What is next for the U.S. Open Cup?

If this week’s fourth round fixtures in the U.S. Open Cup proved anything it was that the tournament could at least hold the interest of a major American audience. With three matches going into penalties, two more ending in extra time, and only one real blowout (the Los Angeles Galaxy thumping PSA Elite, an amateur side, 6-1) pretty much every game delivered at least a moderately enjoyable ninety-plus minutes.

There are two particular moments that seem to stick out from this week’s action. The first is that of Seattle Sounders striker Clint Dempsey pulling out the referee’s book in extra against their hated rivals the Portland Timbers and tearing it apart. There were plenty of other moments in this Cascadia cup match that have burned up social media in recent days (such as the actions of Sounders supporters and that Seattle were forced to play with seven men).

But the indelible of image in North American football this week is that of Dempsey, the face of US Soccer, acting out of sheer disgust and making a decision that will likely result in a severe suspension. This act of dissent may not be something that the U.S. Open Cup wants to be known for. But controversy does sell and for a tournament that desperately needs publicity having one of the top players of the U.S. Men’s National Team showing dissent in such a manner does help get people attracted to the tournament

The second major event from the tournament this week is perhaps more of what the U.S. Open Cup would like to be known for. In the first-ever East River Derby, the New York Cosmos of the NASL hosted NYCFC of Major League Soccer. Now this may come as a shocker to some, but these two teams have supporters that do not like each other. That showed with the 11,000 supporters that showed up to Shuart Stadium at Hofstra University on Wednesday night.

Jun 24, 2014; Chester, PA, USA; New York Cosmos goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer (1) reacts to a goal by Philadelphia Union forward Sebastien Le Toux (11) during the second overtime period of the U.S. Open Cup match at PPL Park. The Union won the match 2-1 after two overtime periods. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /

It also did not hurt that the match featured a 2-0 comeback by the Cosmos and a penalty shootout in which New York goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer made two critical saves to give his team the victory. For the only match that was shown on television (granted it was One World Sports) it was a major achievement of the tournament. U.S. Soccer’s new rule of aligning teams from closer geographical areas paid off as it did with matches between D.C. United and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, San Jose Eartquakes and Sacramento Republic FC, and Orlando City SC-Charleston Battery.

Now there are some caveats that need to be mentioned when discussing these matches. Yes, most of the Major League Soccer teams fielded experimental sides with players playing out of position. The Seattle Sounders had Obafemi Martins playing in the midfield against the Portland Timbers while D.C. United had left-back Jalen Robinson starring as a center-back in their match against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

Play did at times leave a little to be desired, although the lower division sides in general looked a bit more organized than their MLS counter-parts. That can partially be attributed to the first issue in this round, but it also speaks to the disconnect within the divisions in U.S. Soccer. These are teams that typically only player each other once a year if that and are not in tune with what the other division is doing. Unless one has a USL team, it would stand to reason that most MLS sides have very little knowledge of the lower divisions.

Now that being said these are issues that are not limited to the U.S. Open Cup. For as much as American soccer fans like to bellow about the quality of play so to do fans all across the top leagues in Europe. Higher division teams in cup competitions all across the world field weakened sides against lower-division sides. Sometimes they win and their fans pretend like they do not care. Sometimes they lose and their supporters bitterly complain that their teams do not care about winning. For as much as American soccer supporters like to consider themselves to be unique, our attitudes are still very much in line with the rest of the world.

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There is one thing though that all parties in the United States seem to agree on: that the U.S. Open Cup needs better coverage. For years, television and print coverage of the tournament has been poor. Up until this year only a handful of matches would be streamed live and generally on the final was on televisions. Even that posed a problem since the final was shown on GolTV, a great soccer channel of the early 2000’s but one whose prominence has faded with the major European club leagues flocking to NBC and Fox.

It has helped this year that starting with the third round of the competition that all games were streamed live on YouTube. But it is that next step, getting on television that seems to pose a challenge. No real reason has ever been given by US Soccer as to why every match is not shown in at least some form. However one would figure the cost of producing a match on television for lower division sides and MLS’ media rights deals are the biggest hurdles to games being broadcast.

If Fox is unwilling to show matches on their five networks, then perhaps the solution is to allow the local broadcasters the right to cover them. Fox could then also stream matches on the FoxSoccer2go application, much like ESPN3 does with NASL matches. Media rights deals would be respected while coverage could be provided at a lower cost.

The U.S Open Cup now has some momentum with positive word of mouth and with better coverage of their matches. But to become a truly major tournament here in the United States it has to build off of this momentum, not just for 2015 but beyond.

By the way anyone who is interested in listening to additional commentary should check out Radio MLS, a program put out by myself and Matt Hoffman. You can listen to it below and on iTunes!

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