Supporters Shield History
2007 DC United (4)
2006 DC United (3)
2005 San Jose Earthquakes (1)
2004 Columbus Crew (1)
2003 Chicago Fire (1)
2002 LA Galaxy (2)
2001 Miami Fusion (1)
2000 Kansas City Wizards (1)
1999 DC United (2)
1998 LA Galaxy (1)
1997 DC United (1)
1996 Tampa Bay Mutiny (1)
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The Supporters’ Shield’s Jinx
With DC winning the Supporters Shield in 2006, it makes you wonder how they could fair. On several occasions, the Supporters’ Shield winners have in fact faltered badly in the next season(s), notable examples were (information thanks to Wikipedia.com):
- In 1996, Tampa Bay Mutiny won the first Supporters’ Shield, but could not achieve much successes in the next few seasons, either by missing the playoffs (1998, 2001) or getting knocked out in the Conference Semifinals (1997, 1999, 2000). They eventually folded after the 2001 season.
- In 1999, D.C. United won the Supporters’ Shield, but missed the playoffs in the next season, finishing last in the Eastern Conference (11th out of 12 overall). In fact they also failed to make the playoffs in 2001 (last in the Eastern Conference, 10th out of 12) and 2002 (last in the Eastern Conference, 10th out of 10), while barely made the playoffs in 2003, finishing 2nd last (just a point ahead of last-placed Columbus Crew) in the Eastern Conference (7th out of 10), and they were knocked out by Chicago Fire in the Conference Semifinals with 2 straight losses.
- In 2000, Kansas City Wizards won the Supporters’ Shield, but barely made the playoffs in the next season, finishing 2nd last in the Western Conference (7th out of 12), and they were knocked out by Miami Fusion in the Conference Semifinals. In 2002 they barely made the playoffs as well, despite finishing last in the Western Conference (8th out of 10), and they were knocked out by Los Angeles Galaxy in the Conference Semifinals.
- In 2001, Miami Fusion won the Supporters’ Shield, but folded the next season along with fellow instate rival Tampa Bay Mutiny.
- In 2002, Los Angeles Galaxy won the Supporters’ Shield, but barely made the playoffs in the next season, finishing 2nd last in the Western Conference (9th out of 10), and they were knocked out by San Jose Earthquakes in the Conference Semifinals, having actually taken a 4-goals aggregate lead in the tie.
- In 2003, Chicago Fire won the Supporters’ Shield, but missed the playoffs in the next season, finishing last in the Eastern Conference (10th out of 10).
- In 2004, Columbus Crew won the Supporters’ Shield, but missed the playoffs in the next season, finishing last in the Eastern Conference (10th out of 12, thankfully the expansion sides RSL and Chivas were that much worse than the Crew). They again failed to make the playoffs in 2006, with an even worse record (last in the Eastern Conference, 12th out of 12).
- In 2005, San Jose Earthquakes won the Supporters’ Shield, but were relocated the following season to Houston (as a brand new franchise: Houston Dynamo) without inheriting the franchise’s successful history (especially being two-time winners of the MLS Cup in 2001 and 2003).
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The Runners-up Woes
As for FC Dallas going into this season, being 2006’s runner up hasn’t been as bad but several Shield Runners-up also collapsed dramatically in the next season(s), such as:
- In 1997, Kansas City Wizards finished as Shield Runners-up, but missed the playoffs in the next season, finishing last in the Western Conference (11th out of 12). They again failed to make the playoffs in 1999, with an equally dismal record (last in the Western Conference, 11th out of 12).
- In 2003, San Jose Earthquakes finished as Shield Runners-up, but barely made the playoffs in the next season, finishing 2nd last in the Western Conference (7th out of 10, only 2 points ahead of last-placed Dallas Burn), and they were knocked out by Kansas City Wizards in the the Conference Semifinals, having actually taken a 2-goals aggregate lead in the tie.
- In 2004, Kansas City Wizards finished as Shield Runners-up, but missed the playoffs in the next season, finishing 2nd last in the Eastern Conference (7th out of 12). They again failed to make the playoffs in 2006, with an even worse record (2nd last in the Eastern Conference, 11th out of 12).
Thankfully for the Hoops their name doesn’t start with ‘Kansas’ and end with ‘City Wizards’.
Other items of note:
No team has ever manage to defend the Shield in the next season after winning it.DC has ended any kind of jinx on the Supporters Shield since they successfully defended it in 2007 becoming the first club in league history to win back-to-back Supporter’s Shields
