How the Unofficial Championship Works

Here, by the way, are the rules of the unofficial championship.

1) The first unofficial championship was determined by the result of MLS Cup 2003, the earliest cup for which the subsequent full season's results were available. As a result, the Champion was San Jose.

2) Any regular season MLS or US Open cup match between two MLS teams is a championship game. The winner becomes the Unofficial MLS Champion. A draw means that the championship is retained by the defending champion.

3) Aggregate goal playoff games are treated separately for each leg when the unofficial Champion is defending the title.

4) A team receives a point by winning a championship game. A team received a "Hold" credit by winning a championship game or drawing a game in which it is the defending champion.

5) All time rankings are based on points, with a tie breaker to holds.

6) These rules are determined by D, and can be changed at any time. In the event the full season results for earlier seasons are made available, the all time standings (and potentially the championship) will change. Ideally, the championship will be traced back to MLS Cup 1996, when DC United defeated the LA Galaxy.