Cosmos fans will have gone two weeks without seeing their boys in green (or awkwardly timed blue?) by the time their next match, a Two Rivers Derby against Red Bull New York in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16, comes around this week. The eagerness among fans for the finale of this recent trio of the Gotham Derbies has made the wait during the long break extra excruciating, only punctuated by suffering through having what many greens perceive to be a contrived MLS "rivalry" for New York "superiority" forced down everyone's throats this past weekend. So to help get that sour taste out of your mouth and further whet your appetite for Wednesday, here's a bit of history for a match between two teams with history, and a trophy idea for all fans in the area.



No state has contributed more names to the bottom of American soccer's most prestigious trophy than the Empire State, and when you include the whole New York City metropolitan area there is an impressive history to be found in the Open Cup. Below is a list of the NYC-area teams that went furthest in each year's tournament, with winners italicized. More information can be found over at Josh Hakala's amazing project dedicated to the coverage of this wonderful tournament, TheCup.US.

There are a few years where records weren't kept (particularly during the Soccer Dark Ages of the 1980s), and in 2009 it appears the limited format of the competition precluded the metropolitan area for the first time in history, but there are your New York Open Cup champions, with the 1991 Brooklyn Italians the last ones to put their names on the cup. The current 24-year drought of a New York area team raising the trophy is by far the longest ever.



Now, the Pacific Northwest has their Cascadia Cup, but since the top three teams in the region aren't in the same league (for now) a points-based system for a supporters' trophy makes no sense. My proposal? The Medal of Gotham, given to the NYC-area team -- including the amateurs -- that progresses farthest in the Open Cup each year. The Cosmos and Red Bull New York will fight for it Wednesday, July 1, at 7:30 PM, televised on MSG Network, with the right to host either Philadelphia Union or DC United in the quarterfinals on the line. Whatever happens, fans are in for a treat, and long live the Newark Skeeters.