advantage of the fact there is a new format for MLS Cup this year with the highest remaining seed hosting the final, and rebrand the way we refer to soccer’s championship match in the USA?
The new nomenclature would also allow for multiple championship matches in the same calendar year if MLS ever opted to go to a split season (ala the apertura – clausura set-up in other leagues in South America). Ever try to follow the champions in Mexico? It’s a mess.
So "MLS Cup 17" this December! Has a decent ring to it.
