Reality stares back at Jim Curtin every time he looks at the MLS standings.
It’s not just that the Union are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, six points out of the last playoff spot. It’s that they’ve played three more games than Atlanta and two more than Montreal, both of which are tied for sixth; and one more than Orlando, which is tied with the Union on 31 points.
In fact, if the standings were measured by points per game, the Union would be all the way down in 10th.
So while Curtin’s team isn’t officially eliminated from playoff contention, he knows it isn’t worth thinking about.