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.
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 message to the man who’d just hung a winner’s medal around his neck. “Don was up on the podium. Let’s get him in here and make sure he doesn't take MLS out of this tournament,” he told reporters, half-playful and half forceful, referring to MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who, at the start of this year’s tournament, wanted to pull all MLS first teams out. “This is American soccer. Think of the lower-league teams, the amateurs, you kill their dream like that. Don’t let the dream die.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
And while you dignitaries and VIPs in the stands, Ted Lasso’s Jason Sedeikas and Brandon Hunt and, of course, Will Ferrell, looked down at the field, we do hope you took note of our very, very special guests. They stood on the field with the trophy before kick-off. A little wobbly, sure. This trio of old men – Eberhard Herz (90), Lothar Pospich (87) and Manfred Norstadt (87) are living Open Cup history. All members of the old LA Kickers – the first team from the City of Angels, and the first from the West Coast, to win the Open Cup way, way back in 1958. MLS wasn’t yet a whisper of a dream, but the game, this game of one ball, two goals and 22 dreamers, was alive and kicking. It’s a point worth hammering home. So we will. Things do come and things do go – but some things are worth protecting. The U.S. Open Cup – heading into a 110th edition out on high school fields and public parks for the early 2025 amateur qualifying rounds – is one of those things, America.
The numbers are the problem. The bottom line is a cruel measure. There’s no dreaming in numbers. No magic to be had there. But if you insist, we’ll throw a few on the line for you. 40. A big fat number, the age when we start to wilt. When paunch replaces taut. It’s also the age of Kei Kamara – scorer of the 109th Open Cup’s last goal. It makes him the oldest scorer in an Open Cup Final in the Modern Era – and by some distance. Cheers, Kei, and here’s to 40 more before you hang ‘em up. And how about 16. That's the number of teams from LA to win an Open Cup – so let’s salute those Kickers and the Scots, the Canvasbacks of San Pedro, the Maccabees and the Galaxy, and yes, of course LAFC now too. How about 4. It’s the number of Open Cups that Sporting KC’s won. They’re tied with the Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire. It’s a dead-heat to see who’ll become the first team from the MLS Era to make it 5. While we’re on fours, it’s the mark of the top-scorers in this year’s tournament. El Farolito’s Dembor Benson, Jonathan Jimenez (NYCFC2) and Stefano Pinho of Birmingham Legion all hit that number. But only Pinho – underdog Quarterfinalist in 2017 with Miami FC – scored all four in the same game.
This is the hard part. And we mean it when we say that. Waving farewell to those who helped weave our Cup Magic is never easy. But we must. It’s the way of things. So, firstly and foremostly, we recognize Sporting Kansas City. You’d have made a fitting first-time five-timer from MLS, but you’ll have to wait. Indy Eleven and New Mexico United and, of course, 2022 Runners-up Sacramento Republic – and every single underdog who laced up boots on our fields the year – we salute you and can’t wait to have you back. And wouldn’t you know it, beloved lovers of the Open Cup, our Amateur Qualifying Rounds of the 2025 Open Cup begin in a matter of days (October 5th and 6th).
The Circus never stops, so join us under the big top.
Lastly, to all who helped, to all who spoke up and out in this complicated 2024, we thank you from all the way down. We’ll not forget it. So onward and upward, friends. Here’s to the dreamers, big and small, and to the U.S. Open Cup for good and all.
Fontela is editor-in-chief of usopencup.com. Follow him at @jonahfontela on X/Twitter.