8pm - FSC
DC gets to host a game tonight that only matters for the other team. One wonders how well that will draw on a wet and cold Wednesday in our Nation's Capital. After all, part of the point of the Champions League structure is guaranteed games. One would hope that means games people actually want to see.
As for what DC will look like tonight, open question. At least for once, the relative depth of MLS clubs works in the live crowd's favor. DC can only be so anonymous with the lineup considering how deep they've gone over the last few weeks.
This isn't the best situation if you happen to support Saprissa. They're locked with Marathon at seven points after four games, and would very much like this one not to be a walkover. The same could be said for Cruz Azul, with the rest of Group A potentially disrupted later tonight.
Cruz Azul can finish with a maximum of 13 points by beating Saprissa. If Saprissa wins, they join Cruz Azul with ten. But... unlike Cruz Azul, Saprissa and Marathon still have a game left to play. They face each other on November 5th.
Granted, we probably lost the bulk of the DC faithful at the headline. MLS and its fans haven't shown much commitment to the Champions League past what it directly means to their teams. With DC already out, playing the roll of the spoiler doesn't seem t suit the new soccer nation.
Credit
Here's an apparently open question: what goes into renaming a championship trophy? All Alan Rothenberg did was gift American professional soccer a league based on a business model that survived litigation, and in return he got his name on the championship trophy. As of today, not so much.
Enter the Anschutz Cup, following along with the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup as the two major North American soccer trophies now named after MLS investor-operators. That there wouldn't be an MLS without Alan Rothenberg notwithstanding.
That's no way to treat the architect.
