Yes I was really disappointed with the game for several reasons.
1) The entire idea of playoffs is stupid, and never was that more apparent than here. I've always hated the fact that you only have to be eighth best in the regular season to be declared champion. It only encourages teams to try and be number eight, not number one. Maybe I feel this way because my 2001 Seattle Mariners were arguably the best team in the history of baseball and ultimately it didn't mean anything because they didn't win the playoffs. Playoffs are always just a cash-grab, but they are especially bone-headed in soccer because there is only one game. At least in baseball or basketball it's best of 7. As we saw today, the best team in the regular season can have one bad game and then all was for naught.
2) The commentary was really bad. Whoever did the play-by-play sounded like he has watched about five soccer games in his life. And the color guy didn't add much excitement. Don't dumb down the action. I like that if a match sucks or a player sucks in Britain, the commentator tells you. I still laugh at the commentary for games like Czech Republic vs. Greece in EURO 2004.
3) The whole thing was Americanized. The stupid "talking to the coach" feature, the awful half-time show, and worst of all, the "split screen" advertisements, which is probably the worst thing to hit TV since the Anna Nicole Show. We missed a good goalscoring opportunity and shot just to watch a bunch of really unfunny "comedians" (seriously, that Michael Ian Black guy needs to be killed) talk about Sierra Mist. I understand that they are trying to draw an audience that is used to that, but I like soccer because it's different than American sports. Those kinds of things are relics from the inevitable boring moments in a stop-and-start game like American football or baseball. Gimmicks like this aren't going to make or break soccer in this country.
4) The game itself was crappy. Apart from some bright moments from Donovan and Jones, it was a snoozer. That's the whole problem with the playoff system in a budding league like this: when what the league deems the premier game of the season in fact sucks, it makes the whole league looks bad.
