Aside from the action on the field on Sunday for Decision Day presented by AT&T, perhaps the biggest storyline on the day is what Real Salt Lake and head coach Mike Petke will be doing.
But the manager himself says he's not sure if he'll even watch the key game for his team's prospects.
Real Salt Lake are the odd team out on Decision Day, with an odd number of teams in the league this year, leaving one to finish play before the final day of the regular season. RSL drew that straw, and their regular season slate is complete.
Sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference, with the LA Galaxy capable of passing them for that final berth in the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs with a win over the Houston Dynamo, RSL have to play the waiting game on Sunday. But while Petke is looking forward to having a barbecue, he was coy on whether he would watch LA-Houston.
"Yet to be determined," Petke told reporters at training on Thursday. "I'm watching more of the teams that we likely will play and I have been doing that. Sunday, I'll have a barbecue with my staff and the families, and we'll take it from there."
Given the unique situation for RSL right now, Petke gave his side a few days off after losing 3-0 to the Portland Timbers last week, and now the team has started working on playoff preparations.
"We started preparing today for the three likely [scenarios]," he explained. "There's two likely teams that we feel we're going to play, one maybe an outside shot. They all play somewhat similar, and we started preparing for that game next Wednesday. And until something else happens that says we're not going to play next Wednesday, we'll continue to prepare for that game."
Petke made headlines when he declared in the aftermath of the loss at Portland that RSL, despite currently sitting in a playoff spot, have a "one in a million chance" of actually playing in the postseason. With more time to consider the situation, he walked back those comments, while still acknowledging the Galaxy remain favorites in their game.
"Answering a question right after a loss right there, perhaps 'one in a million' is a little high, but if LA wins, we're out. If they lose or tie, we're in. So what happens Sunday is everything.
"It's reactive after a game, and like I said, we're preparing as if we're in the playoffs, because at this moment we are...If it's a bad scenario for us, our attention turns to preparing for preseason next year."
And while the outcome of the season hasn't been determined, Petke had simple words of wisdom for his team under the circumstances.
"You never want to leave your fate in someone else's hands," he said.
