The Problem of Pain

Maradawga's excellent weekend round-up is up (read his thoughts on the drawing power of stadiums) includes this note:

He should have come off as soon as he got hurt ... I think we all forget he's 16. His body can't handle the stresses the same way an adult's can. Read the quotes from the game. Freddy knew he was done ... don't force it, Nowak. That's the future of American soccer right there.

Now, throughout MLS many have questioned Freddy's heart. To be fair, the Maradawga is not one of these people, but others (including reportedly Piotr and Jamie) have wondered if Freddy had the toughness, the grit, the will to push himself and his team to the top. So Freddy hung in the game and tried to run on a sprained knee. We know that Wilson was willing to come in for Freddy earlier, but Freddy stayed out there. So long as he didn't do more damage to his (still growing) knee, he did the right thing by trying to tough it out, then coming off when it was clear this wasn't just a bang that would fade.