2012 U.S. Open Cup finalized. Rowdies begin play on May 22nd in second round.
Here it is! The tournament starts on May 15th with 32 amateur and semi-pro teams facing off. The Rowdies will enter on May 22nd, one week later, in the 2nd round. If we advance, we are guaranteed a game vs. an MLS side in the third round! Lot's of good semi-pro teams out there and we'll need to be careful, but it should be expected for us and the rest of the NASL to advance.
Pairings will occur regionally, which limits the number of teams we could potentially face. What this format also means is that no local rivalries are possible for us unless both ourselves and our rivals advance to the fourth round.
What's everyone think? Ready for this? We got snubbed last year because of the sanctioning fiasco, but it is ON in 2012!
The big question should be whether or not our ownership plans to pursue a home game. I think they should, especially if we reach the third round. And they should really promote the hell out of it. I also hope that if we travel in the 2nd round it is somewhere a little closer than Texas so we can possibly have a Mob road trip.
http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Lamar-Hunt-U-S-Open-Cup/2012/01/2012-O...
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Francis Novoa on -
Agreed on all fronts. Solid post.
Jeff Thompson said:1. If Orlando U-23's win they could still draw their parent club or the Suckers. We could host Mississippi or Laredo etc.
2. The team in Orlando just adds US Open cup tickets to the season ticket package and they pay the fee to host at least one round. Other rounds are standard game prices (why not?). Tampa can put in a bonus ticket and either use it for the cup or the playoffs.
3. They can start advertising now. It is just like the playoffs you know the dates, you hope you'll host and you can take credit card orders and just not charge them if it doesn't pan out. If we beat Minn. last year how long did we have to sell tickets for Carolina? Oh yeah about a week.
4. Most of you want us to be just like merry old England. Welcome to in-season cup play. This is done all over the world. For the 4th round Chelsea doesn't know if they are traveling to QPR or Milton-Keynes. The US Open can have an early draw for potential sites if that help the teams.
All and all this is the best chance our team has of getting on ESPN, playing in Mexico in 2013 and actually getting worldwide recognition. Why wouldn't they give it everything they got? If this throws them for a loop then FSM help them if we ever did get into a big cup where they only have two weeks to prepare for some Guatemalan team.
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Permalink Reply by Francis Novoa on
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I would love to play Orlando in Orlando. But I am completely partial to play Orlando in St. Petersburg.
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© 2012 Created by Charles Cole.
