Get used to losing (by the numbers)

MLS is a losing league, so get used to it.

By this I mean that the best teams in the league lose more often than the best teams in most other big leagues. To quantify this, the average number of losses of the winners of the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga last season was only 3.5 games in 38 game seasons. This is drastically different than the MLS Supporters Shield winners of the last two years that lost 9.5 games in their 34 game seasons.

These are just the losses, MLS leaders also drop (fail to get) about twice as many points as leaders of the other big leagues. EPL, La Liga, Serie A, and Bundesliga table toppers only dropped an average of 19 points out of a possible 114 for the season. MLS's best teams dropped over twice that the last two seasons with an average of 40.5 points in a 102 point season.

These are the stats you need to look at if you are the best teams in the league and let’s face it, most teams are not. The goal of MLS teams is to stay above the red line, to make the playoffs. If this is your goal, you are going to lose a lot more. The last team to make the playoffs over the last few years have consistently lost about 40% of their games (13 of their 34 games) and with ties have dropped on average of 55 points. This is over half the points available to an MLS team in a 34 game season.

The losing nature of the lague is due to the MLS talent sharing system to keep the playing field level. This prevents teams with deeper pockets from dominating the league. This is the reason why practically any team has a chance to win the title each season, unlike most big leagues out there were the bulk of the league has no chance of taking the top spot. This is the reality for MLS fans. This is why our league is so exciting. So get used to losing.