There are few clearer cut lines in Major League Soccer than the one dividing playoff teams from the unfortunate few left gloomily watching drama unfold from their couches.
This is a league in which the meaning of success can sometimes be tricky to pin down.
Even the most stubborn of Sounders fans would likely trade that 2014 Supporters’ Shield as regular-season champions for the club’s first MLS Cup, but what of those four U.S. Open Cups? And where does the CONCACAF Champions League factor into the equation?
Even the postseason can be quibbled over. Coaches and players alike refer to one-off and two-game playoffs as “crap shoots.