Lionel Messi and Inter Miami lifted the Supporters’ Shield on Oct. 2 after beating Wilfried Nancy’s Columbus Crew. It was a record-breaking 46th trophy for Messi and just the second in Inter Miami club history. If they don’t win the MLS Cup, though, the Supporters’ Shield will mean nothing.
Every year, when a new Supporters’ Shield winner is crowned, the team that wins the trophy argues it is more important than the MLS Cup.
Fans labeled LAFC the ‘Greatest Team Ever’ after they won the Supporters’ Shield in 2019. Pat Noonan said the Supporters’ Shield is more important than MLS Cup last year when FC Cincinnati won the trophy. You wouldn’t have a hard time finding Inter Miami fans saying the same this year.
The funny thing about this is that fans of the teams who won the Supporters’ Shield are usually the only ones who remember it.
Jesse Marsch’s 2015 New York Red Bulls team was one of the best teams in MLS history, winning the Shield with an aggressive high-pressing style. Their legacy is that they never won the MLS Cup. The Portland Timbers and Diego Valeri’s first-minute goal against the Columbus Crew in the MLS Cup are what people remember from that season.
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In 2018, under Chris Armas, the Red Bulls put up another historic season. They won the Shield with 71 points, the third most in MLS history. Again, their legacy is that they couldn’t win the MLS Cup. Instead, we remember the 2018 season for Atlanta United lifting the Cup in their inaugural season in the league.
More recently, Bruce Arena’s New England Revolution finished the 2021 MLS season with the best record in league history. The Revs earned 73 points, the most in MLS history. They finished 19 points ahead of the Philadelphia Union, who were second in the Eastern Conference. The Colorado Rapids, who won the Western Conference, had just 60 points. Just three years later, no one talks about the 2021 New England Revolution.
It might not be fair that teams like the Red Bulls and Revs are forgotten, since the MLS Cup Playoffs are more of a crapshoot, but that’s the way it is in MLS. The regular season doesn’t matter once the playoffs start.
A bad team can go far if they get hot in the playoffs, and a good team can go out early if they get unlucky. That randomness is part of the reason we like the MLS Cup Playoffs so much and why we remember the teams who come out of that chaos more than the ones who consistently perform in the regular season.
Lionel Messi will get the chance to experience the beautiful chaos of the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in just a few weeks. If he and Inter Miami want fans to remember this historic season, they will need to do well and win the MLS Cup. Otherwise, we will all remember the team who won the Cup when Messi couldn’t.
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