"This is new for everybody. Nobody really knows what we're talking about, what we're looking at. There's new variants that have come up, they tore through our team, it's tearing through Philadelphia right now. Just so happens that our guys are athletes. Professional athletes are tested every day so it pops up. I'd imagine if every person that walked in our stadium today got tested, there'd be a decent percentage that unknowingly, have it as well. It's complicated. I'm not a scientist. I defer to scientists, so don't get me wrong. I'm about as progressive and open-minded as anyone. At the same time, I think that as new things come in, we have to adapt and adjust like we all have. I don't have the solution. So please don't let this run with some idiot piece on Fox News or some idiot piece on CNN. We're all trying to do the best we can. Sometimes, it works out well and sometimes it doesn't. We had 11 guys that are healthy to play a soccer game that aren't here because they have a version of the sniffles."
-- Philadelphia Union head coach
Jim Curtin, after the 2-1 loss to NYCFC in MLS's Eastern Conference final before a record crowd at Subaru Park, on the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in the absence of 11 Union players, most starters throughout the season, due to MLS's health and safety protocols. He said if he had those 11 players back, he thought the Union could beat anybody.
