2016 is the first Major League Soccer season in which both MLS Cup Final teams from the previous season missed the playoffs the following year. Both the Portland Timbers and the Columbus Crew failed to reach the postseason. The downfall of the defending MLS Cup Champions is a disappointing story with plenty of reasons.
The amount of parity in MLS is what makes the league so competitive compared to that of the English Premier League, the Bundesliga in Germany, or even La Liga in Spain. The success of clubs in the United States’ top flight varies each year.