{"id":23405,"date":"2020-07-08T21:48:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T18:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-mls-is-back-but-should-it-be\/"},"modified":"2020-07-08T21:48:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-08T18:48:00","slug":"the-mls-is-back-but-should-it-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-mls-is-back-but-should-it-be\/","title":{"rendered":"#The \u2018MLS is Back,\u2019 but should it be?"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#The \u2018MLS is Back,\u2019 but should it be?<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n The teams have trickled into Orlando and the grass at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex is freshly cut.<\/p>\n

Yet the \u201cMLS is Back\u201d tournament will separate players from their families during a worldwide pandemic, and take place without an entire club and the league\u2019s reigning MVP.<\/p>\n

Is it really worth it?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve personally always been against the tournament and travel<\/a>ling down,\u201d New York City FC midfielder Maxi Moralez said through a translator recently during a virtual team media<\/a> day.<\/p>\n

How could you blame him?<\/p>\n

In fairness to the league, the June 10 announcement for the tournament came weeks before Florida\u2019s drastic surge in coronavirus cases that has made it one of the country\u2019s current hotspots (it reported its biggest daily rise in new confirmed cases on Saturday).<\/p>\n

Now, though, the tournament is starting to look less like a realistic plan and more like a pipe dream.<\/p>\n

After arriving in Orlando, 10 FC Dallas players tested positive for coronavirus and the team was booted from the tournament on Monday. (FC Dallas had three players test positive for the virus before traveling to Orlando, but the team said everyone in the traveling party had tested negatively.)<\/p>\n

Nashville SC has had five confirmed positive tests of their own, according to The Athletic, while the Columbus Crew has seen a positive test in Orlando, too. The Red Bulls, Toronto FC and the Colorado Rapids have all delayed their arrivals to Orlando at various points, and several game<\/a>s have already been rescheduled.<\/p>\n

To convince yourself that the tournament is a good idea at this point is an exercise in mental gymnastics.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what we\u2019ve been told and from what I understand\u2026the league has really believed that we\u2019re [in] as safe a situation as we could possibly be in,\u201d NYCFC CEO Brad Sims told reporters Monday, \u201cand that things are working as they intended.\u201d His club is scheduled to make its tournament debut on Thursday vs. the Philadelphia Union.<\/p>\n

Of course some positive tests are to be expected (the numbers are actually relatively low so far) and most of those positives stemmed from one team.<\/p>\n

Still, none of this is ideal, and more importantly, none of it is truly necessary. It\u2019s becoming increasingly difficult to squint and look past the flaws in the bubble plan \u2014 like the hotel staffers who can freely leave the bubble \u2014 and hold it up as the only option. Not playing is an option, too, and the league\u2019s best player is exercising that right.<\/p>\n

Reigning MVP and LAFC captain Carlos Vela announced Monday that he would not be travelling to the tournament, instead choosing to stay at home with his pregnant wife. There\u2019s nothing wrong with Vela\u2019s choice; the problem lies with Vela\u2019s need to make it.<\/p>\n

\"Carlos<\/img>
Carlos Vela<\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A similar situation occurred with the Red Bulls, who are set to return to action Saturday night vs. Atlanta, as Southampton loanee Josh Sims returned to England \u201cin light of the ongoing effects of the global pandemic and all of the uncertainties that remain.\u201d The Vancouver Whitecaps announced Tuesday that five of their players would not be making the trip either.<\/p>\n

With Vela and the whole of FC Dallas out, and players\u2019 health at risk, ask yourself this question: Is the MLS truly back, or is some inferior mutation replacing it for the time being?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all beginning to seem a bit forced, though Sims has taken an accommodating app<\/a>roach with his players.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they at any point are down there and feel unsafe and want to come home, we\u2019ll get em\u2019 back as soon as possible,\u201d he said Monday.<\/p>\n

Sims\u2019 point, however well-intentioned, shows why staging a tournament with legitimate ramifications right now is a misguided idea. How can you award a CONCACAF Champions League berth for winning an event that not everyone is on board with?<\/p>\n

Of course, MLS fans want the league back, and MLS wants to take advantage of a dry period in US team sports (other than the NWSL). But a restart that poses a legitimate question of safety to players and staff is not a proper restart at all.<\/p>\n

Maybe the tournament will go on without any major hiccups. Maybe MLS will captivate the country\u2019s attention for a few weeks. Maybe the league will prove that the bubble format can thrive.<\/p>\n

None of that would change the fact there were risks \u2014 risks that far outweigh the rewards \u2014 from the beginning.<\/p>\n

Even after a Dallas team that entered Orlando with zero positive tests left with 10, the league is deciding that risk is worth it.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say I agree.\n <\/p><\/div>\n

Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

If you want to read more Sports News<\/a> articles, you can visit our General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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