Pablo, apologies, I meant to refer to the idea that a league should be a cup is delusional, not that someone holding that view is, necessarily, by association, delusional...
Apology accepted.
I'm interested what your response to my reasoned argument that the NHL is not a relevent comparison would be though...
Well, it's not directly relevant - I was merely commenting on my liking of the 7 game series used in the Stanley Cup. However, it's not just the US non-standard leagues that use playoffs, it's also perfectly standard leagues like NRL and Super League. The advantage playoffs bring to the GP is in making certain that the championship is decided by sides with their full complement of international players - in theory improving the quality of the match, and in part making up for the different numbers of players teams will have lost to the AIs/6N/RWC throughout the season.
The problem with a system that excludes the top teams from the first round of any play-off system (aside from the financial aspects OB has mentioned) is that the team that has earned an advantage available (such as home draws) loses momentum.
Well, sort of. (See Ian's post above) Clearly the system can't give teams too long a break, for just the reason you not - in 2003 Gloucester hadn't played a competitive game of rugby for three weeks before the final and were duly pasted by Wasps because they lost so much momentum. But the NRL system just gives teams one weekend off, no more, which ought be a welcome rest at the end of a season, rather than a momentum killer. However, the trade-off of a McIntyre-type system is that any lost momentum is compensated for by the "extra life" Ian describes above.
It is interesting to consider how to make the play-offs the 'main' prize at the same time as bringing back some recognition for the league toppers (winners). I see the main problem is how the fans view it, and for the forseeable future, I imagine they will be seen as an 'add-on', simply conceived to make more money... The teams may well take it seriously if it is separate from the league given a large enough prize pot, but will it change the perception of the fans?
It seems from this that (assuming the playoffs are here to stay, regardless of your feelings about that) you agree with me that the playoffs' validity is contingent on the playoff trophy becoming the ultimate prize, rather than the table-topper. I would suggest that the prize pot you mention is key to effecting this - if the teams are seen to play harder for this prize than the table-topper trophy, then I think the players' attitude will filter down to the fans... who will then begin to desire the playoff win over the table-topper win (if they can't have both, of course! :wink
. And in this respect, the NHL actually becomes relevant - the President's Trophy is awarded to the team with the most league points at the end of the regular season (this year's winners: Detroit, who currently hold a 3 game lead in the Western finals). But ask the players which of the President's Trophy or the Stanley Cup they would prefer to win if they could only have one, and they will all answer in favour of the Stanley Cup without hesitation or exception. And this attitude is reflected in that of the fans. So there's the solution - get the players, coaches and team managers to care more about the playoff win, and I think you would see most fans soon follow suit.
The way to get the teams and players to care more? Money, most probably...
