The Dynamo are out of the U.S. Open Cup...and I don't care.
by Zach Woosley on Apr 8, 2011 1:16 PM CDT
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PrintWednesday night the Dynamo were knocked out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in second round qualifying. Meh, who cares.
Yes, the winner of the annual "national champions of American soccer" has recently received an automatic bid in the CONCACAF Champions League but since this is still up in the air for this season, I don't think this is really that big of a deal. It's not that I'm discounting the tournament overall, I'm simply looking at it from my perspective as it effects the 2011 Houston Dynamo.
For a team that is trying to both rebuild their roster and qualify for the playoffs, the less external distractions the better. Being able to focus on a singular goal without the added distraction of midweek matches in small soccer parks across the country. In the past couple seasons the matches could be seen as chances to get reserves meaningful match time but with the reserve league back, that line of reasoning is done.
Simply put, there are bigger fish to fry this season for the Dynamo
I'll probably get at least one trolling comment that the only reason I'm making this point is because the Dynamo lost last night...and you'd be wrong, so save your keystrokes. Sure, I might be a tad bit grumpy at the idea of losing since I'm a competitive sports fan and would like my team to win every single match, but that's not how it works. More importantly, wins and loses don't change my fundamental feelings about the Open Cup.
What matters this season is making the playoffs and building momentum towards the opening of the new stadium in 2012. Plus there's my general distaste for the US Soccer organization and my lack of motivation to support anything involving them.
Anyone who was in attendance at the 2007 Open Cup Final knows (and heard) exactly what I think about Sunil Gulati. One of the benefits of the empty stadiums that are a staple of USOC matches is try as they might, people hear you yelling whether they want to or not. Yes, it was insanely childish behavior but that's part of the fun of sports.
I'll make a deal with everyone. When the USSF starts providing competent referees for MLS matches, I'll start caring about the Open Cup. Sound fair...or am I being petty?
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So you'll never care about Open Cup matches?
Can’t say I blame you there.
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
My feelings on the Open Cup for year to year depending on the team’s situation…that said, USSF neglects and mis-runs the tournament and makes it extremely difficult to follow and care bout. Basically how they run US Soccer at every level.
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"You live and learn. At any rate, you live." -Douglas Adams
Managing Editor of Dynamo Theory
Yo si le voy, le voy al naranja!
by Zach Woosley on Apr 9, 2011 11:07 AM CDT up reply actions
I would love to care about the US Open Cup, but when the USSF gives us all so little reason to, and indeed seems to treat it as an afterthought themselves, then I don;t think I’m going to waste time on it. I’ll follow it and pay attention to a degree, but what is that tournament really but one big lost opportunity writ large?
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
You may not care but...
Kinnear and the players care even if you don’t. In fact, you dedicated a post to his sentiment on USOC matches last year after Houston was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Chivas USA (a team they had never lost to in any competition since moving to Houston).
Perhaps another reason it’s hard for you to care about the USOC tournament is because Houston rarely hosts matches. Last season, for whatever reason, they hosted their semifinal and quarterfinal and how many fans showed up? ~800 and ~1000. The USSF chooses who hosts the matches based on bidding (sort of like the NIT in college basketball) and with crowds like that, it’s going to be rare for Houston to win the bidding process.
The CCL berth is up in the air every season because the USSF annual leadership meeting (or whatever it’s called) is usually scheduled a week or two after the USOC final. I think they wait till then to commit because, on the off chance that a USL team wins, they don’t want to “waste” a CCL spot on a non-MLS team. I don’t like this arrangement, but I think that’s how it is.
I think you (and most other Houston fans) would feel differently about the USOC if Houston ever wins it (or even gets to the final). Maybe Kinear and the players care about winning those games, but your FO and fans sure don’t, and that makes it hard to be successful. Posts like this that connect a complaint about ref’ing and the USSF with the importance of the USOC do nothing to improve the situation in Houston.
Real fans know that while other hardware is nice, it's still nothing more than a spit shine compared to an MLS Championship...
And oh yeah, we still have more of those than any team in the current MLS. If you include the team’s original Earthquakes days…
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
Also let me add this...
This isn’t the FA Cup or anything. Every squad sends mostly reserves and subs, and maybe brings in a starter or two in the second half. It’s treated by all teams as a second-rate tournament, just like it should be.
If the USOC wants to make teams care about the tournament, then make it more lucrative. The only time the USOC ever had a reasonable fan showing for a match was in Seattle, and that’s because in Seattle their fans are super-devoted. I’d call them the best in MLS (and that’s saying something from a Dynamo fan).
Most fans of most MLS teams couldn’t even tell you who their subs were for each game let alone who their actual reserves are. Yours included. So don’t go chastising us, the fans of the Houston Dynamo, for rating the USOC-sanctioned Open Cup as something more than a pathetic attempt at a real tournament…because that’s all it is right now, and all it’s destined to ever be with the USOC managing it.
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
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