Fans of the historic Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup live by its magic moments. And the whole of the 2024 competition – threatened at the outset with considerable torment – tossed up a good few of those between March and late September. Join usopencup.com for a look back at eight memories to savor from the early amateur rounds to the Grand Finale at BMO Stadium, where LAFC – the glitz-and-glamor boys of Major League Soccer – claimed their first Open Cup crown.
Kei Kamara’s Coda
To know Kei Kamara is to be folded into his good cheer. That smile. That easy style. Those 147 goals, scored in the various colors of 11 different MLS teams. “I’m always playing against my old team,” he laughed when asked about winning his second career Open Cup, at the ripe old age of 40, in his hometown of LA – and over the club, Sporting Kansas City, where he won his first. His goal was the third in a 3-1 win for LAFC in our 109th Final – a Hollywood Ending if ever there was one. And he took his time in the post-game glow to send a clear message about just how much the Open Cup means to him. “This is the spirit of American soccer right here,” he told reporters, half-playful and half forceful. “Think of the lower-league teams and the amateurs [if anything were to happen to the Open Cup]. You'd kill their dream like that. You don’t want to let the dream die.”
Dreams & Burritos in San Francisco
There’s not enough dreaming in our world. We need more, not less. For those who don’t know that, let’s shout it in one voice from every hilltop in the land. Let the church bells ring out. Don’t let the dream die is a phrase that’s custom-made for El Farolito. Who? you ask. The amateur club from San Francisco, out of the NPSL, that reminded all who might have forgotten about the Magic of our Cup. Affiliated with a chain of taquerias, the first opened in the heart of the Mission District in the early 1980s, these amateurs did big things in this year’s Open Cup (same as they did when they won the whole shebang back in 1993). They beat third-division pros Central Valley Fuego thanks to two goals from their outstanding Dembor Benson, who then signed a pro deal with that very same USL League One team. No one, ever, should take that dream away. Nor should they take away the dream of a club like Indy Eleven, the Indiana-based pros from the second division, who caused a sensation this year.
Indy Done Did It Right
There were troubles for Indy Eleven. The mayor, Joe Hogsett, dreamt of a shiny new MLS franchise. Perhaps he forgot that he’s already got a pro team in town. They play in the USL Championship, this country’s second division, and this year, for the first time in their 11-year history, they went on a hot run in the Open Cup. Coach Sean McAuley’s men did their all to remind the esteemed mayor of their presence. “This club means a lot to me,” said captain, and Indy local, Cameron Lindley. “I want to stay here and it's harder for them to push us aside if we win.” And win they did. Indy Eleven beat Atlanta United, 2019 Open Cup Champions and MLS mega-club, in one of the biggest Cupsets of our 2024 edition before reaching the Semis and going out, only just, one step from a Dream Final. They gave it their all, falling to four-time Champs Sporting KC, a club preoccupied with their own dreams of making history.
Sporting KC Just Miss History
The Kansas-based club were just one step from becoming the first team in the Modern Era to win five Open Cups and thus join the old heroes – the black-and-whiters of yesteryear – Bethlehem Steel, Fall River FC and LA’s Maccabees. One step from turning a miserable season in MLS, eliminated from playoff contention with a handful of games to go, into something worth remembering. They scratched and clawed into the 2024 Open Cup Final. Led by the former USMNT legend Peter Vermes, they made a right battle if it too. SKC’s respect for the Open Cup – their support of it from start to finish – is nothing short of inspirational. And Johnny Russell and Daniel Salloi, two-time winner and Cup favorite Tim Melia, well, they inspired us too. They could well have ended as Champions were it not for another MLS club – from a big market and with all the flash you can ask for – full of high hopes and high octane.
Those LA Smiles Don’t Lie
It was fitting that in this year – one that began with talk of how our beloved Open Cup doesn’t fit the future of American soccer – we saw how much winning our title meant to LAFC. One of MLS’ brave new SuperClubs, crazy with Hollywood glamor andappeal, the smiles on the winning players’ faces were as genuine as a sunrise. What is this we saw? World stars like Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud lifting our prize with the same passion and enthusiasm they did the FIFA World Cup – or the Champions League trophy? That’s the truth and it tells a simple story: The Open Cup Matters. Competition matters. Opportunities matter. Dreams matter. So, Long Live the Open Cup. You LAFC fans – hugging and breathing that heavy sigh of relief, and now stuffing another trophy into your cabinet – how does it feel? Don’t worry, you don’t have to answer. We were there, so we know. Bravo.
