We’re a week out from the MLS is Back Tournament but there’s still a lot of uncertainty whether this event can even take place. With FC Dallas players testing positive for COVID-19, teams having to push back their flights to Orlando, and spiking infection rates in the state of Florida, the return of Major League Soccer is anything but a sure thing right now. We invited Matt Ralph from Brotherly Game to chat with us about Group A and the state of this tournament in general as it approaches.

We also discuss Ali Krieger’s two negative coronavirus tests following her positive test last week and ponder whether unreliable testing might have put an end to the Orlando Pride’s 2020 season. We also touch on the start of the NWSL Challenge Cup and some of the early surprises there.

Our listener mail this week asked who would play us in a movie about The Mane Land, what we should call the new series between Orlando City and Inter Miami, and what our favorite soccer kits are. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything —you want us to address on our next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

We also move forward in our Marvel Cinematic Universe rewatch with Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther — two of the best films in the series. Be warned, we babble about them for much too long, so this pod might take you a few commutes to get through.

Stay safe and enjoy the show.

Here’s how show No. 203 went down:

0:15 - The Lions are in the bubble and some of the MLS teams had to postpone their travel. Will there even be a tournament? Wear a mask! Also: Ali Krieger is negative for COVID-19, and the NWSL Challenge Cup is underway.

27:35 - Matt Ralph joins in to discuss Group A and whether or not MLS can actually pull off the MLS is Back Tournament. He also provides some background on what the folks up in the northeast have gone through during this pandemic.

55:48 - The mailbag segment puts us on the spot (as usual) and we gush about a couple of excellent MCU movies.

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