If overheard fan banter at Toyota Stadium is any indication, there are still plenty of FC Dallas fans, even season ticket members, who don't know what this Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup thing is and why it is significant that FC Dallas is in the final Tuesday against the New England Revolution.

American soccer fans, particularly the younger generation, can be forgiven for not knowing much about the U.S. Open Cup since the tournament flies a bit under the radar every year without much promotion or TV exposure. The lack of exposure is really too bad, because it is a great tournament and unique among American professional sports.

If you didn't realize Americans have been playing soccer since the Civil War, you're probably not alone. American soccer history is largely a secret history (there are multiple factors why), something the currently in-the-works National Soccer Hall of Fame at Toyota Stadium can hopefully help remedy. Soccer existed and even thrived in parts of the U.S. long before MLS and the original NASL, and the thread running through the start/stop history of American soccer is the U.S. Open Cup.

It's rather hard to believe for Americans born during the 40-year gap when the U.S. didn't qualify for the World Cup, but the first organized soccer club in the U.S. was actually formed in Boston in 1862. The American Football Association -- the first soccer association outside the British Isles -- was formed in Newark, N.J., in 1884. That's right, the U.S. had its own soccer governing body seven years before the invention of basketball, 11 years before the first U.S. Open golf tournament, and 36 years before the formation of the NFL.

Eventually, the American Football Association dissolved and our first FIFA-recognized national governing body was founded in 1913 as the U.S. Football Association. It underwent a few name changes over the years, including the cumbersome "U.S. Football Soccer Association," which goes to show that the current "FC" vs. "SC" debates in naming American clubs is nothing new. Today we know it as the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Upon the federation's founding in 1913, one of the first priorities was to establish a national cup competition modeled after the British FA Cup tournament (which started in 1872 -- the oldest soccer tourney in the world). The original vision for this American tournament called the "National Challenge Cup" was to open the competition to all amateurs and professionals in the U.S.

The first National Challenge Cup tournament kicked off in 1914, the year World War I commenced in Europe. Forty teams played in that first tournament, among them, the brilliantly named "Young Men's Catholic Total Abstinence Society F.C." of Massachusetts. Over 6,000 spectators watched the first final on May 16, 1914, in Pawtucket, R.I., where Brooklyn Field Club defeated Brooklyn Celtic 2-1 with an 85th minute header goal. Somehow the tournament has managed to be played every year since.

From the very beginning of the National Challenge Cup tournament -- which gradually became known as the "U.S. Open Cup" -- champions were awarded the Dewar Challenge Trophy, making it the oldest trophy in American team sports history. The tall trophy was manufactured in England, purchased for $500 by a Scottish whisky distiller, Sir Thomas Dewar, and donated to the USFA in hope of promoting soccer in the U.S.

The Dewar trophy fell into disrepair and was retired in 1979, but it was eventually refurbished and was presented to the Dallas Burn when they won the club's only title in 1997. The original Dewar trophy now sits in the main trophy room of U.S. Soccer Federation headquarters in Chicago. Each tournament champion still gets its team name engraved on the historic trophy, but the team is awarded a separate commemorative trophy for its own display.

In 1999, U.S. Soccer officially changed the name of the tournament to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup to honor the myriad contributions of FC Dallas' late owner to the development of American professional soccer.

The 2016 U.S. Open Cup tournament featured 91 teams -- 43 professional and 48 amateur. In addition to the trophy, the tournament champion gets $250,000*. That extra cash would certainly come in handy for FC Dallas, though, ahem, a few weeks too late to help retain the services of Weston McKennie.

Tuesday is a very rare opportunity to see a final at Toyota Stadium (despite the inconvenient kickoff time of 9 p.m.). FC Dallas last made it to the Open Cup final in 2007, when they also faced the New England Revolution at Toyota Stadium, and lost 3-2.

FC Dallas also made it to the final in 2005, but lost 1-0 to the LA Galaxy in Los Angeles. The club's sole Open Cup title was the aforementioned 1997 win as the Dallas Burn, when they defeated DC United 5-3 on PKs at Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

The U.S. Open Cup represents more than a century of soccer on American shores. The lack of media coverage and scant fan support resulted in the tournament spending much of that century in virtual obscurity, which makes it truly remarkable that the tournament still managed to eke out an existence every year. The U.S. Open Cup deserves more prominence and support than it receives because it is symbolic of the resilience of the sport in this country. The soccer coverage, stadiums, facilities, and leagues we enjoy today are largely dividends of the anonymous groundwork laid by U.S. Open Cup participants through the decades. Sure, that 9 p.m. start time stinks, but hey, it's on ESPN2, which is beyond the wildest dreams of most Open Cup players of yore.

For history, tradition, love of the game and the chance to see FC Dallas accomplish something they've only done once before in their 20 years -- if you are remotely a fan of this team -- you don't want to miss next Tuesday's final at Toyota Stadium.

*Note: The 2016 Open Cup Finalist's Handbook simply states, "The prize money to be distributed for the competition ending in Sept. 2016 includes the following: U.S. Open Cup Champion - $250,000.00." After this article was posted this morning, FC Dallas contacted 3rd Degree to clarify the club doesn't get the $250K prize, the money actually goes to the players. Exactly how the money would be divvied up among the players has not been specified.

Nathan Nipper is the author of the award-winning book Dallas 'Til I Cry: Learning to Love Major League Soccer.