The 2014 Lamar Hunt Open Cup came down to a fiercely contested battle between the Seattle Sounders and the Philadelphia Union. The Union suffered some bad luck--knocking the wood on attacks that most of the time would have garnered a goal. But at the end Seattle drove the spike into the heart of the game under the interplay of Martins and Dempsey. I'm not saying anything original in noting that these two may be the most dangerous duo in MLS.
Regardless, the match in Chester PA was exciting. The Sounders have now netted their fourth Open Cup title. That compares to historic teams' five Open Cup titles back in the days when soccer was mostly played by recent immigrants sponsored by big corporations.
Let me reiterate---I love the Open Cup. It's genuine American futbol as it's been around since 1914. And even this year, a team of nobodies beat an MLS side in the stages. Futbol should be an aspirational game. On a given day, a bunch of guys from Bohunk can man up and pull of the big upset.
