The Colorado Rapids, a member of the Western Conference based 600 miles due west of the westernmost Eastern Conference club, will host the San Jose Earthquakes, another Western Conference club based east of nothing but the the world's largest body of water, in a game that will be officially titled the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Final.
Bravo to Gary Smith. The Colorado Rapids head coach spoke out on the deplorable state of the U.S. Open Cup after his side's 1-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders on Tuesday. At the top of Smith's hit list was the Sounders' choice to play the match at Starfire Sports Complex rather than Qwest Field, and Major League Soccer's obvious disdain for the country's oldest cup competition.
"(The way) the whole system has been conducted has led us down a path that it was obvious the MLS league games are far more important to everybody in our league," Smith said. "Why should we risk our best players when nobody actually sees this as an important competition?
Smith's frustrations may seem like sour grapes, but it's clear he simply wants to see American soccer with a knock-out tournament akin to England's FA Cup. Romance, no matter the possibility of lower level teams knocking off the MLS big boys, is severely lacking in the U.S. Open Cup. It's a result of the severe lack of interest both MLS and its clubs have in seriously competing for the trophy.
"I come from an environment and culture where Cup games are part of the fabric as English football and European football. I think people at the top have demeaned this competition by playing it here for starters. Why don't we play the games at Qwest? Why, when we offered up the facilities at our own turf, are we not there?
The Sounders response to this, of course, is that Starfire provided a more intimate setting for the type of crowd they expect to get for a U.S. Open Cup qualifier. My immediate question is, why is that the case? I understand that the game was midweek and might not be quite the draw a weekend night might be; but if the team is able to sell out a 28k stadium for league matches, why is the bar lowered to 4k for Open Cup games?
Smith also commented on the "private" nature of the Open Cup draw.
"Why can't we promote the Cup in a more sensible fashion so everyone can get behind it?" he said. "There is a behind close door draw done and we end up here in a facility that is below par. We have seen two very good teams do battle on a below-par surface and facility.
It's a good question, and one that I hadn't really considered before. My issues with the Open Cup goes so far beyond the nature of the draw, that I simply hadn't realized that it was done in such a fashion.
"I don't understand that with the strides the MLS and the league made in this country. Seattle has proved this week already what a good team they are. It doesn't suit them either and I'm surprised."
Smith doesn't strike me as the John Carver type, frustrated enough with the league and the condition of the game here to simply walk away. I think his concerns come from a genuine place of interest in seeing the game succeed in the U.S., and he seems to believe that a properly run and well-respected cup competition should be part of that success.
Not much going on this morning as we get closer to the first MLS kickoff of today (LIVE BLOG! Ginge Talks the Footy!), so we interrupt regularly scheduled MFUSA programming for a brief profile of a foreign player plying their trade in Major League Soccer.
You have to love the headline ("Coach says 'Jackie Chan' Grooving in Well in the MLS"), and the way it's written is almost more interesting than the info on Richardson.
More after the jump.
I almost forgot about this guy, and I still don't know why his nickname is "Jackie Chan", but I found the article humorous, so I thought I'd pass it on. Richardson is certainly behind Casey and Cummings on the Rapids depth chart, though he has already seen the field once this year.
If you don't remember Richardson, he's the guy that torched New England with a hat trick in the Champions League group stages while with Joe Public FC. It seems he impressed enough in that tournament to get himself an MLS job.
He's also the first Guyanese player to ever play in MLS, so there's an obvious interest in the league and the Rapids in his homeland.
Here's Richardson's player page from the Rapids official site.
Here's a bit on Guyana if you have no idea where it is.
Here's video of Richardson scoring that hat trick for Joe Pubic against the Revs last year:
