Agreed.
I just wish the USSF did more to promote this tourney.
Up the winners purse, bill it as the David vs. Goliath type events,
Glad the Battery take it serious although I saw some reports of what it is going to cost to host the later rounds which sound like they might be cost prohibitive.
From TheCup.us
In 2012, a new system has been put in place where, in the first two rounds, if both teams meet the minimum venue standards, then a blind draw will determine who will host the match. The only consistency throughout the competition is the host team must pay the federation 15% of the gross gate receipts above $100,000. In Round 3, when Major League Soccer teams join the tournament, the same procedure will be followed, except that the host will also pay a flat hosting fee of $12,000 in advance of the match in addition to the potential 15% if they reach the $100k mark.
In Round 4, the hosting fee increases to $18,000 and then to $25,000 for the Quarterfinals.
The Semifinals and the Final will continue to utilize the sealed bid process from previous years.
quick math would mean it cost $12,000 for the third round (MLS teams) At roughly $10 a ticket, the FO would need to sell 1200 tickets. Doesn't sound like much but remember, some season ticket holders usually get a US Open Cup tickets in their packages plus the lead in time for this year match is about 1 week. Not alot of time to get the word out.
Still, they Battery could negate the travel cost by staying at home so I hope we get a couple more rounds of the USOC after round 2,
If not I might have to plan a road trip!
here is the "bracket" for the USOC
http://thecup.us/2012-us-open-cup-bracket/remember teh bracket isn't fixed like a traditional bracket (or it hasn't been in the past. for instance, if the Battery and Rochester both win their matches, they wont necessarily play one another. that will be announce after the first round matches are complete if they go by how it has been done in the past
Mikey
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