SuperLiga Post-Facto Thoughts; Supporters' Shield Pre-Facto Thoughts

I stumbled across an interesting article in the Washington Post that was written back in July. It summarizes how the Soccer United Marketing will compensate MLS teams that do well in SuperLiga. An excerpt:

SUM will reward the tournament champion $1 million. If an MLS team wins, $150,000 of the prize money will be earmarked for the players to divide. The league also will award $100,000 to the players on an MLS team that loses in the final, and $50,000 to the players on any MLS team that loses in the semifinals.

This year's MLS participants were selected by tournament organizers, but starting next summer, the top four finishers in the previous regular season will earn bids.

According to this quote, the Dynamo get to split $50 grand at least. It's not much (about $1,920 divided 26 ways), but it could cover a couple of car payments, a mortgage payment, or beer money, depending on the player's needs. This would be particularly welcome to the lowest-paid members of the team.

I imagine that Joseph Ngwenya, after playing a pretty good game overall, is nevertheless bummed out that his spot kick turned out so horribly. It cost him and his mates some significant dinero. He might even feel the need to take personal responsibility for the loss. All I would say to him is: Ngwenya, you're a Dynamo now. This team regularly competes for the highest honors. You'll have plenty of chances to redeem yourself as we pursue future prizes. This very weekend we get back on track for the Supporters' Shield, my friend.

Speaking of which, it seems the Supporters' Shield is becoming more and more dominant in the hierarchy of awards. Starting this season, the Shield bearers from last season were the first to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup. (The other qualifier was the MLS Cup winner, that's us guys. If the Cup and Shield winner are ever the same team, then the runner up to the Shield -- not to the Cup -- takes the other Champions' slot.) Starting next season, the Supporters' Shield bearer from this season and the next three teams of the regular 2007 season qualify for the SuperLiga.

I like how the MLS is trying to make the Shield more prestigious. This is a reflection of the traditions of soccer leagues in other nations. Yet, at least for the foreseeable future, we here in America will refer to the MLS Cup winner as the Champion -- and the Cup Champion shall receive the most recognition in the press, the second slot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the MLS Cup jersey scudetto (which turns into a star atop the club's shield the second season after the Cup victory), and the silver ball for home games.

Winning the Cup involves a bit of luck: one bad game and your team gets nothing. For this reason, we should focus on securing the Shield. If we get this, then we get access to the two international tournaments. Only after winning the Shield should we turn our gaze to the MLS Cup...and we should be in a good position at that point to win the rare double.

(Click on the "Supporters' Shield" link above to see that only 3 teams have won the Cup and the Shield in the same season: DC United in 1997 & 1999, KC Wizards in 2000, and LAG in 2002.)