As the clock wound down on the Chicago Fire in their 2-0 loss to Cruz Azul on Tuesday night, as the legions of Maquina fans in Bridgeview continued to loudly drown out the few Fire supporters in attendance, the farcical reality of the Leagues Cup was laid bare.



Though it’s tempting to call the tournament more of a cash grab than an actual competition, it’s really a long-term experiment. Billed by MLS in part as a chance to show its teams can compete against top teams from Liga MX, something it has long struggled to do in CONCACAF Champions League, the 2019 Leagues Cup has instead been a hastily-arranged, ill-conceived nuisance for the Fire and fellow MLS participants Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake.



The tournament’s flaws aren’t the fault of the individual MLS clubs, all of whom actually showed pretty well in the quarterfinals earlier this week. Their largely reserve-laden lineups performed better than expected against mostly...