On Wednesday, May 15th at 2:30 P.M. Fresno FC will take on El Farolito at Boxer Stadium in San Francisco. The game is set for the early afternoon because of the lack of stadium lights.

The game should be exciting – but it brings up the question, what is the U.S. Open Cup?

The Prestigious History of the U.S. Open Cup

If you are new to following association football, or like me, you are just new to the intricacies of U.S. soccer history you might not know much about the U.S. Open Cup. The competition dates all the way back to 1914 when it was known as the National Challenge Cup.

The competition, the oldest continuously running annual sports competition in the United States, has gone through different stages. From its earliest beginnings, the cup has been a competition that offered hope and glory to amateur and semi-professional teams across the country. Winning the cup is a significant accomplishment, and there is almost no other competition in the U.S. that offers amateur sides the chance to play against the best professionals in the country.

The list of winners tells the story of American soccer over the years – from giant slayers like the Rochester Raging Rhinos to powerhouse teams like Maccabi Los Angelos and Bethlehem Steel (the original). Over the 106 year history, there have been winners from 17 different states, and the competition really was wide open – many amateur sides have taken home the trophy.

The MLS Era

Since the start of the MLS in 1996, the league has dominated the competition. The MLS has won all but one year since its start (the 1999 run of the Rochester Raging Rhinos). Some notable division II sides have made it far in the competition (Charleston Battery in 2008 final, and Cincinnati FC in 2017 semifinal), but the landscape of the cup has changed from its storied history.

The Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire sit at four cups each, just one more to tie the most in the history of the competition. While the MLS has dominated, not every side has come close. So far only eight MLS sides have laid claim to the cup, leaving it just a dream to many of the teams.

Despite MLS domination, there is still hope that the cup might come back down to a lower division. A Cinderella story isn’t something any MLS team can rule out, and they need to bring their A-game to the upcoming matches. Last year the USL managed to knock-out 3 MLS sides from the competition, and lower-league teams knocked out a lot of USL sides – no one is guaranteed a win.

Who the Heck is Lamar Hunt?

The National Challenge Cup was the name of the competition from 1914 until 1999 when the name was changed to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The cup was renamed to honor Lamar Hunt, a businessman and critical benefactor of soccer in the U.S.

Hunt was an integral part of two critical moments in U.S. soccer history – the founding of the NASL and the founding of the MLS. He was also a principal part of the reason that NFL owners can even own a soccer franchise – helping the NASL win an anti-trust lawsuit in 1982-83. Currently, there are five MLS franchises owned by NFL teams/owners.

Hunt founded his first soccer team in the U.S. in the Dallas Tornado in 1967 after watching the world cup in England in 1966. His team joined the United Soccer Association but then merged into the new NASL in 1968. Despite losses from owning the team, Hunt promoted soccer in the U.S. for 15 seasons before finally folding the franchise into the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The NASL collapsed under immense financial strain in 1984.

Hunt wasn’t done with U.S. soccer though. He was a significant player in the founding of the MLS in 1996. He owned two teams at the start of the MLS the Kansas City Wizards and Columbus Crew. He eventually purchased the Dallas Burn in 2003, helping to keep the league afloat at a time when it was unprofitable to own a franchise. He also helped set the standard for soccer-specific stadiums by building the first MLS stadium in 1999 for the Columbus Crew.

Hunt’s willingness to push for U.S. Soccer at a time when it was not only a fledgling program in the U.S. but also highly unprofitable made him a hero to many in the U.S. Soccer community, which is why the Open Cup trophy bears his name.

The Peculiar Case of EL Farolito

The Foxes are taking on El Farolito (named after a Mexican restaurant in San Francisco) in the 2nd round of the cup. El Farolito managed to knock out their rival Academica SC in a 2-1 win on the 7th – they didn’t look particularly dangerous, but that isn’t a reason for us to be lax going into the game.

El Faro has a unique history among teams in the United States because they have actually won the U.S. Open Cup. They are one of only 64 teams to ever win the trophy, placing them in the halls of U.S. Soccer history. They won the cup in 1993, three years before the introduction of the MLS to the competition, at a time when small sides were still winning regularly.

Their run through the cup was historic at a time when Bay Area teams were dominating the competition. No matter what the outcome of the match against Fresno FC is, El Faro will always be able to look back with pride on one of the most significant accomplishments in U.S. Soccer history.

The Match

We take on an EL Faro side at their home stadium. It should be a good match, and it will be on ESPN+ (an awesome decision by whoever made it). Fresno should win the match. El Faro had both a player suspended and a goal scorer who, unfortunately, broke his arm scoring during their last game. They will be playing with a hampered squad, but they will put forth their best and we shouldn’t underestimate them.

Onward.

#SomosZorros