I'm asking this because I manage in the MLS on Football Manager 2007 (Worldwide Soccer Manager in the US) with Kansas City, formally of FC Dallas, and I won the Open Cup with FC Dallas. So how seriously is it taken?
Depends on the team. Some MLS sides take it seriously, others don't. USL sides take it VERY seriously.
Depends. By diehard MLS fans, I'd say it's treated on par with the FA Cup, as the second best prize to win. For USL (2nd-4th divisions) fans, it's probably the most important prize. By the teams, it depends. Some MLS teams don't care much, some do. I think most of the USL teams really care. By the media and casual fans, it's existance is barely known. Only one game, the final, is on TV, and that's on FOX Soccer Channel (high end cable or satellite). Whereas the MLS Cup (league) Final is on free national television.
I'm assuming that in the game you only played against other MLS teams, right? They didn't have USL teams and stuff did they? Is that made by EA?
It's made by Sports Interactive/Sega (not EA), and made for PC (although I think there's a version out there for XBox 360). They have USL teams all the way through to PDL in the Open Cup. That tournament is the only reason those teams are even in the game, as you cannot control any clubs lower than MLS. I have the game myself, and have seen a USL club in the semis. The players in the professional divisions (USL1/2) are actually in the game; the PDL teams are made with fillers (outside of - I think - 1 real player per team) as they are not professional.
I think it's comparable to the cups in most countries. Stronger MLS teams tend not to focus on it. Weaker MLS teams take it seriously. Lower division teams even more so.
I know this is an old thread, but this needs to be addressed. I think "team strength" has zilch to do with whether a team takes it seriously.For example LA and Chicago have both been consistent in the USOC while the Metro/Red Bulls,Colorado and other consistently weak teams have not.There are simply some teams which take pride in playing for the USOC.I know for Chicago the USOC is a huge part of not only the fan but management culture-and this translates to the players Chicago .
The USL sides do take it seriously, some MLS sides in the past didn't. But now they do. Still US Soccer doesn't take the cup seriously. This Superliga between the MLS Clubs and the first division Mexican clubs has all of a sudden pushed the US Open Cup to the side. We have the first two rounds seperating within a week of each other in June. The 3rd Round & Quarterfinals are exactly a full week of each other in July & then the Semis & Final are seperating a week of each other in August. Also the Group stages of the new CONCACAF Champions Cup are forcing the final towards the end of August. I understand that the new Champions League in CONCACAF is important, but this is our version of the FA Cup & it should also have the same importance, but still if US Soccer won't show it, then no one will care for it.
Hold it right there. Just because your side has won it four times and you beat my club in the final by a goal in 2003 doesn't mean my club doesn't take it seriously. My club Metro/RBNY has advanced to the Semi-Finals at least four times in the clubs history. 1998, 1999, 2000 & in 2003. Every time I have spoken to any of our players either as Metro or RBNY they have said we wanted to win the cup or get to the final and they blew their chance. Just because your side is four for five in Cup Finals in the USOC doesn't mean your side takes it more seriously than the others. I can't speak for the other clubs in the past before the Fire came around in 1998, but in recent times I have asked clubs working for Champions Soccer Radio Network and they are in it now. The all high & mighty Chicago Fire four time champions of the US Open Cup, congrats in winning it. But don't sit there typing all this crap saying my club doesn't take it seriously, they do. They want a trophy just as much as your club does, just the ball hasn't bounced there way.
I would garner even more so, since the Bulls don't have a single trophy. Heck, even the Revs have a USOC win under their belt... though it did take them 12 years to get it.
God, it'd be awesome to have an American soccer game that was just American (and Canadian) teams all of which were playable. I guess that's a long way off though.
Well, it's stature has recently increased due to the fact that one of the four US births in the new CONCACAF Champions League is awarded to the winner. Now, there's more incentive for the MLS teams to take the competition seriously. If the new CCL succeeds, part of that success will rub off on the Open Cup.
That is true, but honestly US Soccer should've done this from the start, not wait till the Cup winner gets a spot in the new CONCACAF Champions League.
Gavin Wilkinson, coach of the Portland Timbers, doesn't take it seriously at all. He started eight reserve players in a 3:2 home stinker of a loss to part-timers Hollywood United. So much for USL sides taking it seriously.
That comment would have meant more coming from someone who's not a Timbers fan or if you had said it before the game started. To me, it just looks like an excuse. Maybe he just seriously underestimated his opponent, or it could be any of a number other reasons.
Neither did the Rapids, having significant players (Chritian Gomez for example) not even travel, much less start. And yes, if you look back on the Rapids forum I said this before the LA win and the KC loss.
But seriously, folks...USL1 reserve players can't beat USASA players? Portland's lineup with the number of USL1 games they'd played this year, coming in: GK James (3) D Bolkan (0) D J. Thompson (12) [Guante 66 (9)] D Griffin (13) D Karalexis (1) M Oka (0) M Lara (1) M Dombrowski (2) M Little (2) F Brown (13) [Suzuki 45 12)] F Bagley (3) Considering Portland is in a stretch where they play six games in the first 14 days of the month, I don't blame a guy for prioritizing. You'd rather win the league, wouldn't you? Coaches have to make these calls all the time. Maybe he should have gone with 5 reserves, or 6, instead of 8. I don't know. But when August comes and you have a bunch of guys who haven't played meaningful minutes, how does that help you if somebody key goes down with an injury later? It's unfortunate that soccer in this country is at the point that it is where these types of things have to be considered, but they do have to be considered. There's less roster depth than in Europe. More back-to-back games under bad conditions. Worse travel. So you won't win the Open Cup this year. No different than most years for most teams. Now if a coach just basically gave up and it was obvious that he put out a lineup that had NO chance of winning, that would be one thing. I'd give this guy at least a little bit of the benefit of the doubt if he either thought (a) the guys he put out there could beat a USASA team or ( b ) they could at least hang in there and get valuable experience. They almost DID beat them, right? A guy misses a PK and they nick one in stoppage? That's football. Maybe your first-line unit would have done the job. Maybe not. But if you're stuck with 6 games in 14 days, I know you could do worse than take a long hard look at your lineup for the first round of a Cup competition.
Doesn't it bother anyone that it's sponsored by Nutrilite which is owned by Quixtar one of the biggest pyramid schemes in the world. http://www.nutrilite.com/ http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/255892.html
Maybe you're not looking at that right? Nutrilite sponsors the Canadian Championship, from which the winner goes on to the CONCACAF Champions League. There is no title sponsor for the US Open Cup. USL just decided to put the two together as "Tournament Tuesdays."
Call it what you will, but I was sure surprised to see our lack of putting forth the best possible effort. It's stupid. In this sport I wouldn't necessarily expect barely paid and played USL-1 players to beat amateurs who've had the benefit of playing as a consistent unit. Especially give the piss poor play of the Timbers over the past seven matches. How bad must our reserves be if they cannot pressure our starters for playing time?
Portland's coach after the match: “I think if we would have played our starting lineup, we would have crushed them,” Wilkinson says. “We’ve had a [heck] of a lot of games in a short period. … I would say we [did] not put a lot of emphasis on this competition.”
He took Hollywood United lightly and the Timbers Head Coach got what he deserved. Elimination from the US Open Cup. No one takes this lightly & he got punished for it. His loss, Hollywood Utd's gain.
And managers around the world have to make choices like this every week and live with the consequences. Unfortunate, but true.
I'd say everyone that was at the Austin - Atlanta game Tuesday night took it seriously. And the same with every other game Tuesday night. Is it taken seriously by MLS? Flip a coin. Some teams yes, some teams no. Is it taken seriously by anyone outside of soccer circles? No. But soccer circles get larger and larger every year, and while I'd love the tournament to have the stature of the FA Cup, I'm happy with where it's at. And getting more confident that it will stick around and get better and get more attention. Just like MLS has been.