OK fine, so 3-0-2 isn't exactly a complete turnaround from 0-6-0, but I don't think anyone could have asked for a better July after going completely winless last season. Even I wasn't expecting something as good as what we ended up seeing in July, as I myself predicted a 2-1-2 finish in my July preview at the start of the month.
Instead, we suddenly find ourselves looking at the top of the table, with a very intriguing four-game slate to come in August. It starts and finishes hard, with two games the Rapids really should be winning in the middle. While the great form in July was great, it's likely going to be August that determines whether or not the Rapids are planning on being contenders or pretenders when the playoffs begin. After all, the entire Western Conference table got shaken around like an Etch-A-Sketch just from one weekend of results. If Colorado can go from sixth to second in one game, they can go right back down or worse just as quickly in four.
Here's what August has to offer:
2-1-1 is my final prediction for August, and that would be enough to keep the Rapids near the top of the Western Conference. With three quite tough match-ups in September, there's plenty of reasons why we can say August has the potential to be the most important month this season.
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Matt Pollard 