Maybe we should start pushing now for 2013, which will be the 100th contesting of the Cup. As far as I can tell, it's the fourth oldest championship in North American team sports, which should count for something. (the Stanley Cup, World Series, and Grey Cup have us beat).
the Problem with the CUP concept here in the US it doesnt fit the playoff momentum as the MLS season goes along. also it has to find its place within the Soccer hierchy.... and some advertising would help.
not like it should be The US open cup should be treated like the holy grail in my opinion. not that it is better thant het MLS cup, but, winning it should be treated like winning something important and it isn't as of now. MLS teams treat it like a joke till the semi's, sometimes even then. Lamar deserves better, and so does the US Open Cup, it is as great as the FA cup
Couldn't agree with you more. US Soccer, MLS, USL, and other entities need to educate people, and make them aware of the soccer heritage present here in this country. An advertising campaign would go a long way here, and tie it into the Cup. Get the darn thing televised at least the closing rounds, and hype it up! Ummm....reaching here just a bit. As far as soccer fans are concerned it is our equivalent of the FA Cup yes, but your average sports center watcher is unaware of it's existence hence the need for aggressive marketing/advertising. My complaint for years has been that we have not effectively had our sport marketed in this country. We go after demographics ie hispanics, soccer families. We need to market it as the sport for every American
I would like it to mean something, but unfortuantely, it doesnt. Not only that, its extremely hard to follow (nearly non-existant TV coverage) and that has a tendency to turn people off. Until that changes, so one will give a crap.
True - good point - but in order to advance the sport as a whole, I would hope the MLS and its teams would promote this tournament much more than they currently are (i.e. Liverpool and other European teams promote their domestic cup games reasonably well, especially compared with MLS teams and the U.S. Cup). This and the CONCACAF Champions League. Montreal promoted a Champions League game and drew 55,000. MLS teams don't promote them and draw 10,000. It's the same thing with the U.S. Cup. There are more competitions than just the MLS regular season and MLS Cup - that's what makes soccer great! That's exactly the thing - it doesn't mean anything because there is no TV coverage and it's really hard to follow. Once it gets into the Round of 16 and beyond, I really get into it, following online audio broadcasts and the like, but I know that is no way to grab the mainstream soccer fan and definitely not the mainstream sports fan.
Doesn't mean anything? Tell that to me when DCU - which didn't make the playoffs last year - starts play in the Champion's League this summer. Yeah, it would be nice if everyone in MLS got a boner like some of us do whenever the tournament is mentioned, but like everything else here, the hyperbole cracks me up. Yes, the TV coverage sucks, but that doesn't mean no one cares. People care, just to different degrees.
TV/mainstream coverage aside, there is very little soccer coverage on it even on soccer sites, and FSC.. Of course some people care, but saadly, I think even those who consider themselves MLS fans, and pretty knowledgeable on US Soccer dont really follow it that much.
Let's start with a simple goal for the USSF. ESPN routinely shows scores from MLS, Mexico, England, Spain, and Italy on their ticker. Not sure if they show WPS or not, never noticed. Starting with the round that MLS enters, USSF should make an effort to get those Open Cup scores on the ticker. It doesn't cost anything, and it will raise awareness.
It bothers me that the Canadian Championship is sponsored by Nutrilite. Especially considering the close family and business ties that Quixtar's CEO has to Erik Prince and the company formerly known as Blackwater Security.
But it's not as easy as just asking. It's not like ESPN will say, "Oh, okay. Sure. We'll put LA/HBG on the ticker. No problem."
Maybe they don't go for it, maybe they do. But there's only one way to find out, assuming that USSF hasn't previously asked before and been rejected.
And we don't know. Personally, I think the ticker is the single most infernal thing ever invented in sports and I wish it would die.
I think the real key for all of this to be taken seriously is $$$. On Fox Soccer Channel one can watch the "Digicel Champions Cup" games. What is that you may ask? It's the Caribbean's version of the USOC, FA Cup, Deutche Pokal, etc..... DigiCel happens to be the big cell provider in the Caribbean. As the exclusive sponsor, they also foot the bill for the TV coverage, because it equals cheap advertising for 90 straight minutes per game..... A big name sponsor is the key to the USOC rising in prominence, and say, actually being televised.... "Coca Cola U.S. Open Cup" Anyone? (Actually Budwieser is a massive USSF sponsor, so maybe they would be more likely to do name it...) That would seem to me, to be the answer, now, the real question is, how the hell do you convince a sponsor to do it?
It actually shouldn't take that much convincing at all depending on how much sponsorship money you ask for. It's currently unsponsored, so even a modest few 100k would be huge. That's a pittance for most big companies. I just think there's a lack of desire by TPTB to even bother to try to make it a bigger deal.
They're going to win the treble, so they're a lock for the CCL. Also, they're going to win American Idol next year.
As a former USL-1 team, perhaps they're a little inclined to take it seriously? Just thinking out loud...
LOL. http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlesports/archives/169771.asp After Colorado Rapids coach Gary Smith lashed out at the Seattle Sounders' use of Tukwila's Starfire Complex to play Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup qualifier, Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer replied Thursday by indicating Smith ought to keep his nose where it belongs. "I think he should probably focus on coaching his team and not on how we're running our business," Hanauer said in reaction to Smith's criticisms following the Sounders' 1-0 victory on Tuesday.
Wow. As someone who has wanted the Sounders to play at Qwest from the beginning and to put some more care (and starters) into U.S. Cup games, I completely see where Colorado's coach is coming from, but wow at him actually going on record like that. On the plus side, I am excited somebody who is that involved in the game is that passionate about this cup. That's exactly what this cup needs - people who care.