Why so much playoff hate?

I think it gets really gimmicky with the points doubling and tripling at each round, and the name is dumb as fuck.

The promoters dont even care about the playoffs. At Dallas SMX last year they didnt even have water available for fans, and they ran it during the day during the hottest part of the year in Texas. 

If they aren't going to invest in it to make it feel like the premium series, nobody is going to take it seriously. The money for the riders is great but the series itself is a side thought by Feld and MXSports, make no mistake about it. 

It's gimmicky but who cares it's some extra racing before the off season

The final round triple points is dumb. I like the rest of it. 

Everyone i know feels the way i just said, that’s the reason for the hate.

They also tried to make it legitimate by saying rc and stew are 752 time smx champs when it never even was a thought when they raced.

It’s all just contrived and we don’t like it.

But yeah for extra races and whatever it’s cool.

But explaining the reason for the hate, as you asked ya know.

uhhhhhhuhhh... cause it's dumb?

In the Weege Show wrapup, he makes a great point about the positive impact that SMX has made on the outdoor series, which makes me a fan. 

That part starts at 10:53.

Exactly, it keeps more guys in the fight till the end. The first year Jett, Chase, and Kenny all had a mathematical shot at the Title going into the last moto.

What more could a fan ask for?

Have you attended an SMX race?

Went to Charlotte the first two years.  Not going again.  Track or promoters got greedy.  Last year the vibe was killed when they started charging for an additional pass to get in on Friday.  Was over $100 for my wife and I.  Year 1 your event ticket for Saturday got you in.  I also don’t like how it’s ended up being the least important, almost throw away round of the “playoffs” because of the retarded double, triple points gimmick.  We’re in AZ and thought about going to Vegas this year instead, but the potential for extreme heat and the ticket and hotel prices make it a no-go.

First,  it's not a playoff. In a playoff format participants are eliminated (from championship contention if not participation) in each round. No one is eliminated here. 

Second the tracks are a joke. People bag on the GP series for the man made/no elevation tracks, but this "series" is made up entirely of these monstrosities. Joke city. 

Finally,  they make the season too long. 

The attendance experience (good or bad) is its own thing. Obviously if they want SMX to succeed, the more people live at the events the better. 

However, the vast majority of fans are NOT in attendance so it comes down to what it is bringing to the table for the overall culture and resiliency of the sport for the future, which is another thing entirely. THAT should be the point of discussion here. 

The additional engagement that it brings from the riders themselves, the good payout to guys lower in the running order, and the positive impact on the outdoor series makes it a winner in my book.  

I personally don't like the extreme point differential between the round, but that's just fine tuning. 

Three more really awesome races left in the season to watch how on earth can that be bad? 
 

The name is lame, and the point system makes it a joke of a playoff series (example you can miss basically the entire supercross season or motocross season and do well in the other season and still win SMX because of the lame points system lol). Otherwise I love it. 

I like that it has kept some things interesting, there were a few battles in the privateer ranks where people were trying to secure their place, its a bit of the shame the broadcast didn't focus more on that though. I think one year we will see a leading rider bow out after motocross and not do the SMX and that will be the beginning of the end for it. I also wish at least one of them was on a proper track, its the right time of year, why do a man made thing.

How could a true moto fan not appreciate having 3 more races?? And the fact that it keeps riders coming back from injury to still ride the nationals.

It’s really 1 more race. 1 national died and monster cup died for the sins of this 3 race deal. 3 minus 2 is 1.

Superstupidcross is just that.. they call it a world championship.. but it's an event only held 3 times a year, in only one country, with no fim sanctioning... why the need to lie???... then there's how stupid the tracks are, they are tracks that are impossible to set up suspension wise... the riders are burnt the f out and don't wanna race it... the half ass venues... it's just the promoters milking more blood out of their slaves.... 

If they would leave it as a stand alone thing, it would help.  Too much overlap into the sx and outdoor series.  Endless talking about the points all season is annoying and a waste of time and frankly is confusing, especially to a new fan.  And get rid of the different colored plates.  Another example of the overlap.  

If I hear these moran media types come up with any more asinine ideas on how to change (and ruin) the sport, my head will explode. The playoff format is just fine, thank you, the season length is just fine, thank you, the number of riders in the field is just fine, thank you, everything is working, but these idiots think they are the smartest ones in the room and want constant change. One of the Jasons brought up the point that with the playoff points structure the way it is now, every championship has come down to the final round, with multiple riders having a shot. What on earth is wrong with that, from a fan's perspective? Riders getting worn out from the season? Regulate your workload yourself! And when LP brought up limiting the outdoor field to only 30 riders, I had to turn the podcast off in disgust.

Just because you have a thought doesn't mean it's a good one.  

Execution is poor.

The first year was actually not half bad - LA Coliseum was iconic and that Chicagoland track gave a genuine outdoor vibe. 

The rest? Mostly dried out dog tracks criss-crossing a dragstrip. It presents poorly and races worse.

All that aside, the real problem is the same that every series that has moved to a playoff format has - it devalues the ENTIRE championship. 

Yeah dude the last 10 guys really added a lot to the race. I loved watching them get in the way with more than half the race left to go.

Yes they’re insanely fast compared to me, but they’re in the way with half the race to go…

Calling them "Playoffs" is such a miss and it really goes to show how tone deaf the powers that be really are. This ain't a game! It's a race!! They should be called the FINALS and that's it. SMX Finals sounds way better than SMX Playoffs.

Also, none of these races should ever be a day race. If we are putting this mini series on a pedestal and calling them the finals they need to be under the lights with all the prestige and hype that they deserve. The day race just doesn't have that and for the fans being able to fire up the grill and have a few brews as the night show ramps up is what it's all about IMO.

Those two points and the gimmicky point system are really my only gripes though. Other than that, I really like what it's been adding to the season. More of a storyline all the way through each series with more guys coming back earlier from injury to try and be ready for the big show. Different tracks and a different twist with such a short series. All good things. Hopefully they keep improving and we have an even better show this year. I'm excited for it!

Not my problem to fix a series I don’t own. But here is a quick suggestion, it’s really easy because many other sports do it much better. But here is an option.

A name - Just call it “SMX Playoffs” leave out the superdoopercross stuff. 

Points system - cumulative carryover and reset bonus. 
- Riders keep all regular season points (SX and MX combined), but before the playoff you “reset” them with a gap (think PGA like this past weekend). 
- 1st place starts with 25 pts, 2nd with 22 pts, 3rd with 20 pts, etc. This rewards consistency of both regular season series but tightens the field so SMX actually matters. 
- Then in the 3 race playoff series standard race points apply per race. After the three race series the combined total is crowned SMX champ. 

But even that doesn’t fix it all really. It’s just a quick 5 minute option given. 

It seems like SMX came up about 3 minutes after the WSX was announced and it looked like it could pull US riders overseas. It just looked like a panic move from Feld.

Anything that puts more money in the rider's pockets and gives the fans more racing to watch is OK in my book.