So is the FA Cup successful because of the history? NOT because the Premier League and its clubs poured money into marketing it? Well US Open Cup already has history, it's been around for over 100 years and is one of the oldest soccer tournaments in the world...
How is a $300,000 prize even a real number for winning the US Open Cup? Unless clubs are making money off of sponsors or TV, I can see how playing in the tournament is worth their while but this $300k amount won't even cover plane and hotel costs for a team for even a few games. This figure was good for the amateur teams of Lothar Osiander's SF Greek Americans and Joe Silveira's Santa Clara Sporting in the 1980's and early 90's but not for MLS clubs in 2025.
That is again US Soccer not MLS. And another chicken and the egg thing. When games draw 5k and a few thousand watch the live streams, how can US Soccer justify handing out more money than that? At least they also give money to the last team standing from every division... But both those things are already there, the value they provide is built in!
I just read this..... U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday it will be doubling the prize money for the 2025 U.S. Open Cup, reaching a record-breaking $1 million in an effort to continue building interest in the tournament. U.S. Open Cup prize money doubles to record $1 million - ESPN It is still not enough. Even Inter Miami won $2 million for winning the 2023 Leagues Cup. UEFA teams gain and earn millions in TV and Sponsorship money for a Champions league berth but how much is involved in the Concacaf Cup?
You should because as long as the prize money are low, teams don't put a total effort and utilize their reserves in this Open Cup tournament. The more money that is involved, the more exposure the league, the clubs and the players get. This will give fans something to look forward to and cheer about. As it is, judging by attendance and exposure, very few fans seem to care about this cup.
If teams aren’t putting in a total effort, Quakes odds of winning go up. Playing reserves benefits a team with a deep bench.
This is why I think the Quakes have a shot at USOC this year. They've got a decent B team. If they have to do squad rotation due to schedule congestion they can win those games. Or conversely, they can be competitive with their B team in MLS games, and save more starters for USOC. Well that plus finally getting some luck with the draws. I certainly care about USOC. I have thought that it's entirely possible, with 30 teams now, and the Quakes usually not or rarely one of the better teams, they may not win another MLS Cup in my lifetime. So I'd be ecstatic with a USOC trophy.
I was going to re-edit: As it is, judging by attendance and exposure, very few fans seem to know and care about this cup. Either way, no one cares.....
Sometimes I think there is tons more excitement at the El Farolito level… Maybe USOC would have more visibility if there were more Jack and the Giant killer type stories.
Well it doesn't help the "Jack and the Giant" narratives when the many of the Giants are no longer in the composition. It's not just about MLS not "marketing" USOC, it's how they've framed it. They've come out and said that it doesn't matter and we want out. And then, after some arm twisting, made it into a sort of "loser's rock" thing where the "lesser" MLS teams get banished to it while the "winners" play Leagues Cup and Champions Cup.
I never saw this as the MLS league office not caring about USOC at all, rather that they find Leagues Cup to be a better commercial opportunity involving better teams and a chance to tap into a new fanbase (Liga MX fans). That being said it's a stretch to tie this into the whole box score stats issue - it's not like the MLS website is known for its technical robustness at any rate, and likely the stats provider they pay to populate the MLS box scores doesn't have the USOC stats integrated in their data pipeline. I mean the US Soccer site doesn't have the USOC match stats either! (But Fotmob seems to have its act together). I think in the big picture everyone is to blame. USSF has done a terrible job promoting USOC, getting proper production and stream distribution for matches, etc. MLS has responded by throwing a tantrum. And more broadly the level of quality of the US soccer pyramid has lagged behind (i.e. USLC is not as respected as other professional 2nd divisions).
You don't think MLS's announcement (12/2023) that they're dropping their 1st teams out of USOC says anything about how much they care about the tournament? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Of course, we all know what this is. $$$ over tradition. Whether anyone thinks that's a good idea, the fact is that they wanted to completely dump USOC in favor of their new commercial venture. There's no mystery here. Don't make a big deal about the stats thing. It's just one small example of how MLS doesn't have the time for USOC. I mean for every USOC game, the stats are mostly 1's and 0's (the only shots they count are goals, therefore we took 1 shot against Portland and they took 0), and pass completion is always 100% for both teams. :facepalm. It's fine if they don't have the numbers, but they can't be bothered to just remove the "stats" tab so it's not just complete nonsense for every single USOC game? :facepalm2