Alexis Guerreros and Christian Polanco of “The Cooligans” react to players’ recent comments about the structure of the first round playoff schedule and what the right format should be. Hear the full conversation on the “The Cooligans” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen.

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Is this the right format for, for this first round?

Um because the players are now talking about it a little bit more, Aaron Long had comments, Stefan Fry was making the comment that basically like if you play, you could, you could beat the, the your opponent five nil in the first game and then lose on penalties in the next two and you're out and that like that doesn't feel right and that Aaron Long was making the point that he thinks it should go back.

If it, if it's going to be more multiple games, it should go to home and home and away home at home, at home.

Um So that and, and go back to aggregate again.

So every, every play is meaningful, every goal is meaningful.

It's just a little bit more uh more on the line than if you're again, if you're losing five nil, you're not really gonna try.

Do me a favor.

The three that we've seen this three game series, you have the home and away and then you have the single uh single game elimination rank them for me best to worst.

I gotta say single game elimination.

Feels the best.

So I'll go single game one, home at home.

Uh, second and then this version as third.

This is, that's fair.

Yeah, I think, look, the, the, actually the 123 is the amount of games.

Also, you range them in the amount of games.

It's hilarious.

The single game elimination easily puts the mo the most intensity.

That's the thing.

It's the most exciting.

But is it the most fair?

Uh You could say a three game series is the most fair?

I would say it's the most fair.

Um But it is, it's only one round that's this way goes to single elimination after this.

Is it, is it the most, um Is it the most entertaining having a three game?

No, it is not.

It is not.

I mean, you can argue, it's, you can, you're gonna argue or anybody's gonna argue that it's, it could be the most entertaining.

I 100%.

That is not the case that the single game.

I would say it's more entertaining than home in a way.

Um I, I completely disagree because then people can park the bus, you can't do that in this.

And that's why that five nil the counter argument to that is like because it's not aggregate, you can't just park the bus.

You have to win every game or the first two, you have to win two of the three, the, the single game um elimination or at least the, the, the home, home and away.

To me, it offers that that second game is more exciting than any of the, than the, than the first two of the, the, the best of three.

Like if, if one team wins and then the other team wins, those, those games to me are less entertaining than that second game of the, the, that because the aggregate score and it's like I'm always find, I find myself paying attention to, ok, we need these many go away goals and, and whatever and even though it can be a little convoluted and maybe for the, for the layman or not, maybe new soccer fan, it might be a bit much, but to me, it offers a fair amount of excitement because you see the intensity when a team is trying to at least tie it up to go to extra time.

Well, I think you're also, you, you hit on why I think MLS is doing this because if you're going to bring Messi in, you're gonna get all of a sudden a bunch of a bunch of fans that don't know anything about soccer suddenly watching it because they're like, wow, I heard this is the greatest player in the world I gotta watch right.

So now all of a sudden how do you make the sport more palatable as someone who doesn't already know the rules that are happening in Europe and everywhere else.

Three game series, it's very uneasy to understand for an American.

It's a, um, so that's why you do from a, you get more matches from a business perspective.

Yeah.

Apple TV is, like, just get them, get them all down the field running around, let them run themselves out.

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