Many of D.C. United’s players declared themselves “disappointed” after Tuesday’s SuperLiga defeat at home to Atlante. However, writes Pat Walsh, “it was the kind of disappointment one feels walking up to a bus stop, seeing the bus pull away, and thinking, Oh, well, there will be another along in a few minutes.”
That other bus could come in the form of the MLS Cup, the U.S. Open Cup or the Concacaf Champions League, all still winnable competitions in United’s heavy schedule. The latter competition, incidentally, will feature six of the eight teams currently playing in SuperLiga, raising the question of whether the regional governing body’s revamped tournament has left SuperLiga a redundant entity in only its second year.
“Perhaps paralleling the players, the fans also don’t seem too interested in this tournament,” Walsh says, with Tuesday’s game attracting the team’s the lowest turnout at RFK Stadium this season (although in Houston there was a 28,000 crowd). “The fans simply aren’t impressed by a tournament that is manufactured simply for the ad revenue.” In the words of D.C. goalkeeper Zach Wells, “I don’t know what to say about Superliga, to be honest.”