Pre-match: 2012 us open cup thread

The US Open Cup starts this month, and the Strikers begin play on the 22nd in Round 2:

ROUND 2
Strikers vs. Fresno Fuego/Stanislaus United Turlock Express
Tuesday, May 22 • Kickoff: 7:30 PM EST • Lockhart Stadium

Win and the boys move on to face an MLS opponent, with the round 3 draw(which determines host) and announcement of potential round 3 pairings taking place on the 16th after round 1 is completed.

Should be fun!

They have to be desperate for money to still be charging $12 and discounting it just $2 for season ticket holders for a game against one of two amateur teams from California.

Just spoke w/Scott at the Strikers FO. He told me that our extra tickets ARE GOOD for this match. The $10 price is for any of us that want to bring more people than we have tickets. Also, the free parking pass is good. All season ticket holders WILL get free parking if they display their pass.

Undoubtedly, they could use more cash, and this game could help in that regard, but they don't seem to be quite as desperate as we might imagine.

I have no problem with them charging. It's a game, one that we're likely to win, in a prestigious cup competition. Good deal to me. And they run the stadium now, no reason not to make a few bucks in they can.

And opponents really don't matter. Yes, they'll be amateurs. But unless it's Henry or Beckham trotting out there, the average fan won't know/care who's out there anyways, be it the Turlock Express or the Carolina RailHawks.

dr, you and I and all season ticket holders do NOT have to pay. Free parking, too. Life is good....

Unless the message changed, season ticket holders pay $10 for "Open Seating' at the Open Cup.
Still a better entertainment value than a nighttime movie admission

Hopefully the FO really pushes this. I'm afraid the only ones that are going to be interested in this match are the ones that really pay attention. The casual fan (and some of the season ticket holders) may not even know this is happening and it will pass by.

The message has changed. See my post above. If you wish verification of my post call the Strikers FO at 954-606-0400. I would not have made that post If I had not checked with the FO.

ETA: For the record. The change has been made on the Strikers dot com site in the article about the Cup coming to Lockhart. It verifies that the extra tickets can be used.

Will be easy for them to promote it on the 19th vs. Minnesota, captive audience 3 days before. And should they win round 2, and be awarded the home game for round 3 vs. MLS, I don't think they'll have too much of an issue drumming up interest for that lol.

I hope so. I really would like to see more of a push from the FO.

Me, too. What is it you'd want them to do?

LOL! More than they have done! Where is/are the billboard(s)? Where are the radio interviews? ANYTHING! Sun Sentinel is reporting on us which is fantastic but is it enough? I know this is a dead horse which we have all had our turns beating... but I would like to see more.

Going on what DR said... To begin with, I would really push for an increased attendance on the Minnesota game. Then you have a larger captive audience to promote the Open match to. Maybe that is where the advertising that seems to be missing this year will cme in.

I read that release too.
I guess you assumed I haven't used my extra tickets already - which I have

They actually gave them to us for these games...

I've actually been saving them for this...

That makes a hell of a lot more sense than charging more than the GA season ticket price per game for an amateur opponent.

Just read the release on the open cup on strikers.com (having strikers withdrawals) and was wondering why we weren't in the Open Cup last year?

Politics between the USSF and the NASL. The Fed pulled the NASL's provisional sanctioning when Carolina's ownership backed out, then awarded the sanctioning back when Traffic stepped in before the season started. Whilst all that was going on they apparently did not have the wherewithal to develop two schedules, one if NASL was included, one without. They claimed there was not enough time to add the NASL teams in, which leads me to believe that they were never included at all, since they should have been working on a schedule well before sanctioning was pulled in the first place.

Anyway we're back this year, and with the format improvements they've made, it should be fun!

Not sure I'm liking the new look on the forums here. Oh well, maybe I'll get used to it. Anyway, can't tell you guys how excited I am about the NASL teams being in the USOC this year. Always thought it was cool that the Islanders, Impact, and White Caps were competing in domestic tournaments, now we get to once again as well. I don't expect any advertising for this first round game, and to be honest, I don't blame the team for it. This SHOULD be a win for the team against an amatuer side if they field their starters, which I believe they will for the most part. Where they MUST market and advertise is if we're lucky enough to host a third and/or fourth round matchup, especially the third round against a guaranteed MLS opponent. I was disheartened before when I thought these early rounds were all "regional" in nature, but considering we're playing a team from CA in the second round, I guess it's not exactly so, meaning we may not get stuck with DC United. LOL

Anyway, free parking for everyone is in effect for this game I believe. And allowing season ticket holders to use their bonus tickets for this one is the right thing to do as well. For the third round against MLS opposition I'm sure we'll be back to a regular season set up and pricing, which is only fair. Huge opportunity for some exposure rides on us winning that second round game, and the luck of the draw to get the third round here. Would be totally awesome, and despite short notice and a week night game, we would need to get every soul possible out to Lockhart for that one!

They're still regional, there just aren't enough Florida, or even southeast, teams to go around. If they'd already drawn the MLS teams we'd probably be with SJ or even Chivas, but since they're waiting who knows where we end up...

Between Tampa vs Orlando U23s/Jacksonville, Kitsap/Cal FC vs Wilmington (should be paired with Seattle now), Portland U-23s/PSA Elite vs Carolina (should be paired with Portland), Reading/Greek American Atlas vs Charleston, Carolina Dynamo/Aegean vs Richmond, Charlotte vs NTX/El Paso (should be paired with Dallas), & Georgia/Mississippi vs Atlanta...any could regionally land DC.

San Antonio's creation discounts our likelihood of drawing a Texas team as well.

If we do advance and draw on the road for round 3, Houston would be cool. Anywhere west of Denver and I'll be tempted to go, and in Houston they'd surely host it at BBVA Compass Stadium, which would only be the 4th game at the place. Very cool.

If we're at home, I don't really care who we get. One of the more marketable teams like LA, Seattle, Portland, NY etc. would be great to draw a crowd, but a bad team like Columbus or Chivas would be good too, cause we'd be more likely to pull the upset lol.

I'm with you here DR. Would love to see an "old time NASL" matchup against Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, or San Jose, but we can save that for later in the tournament. Winning a 3rd round game at home against an MLS side would be absolutely extraordinary, and to do it we probably need a weaker MLS team. More importantly we need our young team to start getting some more confidence and giving a better showing in our own league. Starting with this Saturday against the Stars, I'd love to see an unbeaten streak in all competitions that lasts a good three weeks at least!

Some information I received about one of our potential opponents:

Looks like the game featuring our potential second round opponents isn't until 10 PM tonight. I think I read that sometime tomorrow all of the potential third round matchups will be revealed. Absolutely cannot wait! Praying for us hosting in Round 3, and that the club recognizes the huge opportunity it is and is able to actually do some advertising for it! The local media might actually have to pay attention to the Strikers if an MLS team comes in here, especially one of the marquee ones! First things first though, the boys HAVE to approach this round 2 game with their full attention. Come out and dominate from the opening whistle right through the final whistle.

Fresno Fuego defeated Stanislaus United Turlock Express 2-0 and will play the Strikers at Lockhart Stadium on May 22. HELL NO, FRESNO!!!!! YOU BLOW, FUEGO!!!

GO STRIKERS!!!

Here's a link to the Open Cup brackets
http://thecup.us/2012-us-open-cup-bracket/