Pro Soccer: 2015-16 Mexican Liga MX Season Begins

The Apertura (first split-season) of Mexico's Premier League in professional soccer, also known as Liga MX, started the other day with Veracruz beating Guadalajara 2-0.  This evening, one of the Spanish-language TV stations will be showing the match between Cruz Azul, a team based in Mexico City, and Morelia, which is in danger of being relegated (demoted) to the next lower league if it doesn't dramatically change its recently losing ways.  I usually tend to root for Cruz Azul unless they happen to be playing my favorite team, the Tigres of UANL (based in Monterrey). And it should be interesting to see how much effort has been put into making Morelia's Monarcas more competitive...

Speaking of relegation, although Morelia was clearly the worst team in the league last year, the decision to relegate is placed on a cumulative three-year ratio of points earned per games played.  In soccer, a team gets three points for a win, one for a draw, and nothing for a loss.  In 2014-15, the Leones Negros ("Black Lions") of the Universidad de Guadalajara, just promoted after winning the lower league's (Ascenso) championship in 2013-14, were relegated back after losing a close season-ending struggle with Puebla to see which team would suffer this indignity.  The new team promoted up into Liga MX this year is Dorados de Sinaloa, which won the Ascenso championship playoff a few months ago...

Although I enjoy watching Mexican soccer, along with listening to the exuberant Spanish-speaking TV announcers, I don't like the Liga MX format of split-seasons with two champions per year (last year they were America, also based in Mexico City, and Santos Laguna).  And I really don't like their playoff system, which includes too many teams (eight) and punishes those who performed well in the regular season.  In my book, Tigres should have won the overall championship since they had the league's best record over the course of the year.  After all, regular season records are how they determine the champions in the English (Barclay's) Premier League and in other leagues across Europe...

Speaking of the English Premier League, they open their season the second week of August.  Now that's my favorite soccer to watch.  Hopefully, NBC Sports will continue to carry the games. Go Arsenal!