by Jason Davis

Brian Ching is a very good MLS forward, slowing down just a bit now as he traverses his early 30s. He's still capable of some impressive play, remains an asset to the Dynamo, and will even pop up to score a few goals on occasion.


Which is exactly what he did last night. Three of them, in fact.


And since hindsight is crystal clear, Ching's big night against Chicago looks like strong evidence that Bob Bradley's decision to leave the striker off of the World Cup roster was a terrible one. Because surely Ching would have played better than the selections Bradley did make. He couldn't possibly have been worse than Robbie Findley, and it's not as though Edson Buddle burned up the fields of South Africa.


That's the other side of the equation, where hindsight is also at play. It's not just that Ching's hat trick shows he's still got it and should have been on the plane, it's that the forward(s) that went instead of him didn't make a mark. Two plus two is four.


Never mind that Ching was coming off of a hamstring injury in May, or that Bradley was wedded to as system that needed someone with speed up top (hence Findley). Ching was hard done by when the decision was made, and performances like last night will only serve to strengthen the believe of Ching-backers that he should have been in the World Cup team. Even a few who weren't in Ching's camp in June will use the opportunity to bash Bradley with vigor.


Don't get me wrong; I don't blame anyone for suggesting Ching should have been on the team in South Africa after how he played last night. Even if I don't agree with using happenings in August as reason for Ching to make the team in June, it's human nature to look at this thing (Ching's hat trick) and that thing (ineffectual forwards) and draw a conclusion. In this case though, human nature is unfair.


The argument that Ching should have gone to South Africa has merit; it had merit before, and it has merit now. But last night's hat trick doesn't prove Bradley wrong. If anything, the lack of goals from forwards in the World Cup did that. If Ching was still struggling with his injury back in May, I find it difficult to come down on Bob for leaving Ching at home.


Here's the best of the lot from Ching last night, an acrobatic bicycle effort for his second: