Per the Miami Fury Facebook page, the Savannah Sabers have forfeited their first round playoff game today, which means the Fury have a bye and will compete in round 2 next week against either Atlanta or Tampa Bay. The Sabers were the Division 5 runners-up, and Divs 5 & 6, as you may remember, have no wild card, meaning that the only other team that could have taken their place (as the Zydeco took the Mustangs) would have been the Tennessee Train, who went 1-7 for the season. So in that sense, Miami’s bye makes sense.
But in the larger picture, I think it’s worth doing a little examination to see why two teams that made the playoffs couldn’t make it to their games. Is that an indication that too many teams are in the playoffs to begin with? Or that teams should be fundraising all season as if they already knew they would have post-season away games? Or is it some other reason? I actually have no idea why Savannah forfeited, and I wouldn’t have even known they did if I hadn’t been checking the Fury’s FB page to try to find info about following the game. This change isn’t currently reflected on the WFA site and I don’t have any independent confirmation of it but I’m assuming Miami knows what they’re talking about.
Updated bracket is here. Happy gameday to everyone playing! It’s a gorgeous day in Boston; I hope it is where you are, too.
