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Lionel Messi's pizza absence has bigger meaning for American sports
It started with a pizza, turned into a defeat, continued with an online advertisement and will be resolved once and for all on Wednesday night, when Lionel Messi either does or doesn't play for Inter Miami against Toronto FC.
The Great Messi Mystery of mid-September signals a welcome change to the new, real-life iteration of the move made by the world's greatest modern player to Major League Soccer, and a line-drawn departure from the two-month fantasy tour that greeted his arrival.
Messi – gasp! – didn't play for his new team last weekend, skipping the trip to Georgia to take on Atlanta United, a game that Inter lost 5-2. "Gasp" because he had played 12 straight matches – producing an electric eight wins, four draws and 11 goals. "Gasp" also because ticket prices skyrocket whenever he comes to any city, and some Atlantans would have been understandably grumbly once they realized what was not going down.
The prospect of him sitting out for the first time since joining the club in July started to become apparent when the night before the game saw him posting about Miami Beach's Banchero pizzeria, when he might normally have been expected to be in an Atlanta hotel with his colleagues.
(For the record, he ordered the "Don Antonio" an odd-looking pizza topped with tomato slices, onions, anchovies and olives. This also earned Messi a fair bit of derision in the digital world.)
American soccer has usually followed the example of this country's other pro sports in making available detailed information regarding the health and fitness of players. Anybody with a fantasy team or an eye on a friendly wager has dissected an NFL injury report.
It is not quite that way in Europe, where Messi spent virtually all his pro career, or Argentina, where both he and Miami head coach Tata Martino hail from. If they don't have to give away an edge by talking about whether Messi is expected to play a game or not, they're probably not going to, and who can blame them?
This kind of uncertainty inevitably sparked some questions about whether last weekend was a scheduled rest to avoid fatigue in a week that came after national team duty, or something more serious.
It didn't take much sleuthing to find Messi posting an ad urging fans to subscribe to the MLS package and promoting Wednesday's game on his Instagram, although that could easily be excused away as a contractually obligated duty. It's also fair to ponder whether Messi has ever touched his Instagram account or if he has people who do that for him.
Then there's the turf field in Atlanta. Messi has said he is willing to play on the artificial stuff. But Aaron Rodgers' torn Achilles injury brought back talk of the dangers of playing on turf.
Martino meanwhile, is having none of it when talking about the status of Messi and teammate Jordi Alba, another Barcelona veteran who didn't play in Atlanta.
"Both have muscular fatigue. There was a risk of having worse consequences if they were to play this game," he said. "It had nothing to do with the [artificial] turf."
Martino instead suggested it was all about Miami's frenetic schedule the past few weeks. "This is the day-to-day life that we have ahead of us, because we have the quest to try to reach the playoffs," he said.
Whether it's the schedule, the turf or Messi craving an unusual pizza, we had better wrap our heads around the idea that stars get special treatment, especially aging stars.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been fighting this issue – or "load management" for those who want to act like there's something scientific to it – and still hasn't been able to come up with a satisfactory solution.
The answer is accept the reality that Messi and LeBron James and others are simply going to sit out from time to time to ensure they stay healthy and ready for more important games.
Messi will be back on the field perhaps Wednesday against Toronto, or Saturday vs. Orlando City. He'll make some more magic, probably score or assist on a few goals and try to help Miami push its way into the MLS playoffs.
Enjoy the greatness when we get it, and be sure not to drop hundreds of dollars on any tickets until you've checked the pizza places on Miami Beach.
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
