Major League Soccer is a brutal 34-game grind. The league stretches thousands of miles, from Los Angeles to Montreal, from Orlando to Vancouver. Not only are the distances great, but the climate is diverse. A stamina-draining 90 minutes in the Houston humidity while facing the Dynamo could be followed days later with a battle for oxygen in mile high Denver against the Rapids.
To win under these conditions a team needs key veterans. Soldiers who have faced this monster before and know how to keep fighting through different weather patterns, cross country flights, and road stands. Lucky for Real Salt Lake, they have a few.