The MLS is Back Tournament began 33 days ago, with a field of 26 teams that would soon contract to 24 as FC Dallas and Nashville SC were withdrawn amid a cluster of positive COVID-19 tests. As the competition got off the ground, the focus was not so much on the results on the pitch, but rather the results of the coronavirus tests that were being administered to everyone inside the bubble every 48 hours.
Since then, though, that's changed.
As the group stage progressed, the negative tests piled up and the players' rust was shaken off, and focus returned to what was unfolding on the pitches of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.