Can USSF make USOC final on a Weekend?

Discussion in 'US Open Cup' started by DCU1996, Aug 28, 2009.

  1. DCU1996

    DCU1996 Member

    Jun 3, 2002
    N. VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Korea Republic
    2009 - 20k (in dc)
    Imangine if it was on weekend.

    CCL berth started a couple of years ago, looks like fans beginning to get serious about winning USOC.
     
  2. CleveGuyOH

    CleveGuyOH New Member

    Aug 11, 2009
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    First off, it was 17,300 in 2009. That's mighty big rounding to call 17,300 -20,000.

    Second, I did acknowledge that 2009 was higher in attendence.

    I still don't buy that fans care about winning because it puts you in the CCL. IF fans cared so much about the CCL, then I think DC would have had better numbers than this for their 3 home matches:
    vs Toluca - 8,800
    vs Marathon - 5,200
    vs San Juan Jaboleth - 3,400

    Personally I'd like to see 2 or 3 years of something before we consider it a trend.
     
  3. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here's a thought.

    Obviously it's not possible for every MLS team to take a one-week break just in case they play in the US Open Cup final. But what if they were already on break?

    Last year, the US Open Cup semifinals were held on July 21. The MLS All-Star Game was held the next Wednesday, on July 29. Then the Open Cup finals were delayed until September.

    Instead, MLS and USSF could work together to make the US Open Cup and the All-Star Game part of a single late-July weekend soccer festival. Hold the All-Star Game and the Open Cup final as a Saturday doubleheader, or better yet play one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The game would be played in a (mostly) neutral location, namely whichever city MLS picked for the All-Star game.

    This would be good for the All-Star Game; play it at 2:30 on Saturday or Sunday and you can broadcast it live in Europe, which you can't do with a weeknight game. Being on a weekend would also help MLS turn All-Star into a destination for soccer fans, which it's said it wants to do if MLS Cup stops being a fixed-venue event. At the same time, it'll bring new visibility to the Open Cup and probably better crowds.

    The main drawback is that it would mean one extra midweek game for most MLS teams (either before or after the All-Star weekend), and that's not trivial. It would also mean All-Star starters from the Open Cup finalist teams would only play a few ceremonial minutes in the All-Star game. But I think the benefits would be worth it.

    Imagine if MLS could get a three-day soccer weekend going in 2011. Friday would be a NHL-style skills competition (precision shooting, juggling, etc.); Saturday would be the All-Star game; Sunday would be the Open Cup final. Maybe they could even tie in some other events; an old-timers' game (Team Wynalda vs. Team Lalas?). Maybe a U-17 fixture, or a US Youth Soccer championship game (they're usually played around the same time of year, IIRC).

    I'd fly out to see that. Wouldn't you?
     
  4. ArsenalMetro

    ArsenalMetro Member+

    United States
    Aug 5, 2008
    Chicago, IL
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    That's actually a fantastic idea. Repped.
     
  5. ThreeApples

    ThreeApples Member+

    Jul 28, 1999
    Smurf Village
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If my team was in the final, yes. Otherwise, never.

    And having the Open Cup final at a neutral site the day after another big event in the same stadium would be a very tough sell.
     
  6. cleazer

    cleazer Member+

    May 6, 2003
    Toledo, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Indeed. A terrible idea.

    I don't get it. Why in the world would MLS want to give up a weekend full of games? MLS teams and fans have fought long and hard to get the All-Star game away from weekends. Why take a huge step backwards?
     
  7. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    How do you figure?

    Do you think 35,000 people would have shown up for the Minor League Baseball Futures Game this year if it hadn't been held right before the All-Star Game in the same stadium?

    Baseball sells their All-Star break as a baseball festival. The Futures Game on Monday, the Home Run Derby on Tuesday, the main event on Wednesday. It's the same idea. If you wouldn't fly out for the All-Star Game, you might for both games. And if you're a soccer fan on a soccer vacation, you might well pick up a ticket to the other big-name event happening the next day.
     
  8. CleveGuyOH

    CleveGuyOH New Member

    Aug 11, 2009
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    So you are comparing an Open Cup final to a minor-league baseball game and a home Run Derby?

    The equivilent would be for the USSFII or PDL to have their all star game on Tuesday, a skills competion on Wed, and then the game.

    The US Open Cup deserves it's own date. I also don't think the USSF wants to make it a part of MLS's week. remember, these 2 are not one in the same.
     
  9. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No; I'm saying that since it's a bigger deal, the cross-promotion possibilities would be greater. Actually, I think it's a pretty good analogy: the Futures Game is a really big deal to baseball geeks but nobody else has ever heard of it.

    I don't see how you think having a bunch of publicity for the other game, and a bunch of soccer fans in town to see the other game, is going to hurt the attendance for either.

    Sure, it deserves its own date. It also deserves a weekend date. There's no way it can get both.

    Realistically, there are going to be two MLS teams in the Open Cup final every year or almost every year for the foreseeable future. That means the only way to play it on the weekend--the point of this thread--would be to make it a weekend where no MLS teams play.

    Right now, there are no late summer weekends where no MLS teams play. The only way to get the Open Cup moved to the weekend would be to create one. Moving the All-Star break seems like the best way to do that to me.

    I realize that MLS will never move the All-Star back to a weekend for its own sake, because it needs weekends. But if you're talking about moving the Open Cup final to a weekend, then in practical terms, you're talking about losing a weekend already. Why not take advantage of it?
     

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