No team is ever officially out of the Major League Soccer playoff race.
All you have to do is look at the Chicago Fire for the latest example of the parity that makes the league unique.
The Fire were stranded in the basement of the Eastern Conference for the majority of the regular season until they struck for a nice run of form in August and the start of September.
Veljko Paunovic's side took eight points from five matches, including a pair of 3-0 victories over Montreal Impact and Philadelphia Union, both of whom are expected to qualify for the postseason.