A previous version of this article was originally published on July 4, 2012. It has been lightly edited and updated.
Summer friendlies in MLS are a strange thing. They seem a throwback to American sports in the 1920s, when exhibitions of all shapes and sizes were in vogue. Barnstorming tours crisscrossed the country, bringing daredevil airshows to the masses. Traveling performances, like horses jumping off of diving boards, where also popular. Sure, part of this was due to the fact that there was nothing else to do back then, but traveling shows were a key part of the American experience.