The Near Midnight MLS Meanderings Over A Microwave Meal Part 2: Columbus Crew vs Atlanta United

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

We come to a match where Atlanta come with a winning streak well they must be well managed then I thought. So imagine my surprise to find that Frank De Boer is their manager. A man whose managerial career moved from Ajax to Inter Milan to Crystal Palace for all of what it appeared to be a few minutes to now Atalanta.

And I'm not going to be mocking about Frank (barring one joke that I cannot honestly resist) but let's be clear, no one will believe that Atlanta is where he thought he'd be in his life. But also all of us have faced shocks and disappointments in our lives. It's just that most of us though are lucky enough that the world doesn't look at us.

In the first minute, yes the first minute the Crew score. The men in mustard yellow, specifically Santos score a goal following a deflection in the box. I assume (and this is the joke here) the manager was not Frank De Boer but rather Frank De Wild Boer....I'll get my coat.

The match then chugged along and as always I get distracted. The American commentator mentioned in an commentary ad break stated that the pizza chain Papa John's gave a 50% discount to large Pizzas the day after a Columbus victory in their area.

It made me think. What is the profit margin to a Large Pizza in Papa John's? Is it so large that with 50% off the normal price they will still make money? Perhaps a more interesting offer would be that 50% of the profits for a large Pizza would be given to their Pepperoni placing workers for the day after a Columbus victory as a bonus. Perhaps then John will become a true Papa to his employees.

The weather starts to rain. I'll come back to that later.

A player, I think Francis, is Costa Rican who has played recently for the national team which is described as a "Cinderella squad". What does that mean? There are few rats in the team? Are pumpkins required? Will nothing fit properly without a Prince Charming? Makes no sense.

And the rain continues.

There is also a comment that says he's happy to come back to Ohio after one year in Seattle? What's wrong with Seattle? Too much coffee? I know everything about Seattle even though I've never been there. I've seen Fraiser.

And the rain continues...and continues so much the players have to go off the pitch.

I fast forward the recording (it was live when I did it) eventually the match resumes. But I don't. Because the recording has finished.

And so consider it The Mystery Of Edwin Drood of this occasional series. Of course I could find out the final score but I prefer to leave it unfinished for my imagination.

Until the next time.