Clint Dempsey’s legacy seems secure, regardless of what happens on Saturday. The discussions about the greatest player in American men’s soccer player are unlikely to be swayed either way. The debate about whether or not it was a good move for him to return to MLS will rage on.
I’d like to think that Dempsey has shown that the Sounders are, at the very least, more dangerous with him than they are without, most other things being equal. But those who doubt that are unlikely to be swayed by one more game.
What this MLS Cup final represents for Dempsey, then, is something less profound.