Well, the overtime issue doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Now, the substitution issue is a legitimate obstacle if what you are saying is true. I was not aware that USOC had special substitutions rules. I assumed that a major tournament using teams of adults would play by standard FIFA rules.
Really, because it seems huge to me. You're asking a coach to coach one game for two different outcomes. On one hand, in the league you may not want to go for broke. If you're Philly playing in LA, you're probably pretty happy with getting out with a point. On the other hand, in the cup competition you know its win or go home. I can't image a coach being happy with the idea of "Let's play for a draw in regulation to get the league point, then we'll go for the win in extra time". So you're asking them to sacrifice the league or the cup to get a result for the other one int he same game. 4 subs in the USOC, 3 in league play.
why make it that complicated? you guys are talking qualifiers....right? pdl teams are picked on pts/game average from reg season matches. ....you don't have to have these 'qualifiers' BE usoc games w/ot's and 4 subs....just allocate 8 mls teams based on pts/game avg in league play at some cutoff date (mid/late may). forget straight up qualifiers....you do realize that mls teams play their reserves waaaaay more often than not. why bother with them? and mutiny.....they ALREADY to regionalize the matches....that is definitely NOT something new. and they already create a regional bracket, persay, when they get down to 16 teams. it'd be far more interesting to me to she the portland timbers play the revs for a change as opposed to seeing them play dc for the 60th+ time in 12 years. please, take baseball, basketball, football....all of them and tell me how many truly interesting heated rivalries you come up with. and those sports ACTUALLY HAVE history. the revs hate chicago...but, i don't see the team/players throwing all their starters out there for the usoc with a bunch of venom for each other. the usoc isn't making ANY mls team try to prove anything....only the non-mls teams are trying to prove something on a year in and year out basis. for the mls teams....you need 'big carrots' for the fans...you need interesting matchups, better marketing...a reason to go. for the network(s)...you need interesting storylines and an audience for ussf...you need to make it financially profitable
you only want that so you dont have to meet the mighty Charleston Battery year after year! On a further side note, does anyone know how much the USSF made last year? I remember a a couple years ago the number was upwards of a few million, Doenst make lossing $200K on the USOC sound like that big of deal.
There should be set dates for the open cup within the season calendar. A sponsor should be found to fund this historical tournament. Every American should experience this at least once. It is one of the oldest competitions in U.S. team sport (since 1914).
Doesn't look like any club has the US Open Cup fixtures on their schedule. Also checked thecup.us and wikipedia for any info...all USOC matches involving MLS sides are listed as TBA. I've never been to a USOC match either...we have a play-in against Philly Tuesday night that I'll be at...hoping we get thru and into the "touenament proper" (tho, if we get thru Philly, it's New England on 12 May and, if we get thru that, it's Colorado to get in). And I agree 100%...every lover of this game should get to an Open Cup match at some point. Ans US Soccer should market the tourney better. I love ALL soccer, but it seems a bit out-of-whack that we can see virtually any club from any level in any round of the FA Cup, but we'll only get TV coverage of the USOC semis and final.
Agree too. You would thing that in this age of marketing everywhere a company would want to sponsor the US Open cup. Hopefully in my life time I'll be able to see a Brooklyn Knights PDL vs Red Bulls in the 3rd round....
interesting article addressing what we've been talking about. Looks like change is coming soon. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/why-us-open-cup-may-be-need-overhaul
What do you think are the positives and negatives of having a USOC tournament comprised of 16 teams (4 MLS, 4 DII, 4 PDL, 4 USASA) that occurs over one month, similar to NCAA basketball and the World Cup (without group play)? Teams paired by random draw. MLS takes a month off in the summer, July or August as an example. The current status of the USOC is more conducive to games at the lower division ground. The USOC would look something like: Week 1... 8 games Week 2... 4 games Week 3... 2 games Week 4... Championship Which team should host the Championship? Neutral site, lower/higher division team? I like the tournament but as it stands now it is pathetic--almost no coverage, low attendance, congested schedules...
This proposal seems pretty open to me. Every team in every one of those divisions has a chance to finish in the top 4 and earn a spot in the U.S. Open Cup.
I like the idea of completing the U.S. Open Cup in about a months time and doing so in June, August or some other month before the teams and fans are really focused on making the post season. However, I don't think you can ask the league to take a full month off. Just taking a couple of weeks off for the WC has caused enough scheduling conflicts. Now, one weekend off for the U.S. Open Cup final might be doable, though. The 16 rounds could be played on Tuesday nights: 1st week: Round of 16 2nd week: Quarterfinals 3rd week: Semis Final on the weekend. For each round including the final the host stadium would be determined through a coin toss.
I hope I do not get accused of being a Euro snob, but the US Open cup should be played by all amateur teams in early rounds, professional teams should join in the later rounds and it should last all season long. IMO I would want more teams in it not less. I understand that priority #1 is to make it more popular/profitable and then expanding it.
A part of me might like that as well, but most teams in the U.S. have roster sizes that are barely sufficient for their regular season matches, and once you start adding a bunch of USOC matches they are way over-extended. Better for quality of play to shrink the number of teams involved, the number of games, and the span of time over which the tournament is played.
well I know the Mob is already salivating over our first USOC match and we want nothing more than to take down an MLS side this year. I've also never been to an Open Cup match and hopefully it becomes a strong tradition here in Tampa.
Actually, that is how it is played. State association across the country which are member of the US Adult Soccer Association hold competitions for their teams to qualify to regional level. The four regions within USASA then hold their own qualifiers to determine the two qualfiers per region that move on to the Lamar Hunt level. Along with the 8 USASA teams, there are 8 PDL teams that have their own qualifiers. Those make up the 16 amateur teams that then compete among the lower division professional sides in later rounds. Check these two sites for info: http://www.usasa.com/nationalcups10/index_E.html http://thecup.us/
I found this today and posted it on my blog, but according to the AAC Eagles website, their qualifier in KC against KC Athletics will be a double header with next week's KC-Chicago MLS game. http://www.downthebyline.com/2010/05/double-header-next-weekend.html
Yeah and I have had it confirmed. Now I have to figure out why I posted it in this thread on Saturday night instead of the US Open Cup thread. I'm thinking the alcohol...
West Region-16 teams Pacific Region-8 teams Great Plains Region-8 teams East Region-16 teams Midwest Region-8 teams Atlantic Region-8 teams Pro Teams in: Top 8 MLS teams, 4 from west, 4 from east. All NASL teams. Currently 10. All USL 2 teams. Currently 6. Amateur teams in: 4 from PDL, 4 from regions, decided via playoffs. Regional play will help develop rivalries and keep travel costs low. Prize money for winning Region: $50,000. Loser: $25,000 Regional teams face off for Finals trip. Prize money to winner: $100,000. Loser: $35,000 Finals will always feature a team from the west versus a team from the east. Prize money to winner: $150,000. Loser: $45,000 Total prize money: $405,000 Winning players get $1,000, $2,000, and $3,000 for winning rounds, $6,000 all together for winning the whole thing. All other money goes to paying off costs of travel and the like. This format places more focus on Regional play leading up to the Final, and gives sports fans something familiar and understandable, since the main idea for this format is the Final Four. Keeping it local and making it worth something via sponsors and more interest from fans via better advertising makes the tournament more important on the US soccer landscape
i'm not sure exactly what's new about your post here (regarding format)....they already do regional play (which sux btw....when i had to watch the revs play the rhinos and dc just about every year in this thing). did you see the bracket last year? they created basically 4 regional brackets. and choosing 4 pdl teams out of nearly 70? and you've INCREASED the amount of prize money when the us soccer federation lost $200k on this last year. i'm not sure this really helps this tournament out much.
I'm hoping short term loss will lead to long term gain. And the PDL/Regional playoffs will be part of the Open Cup Tournament proper, I just don't like the thought of the Cup being dilluted with amateur teams. Maybe we should just form a new cup, only NASL, MLS teams from US and Canada and Puerto Rico. Something like the Carling Cup. Pro teams from the top 2 divisions only
unfortunately, since mls came into the mix....this tourney has been long term loss. and honestly....i'm telling you from going to usoc games for the past 9 or so years.....regional rivalries don't amount to much. as for the cup 'being dilluted with amateur teams'. you've only reduced the amount of teams in the cup 'proper' from 40 to 32 and almost all of those teams (8 extra) go out in the first round. this doesn't really seem like much dillution to me. plus, people who follow the cup LIKE these teams in there. -the games are mid week and last min affairs. -the base of many soccer fans are generally families that don't have unstructured time....and don't have the impetus to fit unplanned matches in. -mls clubs generally don't 'care' themselves about this tournament until the get to the semis (maybe). -other major cup tournaments (like the fa cup) have many of these same problems too. it's not a format issue ....and throwing $ at mls teams aren't going to make them care any more....really. sports are tribal college sports work b/c you've got millions of alumni with tribal ties to their schools/conferences whatever. however, this tribal feeling has not translated much into soccer b/c of their fanbase demographic. i lived in boston for 12 years and lived thru all the sox/yanks stuff. i can tell you, that even tho the revs and fire have a pretty 'hated' rivalry (esp playoffs).....very very few of the fans that regularly go games, 'get it' and actually tune in/show up when they play. so....i'm slowly starting to realize that tinkering with the format of this thing (esp early stages) isn't going to do a bit of good. having a final 4 weekend or something may lead to more exposure and more interest and more 'caring' by mls....but until mls teams embrace this AND mls teams have larger rosters to handle a few more non mls tourneys....it's hard to find what's going to 'fix' this tournament in the near future.