Why
did a bunch of Fire fans in their earlier twenties (OK, early thirties in my
case) recently pile into a borrowed van at 6am on a Tuesday morning in Chicago
and drive 600 miles to Rochester for a US Open Cup third round game between the
Fire and lower division Rochester Rhinos?
And
then drive 600 miles straight back after a scrappy 1-0 win?
Now,
I might suggest that we Fire fans were fulfilling the commitment to “passion”
in the club’s “tradition, honor, passion” credo. But let’s be honest with
ourselves here: that’s less passion and more a mild dose of insanity.
In
fact, I’d suggest that it had more to do with a youthful and chaotic desire to
keep up the club’s commitment to the U.S. Open Cup, from fans to players to
coaches, that generated magical moments such as these. In Rochester, we met an old Barn
Burner from the Fire’s early days who had shown up to see his team in the cup
once again.
Some
of us in the van were too young to really remember that
’98 final, some of us (like
myself) were 4,000 miles away that year and only mildly aware of the existence
of Major League Soccer, let alone the U.S. Open Cup. Hailing from England, I had no awareness growing up that the
United States had a domestic cup competition with almost as much chronological
pedigree as the storied FA Cup, a competition I adored as a kid (my hometown
team, Brighton & Hove Albion, famously made it to the FA Cup final in 1983,
losing in a replay to Manchester United). In a knockout cup competition, there
is never any doubt that the result of the game itself matters, in the FA Cup or
the U.S. Open Cup. Win or go home, as ESPN SportsCenter would put it if it
covered the competition.
The
U.S. Open Cup dates back to 1914, with its original Dewar Trophy as fantastic a piece of silverware
design as you’ll ever see. It’s no longer in use, but the names of each winner
are still inscribed on the base each year. The Chicago Fire are there four
times (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006), twice as many as their nearest MLS competitors
for Open Cup glory. Only Bethlehem Steel and Maccabi Los Angeles are ahead of
the Fire in all time cup wins, with five each .
It
remains an “open” competition – all US Soccer affiliated amateur and
professional teams can enter, which is why we found ourselves at USL-level
Rochester that Tuesday. Joining the Chicago Fire’s first team in the last 16
this year were the Fire’s amateur PDL team, who enjoyed every second of their
journey, including a chance to play at brand-spanking new LiveStrong
Sporting Park against the Sporting Wiz, or whatever they are called now down in
Kansas City.
The
U.S. Open Cup is not a perfect competition. It appears at times to be an
afterthought of US Soccer and MLS, its games scheduled unhelpfully on Tuesday
nights, and only the final televised.
One day a marketing genius will find it a sponsor, a TV contract and
unleash the glory of its David vs. Goliath battles and its single-game knockout
tension on an American audience used to and in love with such drama from March
Madness or the World Cup or the NFL playoffs.
Until
then, it’s six Fire fans representing in a van to Rochester on a Tuesday night
for a game only shown via a shaky webcast – but really, I wouldn’t have it any
other way. After all, the Chicago
Fire won the game to go to 28-8-4 all-time in the U.S. Open Cup, and that’s
what it’s all about. See you all this Tuesday at Toyota Park as the Fire compete in
the U.S. Open Cup quarter-finals once again.
Tickets for Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal vs. the New York Red Bulls are still available. call 888.MLS.FIRE or click here to purchase.
