The world -- minus a few pockets of rogue visiting fans -- was shocked this week when Real Salt Lake, the team with the second-best record in Major League Soccer, lost to D.C. United -- the worst team in the league in the U.S. Open Cup final.
The final score? 1-0 for D.C., not exactly the outcome any RSL fan was expecting. Most media yuks predicted Real would win by at least two goals -- if not more.
How could this happen? You've wondered about this for a few days, knowing of course all about RSL's loss at home to Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions League final a few years ago.
And then you wonder why, the reasoning behind such a piss-poor performance -- when so much was on the line in this game.
And then you look at who, or who played in the game. It wasn't like Real Salt Lake played bad players -- the club played every single one of its starters.
The only omission was midfielder Luis Gil who had an emergency appendectomy and would have played -- if RSL's medical staff would have allowed him.
Is it just bad luck? Something in the air? What, precisely is it with RSL losing big games at Rio Tinto Stadium? Is the Riot cursed? Did Jason Kreis make a deal with the Devil, Dave Checketts and Dell Loy?
Perhaps, but what on Earth is the major malfunction to this team playing so well for months at a time -- then crumbling when it matters most?
You need a team of shrinks to figure out what's going on with this team. Literally everyone is at their wits' end trying to figure out how to help.
Here are five reasons RSL lost the U.S. Open Cup to D.C. United:
