2015 U.S. Open Cup schedule

Thank you. Can you post how many points each league would have if the same clubs won but every game was decided by 1 goal in regulation?

The percent of PDL or NPSL clubs that were from the PDL was 61.3% (19/31), and the percent of USASA and USSSA clubs who had to face PDL clubs was 81.8% (9/11), so USASA and USSSA look better when you factor in how many PDL clubs they had to play.

 

I'd rather not engage in that hypothetical. It shouldn't be expected that all games were decided by 1 goal. A typical distribution wouldn't be far off from what the actual distribution was. Most games were already decided by 1 goal anyways. The only real outlier was the 7-1 PSA Elite win, and if that were a 1-goal result, that would have dropped it from ~+16 to ~+7.5.

 

Should we now note that since their miraculous win in Portland on May 30, 2012, which led to their anointment as a certain NASL expansion team, Cal FC has gone 0-2-1 in the Cup and been outscored 14-4?

 

Interesting that they don't update their bracket on the official website with the Third Round matchups. You would think that would be something they want to get up and running if they want to make the Open Cup a big/premiere tournament like they say.

 

Sounds good to me.

 

That's just a listing, I was talking about the Open Cup website (thecup.us) where they have a bracket but it's not formatted correctly

 

That's just a listing, I was talking about the Open Cup website (thecup.us) where they have a bracket but it's not formatted correctly

 

Even as recently as just a couple years ago, it was the only place to get all of the results for all of the USOC games in one location.

 

Oh wow. Well then, USSF is really dropping the ball by not having a big bracket on their website. They should know the fun of the tournament is seeing the huge brackets like March Madness, even if matchups in later rounds are unknown at this point

 

This is the first year where an actual, set bracket will be known going forward, isn't it?

And I always thought the fun of the tournament was, you know, the actual games. [Iverson]We talkin' 'bout brackets. Not a game, not a game....we talkin' 'bout brackets.[/Iverson]

 

I know this isn't a question that can be answered really with any sort of confidence, but ... does anyone think a set bracket will help any "less than hardcore" fans care about it? You actually know who you may play next, your path to silverware, that sort of thing? I think the regional play will help, and then a set bracket (really, there shouldn't have been any reason not to release the entire bracket early ... and maybe they'll work towards that) and more clubs (more fans, etc).

Let me know when there's a bracket challenge for the Open Cup!

 

There are always going to be those who believe that if we only do things the way the popular kids (in this case the NCAA Tournament, or the FA Cup, depending on which popular kids you're talking about) do them, we'll become the popular kids.

Given we usually know the potential matchups of the next round anyway (as they're usually announced before whatever round is up next), I don't really see the benefit of thinking two, three or four rounds ahead. You have to get there, first, and chalk doesn't always happen.

Try doing an office pool on the Open Cup. Good luck.

 

I'm not arguing that it will suddenly make it popular or anything ... but what's going on right now, it ain't working. Any for of marketing would be a boost to this tournament at this point in time.

Also ... thanks for the obvious "chalk doesn't always happen". I almost forgot that!

 

I do not believe USSF really cares about its own tournament, but feels obligated to keep it around.

Though, to be fair, people had concerns over time about A, B, C, D and E and they did rectify A, B, C, D and E. And still...it's a soccer tournament played on weeknights in the fall, and it has about two flashpoints: this week and next round, when USL and NASL teams play and Twitter blows up with idiots who think the results are indicative of relative league strength and when lower-division and MLS teams play and Twitter blows up with idiots who think the results clearly indicate the necessity of promotion and relegation.

Before that...crickets. After that...it's yet another march to an MLS vs. MLS final.

You can market it all you want. You can put the final on TV all you want. It's not the FA Cup, it's never going to be the FA Cup, and it's probably never going to be truly relevant.

 

I don't agree that the USSF doesn't care about the Open Cup. They have significantly increased spending on it the last few years, require all US pro teams to take part, and are going to be running amateur qualifying themselves starting next year. Those are not the signs of someone doing something only because they feel obligated to.

That being said, there is nothing the USSF could do to make the Cup popular (at least in the short term) short of paying a bunch of Euro superclubs to take part, which would entirely defeat the purpose of the Cup.

 

You're likely right. Hell, if all of the "USSF/MLS are in bed together" conspiracy theorists are right ... MLS is probably telling USSF to not make it a big deal because it gives those pro/rel guys ammo and what not ... so who knows.

Either way, I don't mind it as is because I can always find the game I want to see online. I think it will grow as the number of teams grows in D2 and D3 (I guess in D1 as well).

 

Is there something wrong with that? Most of the time both finalists should be from MLS. For both the U.S. Open Cup and the FA Cup, the last finalist not in the top level happened in 2008. The FA Cup has had two Final losers and no champions from outside the top level since MLS started. The U.S. Open Cup has had two Final losers and one champion from outside MLS while MLS existed.

 

I think it would be a good thing to have a set bracket. Keep in mind, I'm not one of these "it's successful in that case so we need to do it here too!" people (if my posts about pro/eel haven't made that obvious), I just think having that set as a structure will make the Open Cup less ambiguous and provide some intrigue where there isn't as much now, precisely because the road to the cup is hidden right now. And yes, as silly as the March madness bracket challenge is every year, I do think having one set bracket from the start(or maybe from round 2) would be beneficial both in creating moe interest from American soccer fans and potentially new ones who see this as a unique tournament unlike any other held here.

My original comment was that the open cup website had all of the games shown on their page in a bracket format with the actual match ups not what they are supposed to be. If it's not representing things in a bracket, don't call it a bracket or lay out the matchups that way. It's just confusing/misleading.

 

And I believe you think that would negate all the other things that keep it from being popular among American soccer fans and potential new ones.

I do not believe it would. That is an incredibly trivial point that doesn't even come close to making a dent in all the other issues that marginalize the US Open Cup. A 'bracket' (whether you call it that or not, whether it is one or not) probably is not in the top ten things keeping this tournament from mainstream acceptance.

You are asking a method of displaying the arrangement of current and potential future ties to do a lot of heavy lifting.

As for this year, I think this math is correct, records by level through 2 rounds:

Level.....W..L..T..Adv....Pct.
US Club...0- 1- 0....0...0.000
USSSA.....2- 1- 1....3...0.750
USASA.....4- 5- 4....4...0.308
NPSL......3-11- 5....8...0.421
PDL......11-14- 5...13...0.433
USL......16- 4- 1...16...0.762
TOTAL....36-36-16...44...0.500

 

I don't think anyone has said a "bracket" is the only thing holding this thing back ... or even the main thing holding this back.

But what would it cost the USSF to get their act together enough to put out a bracket at the start of the tournament? It's a pretty cheap way to TRY to give the tournament a shot in the arm. Not saying it will, but it's a damn cheap option to try. Baby steps ... or do you not believe in them?