I still remember traveling just outside of Baltimore a couple of years back being rostered for Phoenix SC as we were about to play a “win and your in” game to qualify for the 2018 Lamar Hunt Open Cup. We were about to take on Christos FC, a team who just months earlier and taken MLS side DC United to the limit in the tournament. They were the Cinderella story of the 2017 tournament and they only got better. Phoenix SC lost in that “win and your in” game as Christos qualified again taking on Reading United in the first round, unfortunately losing in penalty kicks.
Why is this significant? Well US Soccer announced wholesale changes in the 2020 tournament last week that includes pushing the start date for this rendition to the end of March. Already, teams, like Reading United, have announced that they will decline their invitation. Honestly, I do not blame them. By starting the tournament in March, instead of May, teams like Reading United in the USL League Two, will not be able to field their competitive rosters as they will be unable to utilize college players. I have no doubt that in the coming days and weeks more teams from leagues like this will also decline for the same reason.
Here is where it gets interesting. Teams like Phoenix SC, Christos FC, and the numerous other local qualifying teams, do not rely on the college player to form their roster. For myself, I have played for Phoenix since I graduated from Rutgers as these teams are strutted as part of the amateur adult soccer association. US Soccer announced, with the change of structure, that this new way will showcase more “David vs Goliath” matchups. No kidding. When you eliminate teams that have shown success, and in theory leagues, like the NPSL and USL League Two you will of course have more matchups between an MLS side and a local qualifying teams.
I love the local qualifying teams putting the pro sides through the works. Games like West Chester United vs Birmingham Legion last year and Christos vs DC United a few years back are memories that these teams will keep forever. Who could forget Christos scoring the first goal of the match against DC United on a ridiculous free kick down at the Maryland SoccerPlex? I will never discount the quality of players and the magic of a US Open Cup run from teams that qualify locally, believe me I will be cheering on VE who qualified out of PA this year.
This goes far beyond that. The teams that qualify out of the NPSL and USL League Two, again are typically made up of college athletes. These athletes play for teams in this league to develop for their coming collegiate season and, also, to increase the exposure they receive from playing professional teams or even just playing in such a historic tournament. These teams were founded on the notion of providing a “pathway to the pros” for these college players.
Honestly, I have hated this decision since it came out. Yes, it brings the pro sides in earlier for these so-called “David vs Goliath” matchups but it is also showing a glaring flaw with US Soccer. It is showcasing their closed system mentality. It feels as though US Soccer is afraid of these clubs that are developing and have providing an extremely high level of professionalism and closing the door to them. It is why promotion and relegation will probably never happen in this country. When you look at an announcement like this, followed by Charlotte’s announced $325 million buy in to MLS, you can see that this closed model may be here permanently. That’s a shame. Some of the great magic in England is the promotion and relegation battle and the FA Cup drama, just look at the history of the tournament there is something every year.
From this writer’s, and player’s, opinion bring the magic back to the Open Cup. To me, this announcement should have come with another, the changing of the name of the tournament. It has become far from “Open” for these outstanding programs. I am not sure what will happen to this tournament, or if any changes will be made for the future, but seeing Reading United decline their invitation makes me very skeptical about the current state of it. Now, it becomes a waiting game to see how many more teams follow them.
Kicked in the Grass 