1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004. The five other championships have been won by teams coming out of the Western Conference, starting with the Chicago Fire (1998). The Los Angeles Galaxy (2001, 2005) San Jose Earthquakes (2001, 2003) and Houston Dynamo (2006, 2007) are the only other multiple winners. The Western Conference, incidentally, held a stranglehold on the Cup for four consecutive years -- Kansas City Wizards (2000), San Jose (2001), Los Angeles (2002) and San Jose (2003) before United (who else?) broke the streak in 2004.
The least from the East
Like it or not, playoff futility is defined by the Red Bulls/MetroStars, who have gotten out of the opening round only once -- 2000 -- and that was with an A-League goalkeeper in Paul Grafer between the posts. Mike Ammann had been hospitalized by a brutal collision with Mamadou Diallo and Tim Howard was at the Summer Olympics. The club swept the Dallas Burn in two games before meeting its match in the semifinals against the Chicago Fire.
For the record, the Red Bulls are 6-13-4 in the playoffs, including 1-9-3 away from the confines of Giants Stadium.
The regular season vs. the postseason
So, your favorite team has enjoyed a fabulous great season. In fact, your heroes earned more points than any other team in the league.
So that makes them a favorite to win it all, right? Not necessarily.
Take heed of history, Crew fans (Columbus captured this year's Supporters' Shield on the strength of their 17-7-6 record and 57 points).
Of the 12 previous Supporters' Shield winners, only four have gone on to MLS Cup glory -- United (1997 and 1999), Kansas City (2000) and Los Angeles (2002). In fact, only five conference regular season winners have gone on to capture the championship; the aforementioned Shield winners and the 2003 Earthquakes. Columbus Crew coach Sigi Schmid, who directed this year's Supporters' Shield winners, also guided the 2002 Galaxy.
Here's how the Supporters' Shield winners and eventual MLS champions have fared during the regular season:
1996
Supporters' Shield: Tampa Bay (20-12, 58 points), lost to United in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, two games to one
Eventual champion: D.C. United (16-16-0, 46), which finished second in the conference and third in the league
1997
Supporters' Shield and champion: D.C. United (22-11, 55)
1998
Supporters' Shield: Los Angeles (28-8, 68), lost in the Western Conference Finals, swept by the Chicago Fire, two games to none
Eventual champion: Chicago (20-12), which finished second in the conference and third overall
1999
Supporters' Shield and champion: D.C. United (23-9, 57)
2000
Supporters' Shield and champion: Kansas City (16-7-9, 57)
2001
Supporters' Shield: Miami (16-5-5, 53), which was eliminated in the semifinals by San Jose, which won the first to five points playoff competition used that season (6-3)
Eventual champion: San Jose (13-7-6, 45), which finished second in the Western Division and tied for fourth overall
2002
Supporters Shield and champion: Los Angeles (16-9-3, 51)
2003
Supporters' Shield: Chicago (15-7-8, 53), which lost 4-2 in the MLS Cup to the Earthquakes
Eventual champion: San Jose (14-7-9, 51), which took first place in the Western Conference and was second overall
2004
Supporters' Shield: Columbus (12-5-13, 49), which was eliminated by the New England Revolution in the Eastern Conference semifinals (first round), losing 2-1 on aggregate goals
Eventual champion: D.C. United (11-10-9, 42) which finished second in the conference and fourth overall
2005
Supporters Shield: San Jose Earthquakes (18-4-10, 64), who were eliminated by the Galaxy in the Western Conference semifinals (first round), losing 4-2 on total goals
Eventual champion: Los Angeles Galaxy (13-13-6, 45), who finished fourth in the West and eighth overall
2006
Supporters Shield: D.C. United (15-7-10, 55), who were defeated by New England for the Eastern Conference championship, 1-0
Eventual champion: Houston Dynamo (11-8-13 46), who took second in the West
2007
Supporters Shield: D.C. United (16-7-7, 55), who were beaten by the Chicago Fire for the Eastern Conference championship, 1-0
Eventual champion: Houston (15-8-7, 52), which finished second out West.
Doubling their pleasure
To truly appreciate D.C.'s early dominance, United (1996 and 1997) and Dynamo (2006 and 2007) are the only teams to win back-to-back championships. D.C. lost out for a triple in 1998, but bouncing back the next year. Houston, of course, is going for the triple this season.
Of the other champions that were eligible to repeat, not one has been able to get back to the title game in consecutive seasons. The Galaxy lost in the 2001 Final and rebounded to the 2002 Cup.
Goals, goals, goals
Depending on the category, these feats with the feet and head can be measured by excellence over years, a superb surge during the month of postseason or 90 minutes of brilliance.
For a career, Toronto FC striker Carlos Ruiz has found the back of the net 16 times, mostly for the Galaxy and FC Dallas, although he will have to wait until next year to add to his totals because Toronto failed to reach the playoffs. Ditto for the Galaxy's Landon Donovan, who is next with 14 goals. United forward Jaime Moreno, who is in fourth place with 12 goals, also will have to wait.
Only two players have managed hat tricks in the playoffs -- United's Raul Diaz Arce in a 4-1 victory against Tampa Bay on Oct. 10, 1996 and Columbus' Stern John vs. D.C. in a 5-1 triumph on Nov. 7, 1999. In fact, John's goals came in the second half.
Seeing red
Not only does former forward Diego Serna holds the career record for most red cards in a playoffs (two), he accomplished that feat in one year, quite a difficult achievement considering how short the postseason really is. He pulled that off while with Miami Fusion in 2001. He was given his marching orders in playoff series against the Wizards and Earthquakes.
Mr. Playoffs
Chivas veteran forward Ante Razov enters the postseason as the highest goal-scorer with 11 goals, fifth on the all-time list, in 33 games. In fact, Razov has found himself fairly high in a number of statistical categories. He is tied with Jaime Moreno and Peter Nowak for fourth place in assists (10 apiece), trailing leader and former L.A. great Mauricio Cienfuegos. He has taken more shots (92) than anyone else and has placed more shots on goal (37) than any other player. He has committed 60 fouls (fourth on the list; Chicago's Diego Gutierrez is tops with 92) and has been offside a league-high 39 times.
Keeping up with Mr. Jones
Former Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones, who retired after the 2007 season, did not miss the playoffs in his first 10 seasons. So, it should not be surprising that Jones leads has played more than the equivalent of a season in the playoffs and leads in several categories, including games (45), games started (43), minutes (3,938) and fouls suffered (113). He has scored six times and assisted on 13 others.
And keeping up with Mr. Hartman as well
Since becoming a pro in 1997, Kansas City Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman also has played the equivalent of more than a season, starting in 42 games over 3,862 minutes for a 1.17 goals-against average, a 22-14-5 mark and 14 shutouts. All but the GAA and over record are playoff highs.
Cinderella men and teams
Two categories fall under this topic: Teams that had so-so regular seasons that found the glass slipper or brass ring and teams that enjoyed fabulous playoff runs to MLS Cup.
The champion with the poorest record was 1996 United, which some people might forget in light of D.C.'s fabulous postseason success through the years. D.C. went 16-16 that season, finishing second in the East to Tampa Bay (and third in overall points in the league) before getting hot in the playoffs. The 2005 Galaxy side (13-13-6, 45) also finished at .500 and fourth in the West.
As it turns out, the 2004 United side (11-10-9, 42) came closest to that accomplishment, finishing second in its conference and fourth overall. The 2001 Earthquakes (13-7-6, 45) also were fourth overall, but had a slightly better point total, playing in two more games.
As for clubs that enjoyed the ride until the final game, four teams (and five fabulous finishes) come to mind:
• The 1997 Rapids (14-18, 38), which finished fourth in the Western Conference and had the seventh-most points. The Rapids, however, swept all four of their playoff matches against higher seeded sides before meeting their match vs. United in MLS Cup in a 2-1 loss.
• The 2002 Revolution (12-14-2, 38), which finished second in the East, had tied for the fifth-most points during the regular season. The Revs lost 1-0 to the Galaxy in the final at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
• The 2005 Galaxy (13-13-6, 45) finished fourth in the West, had the least number of points for any of the eight playoff teams. Yet, the Galaxy ran the table and won it all, upending the Revs 1-0 in extra time in Frisco, Texas.
• Both of the Dynamo's championship season (2006 and 2007) were won by second-place clubs. In 2006, the Dynamo (11-8-13, 46) took second to FC Dallas in the West with the fourth most points in the league, yet Houston won it all, outlasting New England in a penalty-kick shootout in Frisco, Texas. In 2007, Houston (15-8-7, 52) finished second to Chivas USA with the third most points in the league. But the Dynamo managed to become only the second team to capture back-to-back titles, besting the Revs again, this time in Washington, D.C.
Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News and is editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He can be reached at SoccerWriter516@aol.com. Views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
