Good Monday morning Caps fans, hope you all are rested up and ready for the week ahead — we have to enjoy the last weeks of summer as much as possible.
The beat goes on with Leagues Cup, which has now fouled up the Caps’ schedule by delaying their Aug. 24 match against LAFC, giving them some short-term rest and long-term scheduling complications for the run-in.
The reason for this, of course, is that LAFC are in the semis of Leagues Cup. There they will face Colorado Rapids, who surprisingly knocked out Club America on Saturday night, dispatching the last Liga MX team from the competition.
For a second straight year, no Mexican sides will make the semifinals. Don’t let anyone online fool you into thinking this means that much, as there are once again no games being played in Mexico (if anyone out there can explain the hosting system in Leagues Cup, they deserve a trophy) and I don’t think anyone out there really, truly believes the Rapids are in the same conversation as America.
The fact of the matter is that CONCACAF Champions Cup will always be the measuring stick on which the MLS/Liga MX rivalry will be judged. There is an inherent unfairness in this for MLS (just as there is an inherent unfairness in Leagues Cup for Liga MX) but there is a history and respect that competition demands. The fact that Liga MX teams have been rolling with rotated squads shows what they think of Leagues Cup.
The semis will undoubtedly be entertaining, with two of the best teams in MLS (Columbus and LAFC) remaining alongside two upstarts (Colorado and Philadelphia). And anyone who watched the Rapids celebrate Zack Steffen’s PK winner against America can’t deny that the tournament does matter to the players, a least a little. But you can’t help but wish these matchups were the conference finals, with something real and historic on the line.
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I have been a season ticket holder from the beginning and am very frustrated with the Leagues Cup. I just don’t see the need for this competition. I have lost interest in the Caps given the long absence of games. No the cancellation of the LAFC is just another example of soccer in Vancouver taking a back seat. Just like the Messi issue. Now the Caps need to compete for fans in Sept and October with the Canucks and B.C. Lions. I am one frustrated fan with how the Caps are managed and treated by the league.