Championships in Major League Soccer are all about the playoffs. On the surface, that statement is tautological, but within its subtext is a more useful reminder: The nature of the league changes once the regular season is over.
The style and level of competition changes. It heightens. Regular-season results may be a decent indicator of a team’s capabilities, but over the course of the postseason, one team is going to reach its potential. And that team’s going to render its regular-season results moot.
Consider that only seven teams in MLS’s previous 24 seasons won both the regular-season title, the Supporters’ Shield, and MLS Cup.