*psst* The Houston Dynamo Are Trying to Win a Cup Later Today. Did You Know That? *psst*

Yeah, it's true.

The Houston Dynamo are in the final match of the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup competition against the Philadelphia Union and if they win tonight, they'll win the whole thing. That's right. The whole thing. They'll take their 3rd title in club history, with the first two being the MLS Cup which was won in succession in 06 and 07, their first two years in existence.



Besides the fact that both the Dynamo and Union are in the middle of a battle for a spot in the MLS playoffs with their respective conference rivals, they can make this season a memorable one by winning the final tonight. Furthermore, the right to hold such a prestigious cup in American soccer lore is not the only thing up for grabs.



Along with winning the Open Cup--which is, oh, by the way, the oldest domestic cup competition in American soccer--the winner of the competition will earn a place in next year's CONCACAF Champions League, a club competition situated in the North, Central America and Caribbean region where the best teams of each country face off against one another to see who is the best of them all. It rakes in a tremendous stream of revenue and, as a result, gives teams a sizeable amount of prize money, thus providing an incentive for them to participate. For this year's competition, a total of $1.2 million was given out to all the teams who took part, with $500,000 going to the winner.

So as you can see, the magnitude of tonight's game is plentiful. Surely I know it's happening what with me being a big soccer fan and all, but what about you, reader? Did you know such a game is going to be played at BBVA Compass Stadium in a few hours' time? Yes, there may be a chance you might see a little advertisement while you're scrolling on your phone in social media apps, but other than that, did you take notice of it whatsoever?



It's a shame you haven't. The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is essentially a knockout-style tournament where teams from every division in American soccer (MLS, USL, NASL, PDL, and so on...) play together like equals. They are drawn at random which provides for exciting and sometimes unexpected fixtures. It's a carbon copy of the FA Cup from England in which low-tier teams from the 5th all the way down to the 10th division are given the rare opportunity of possibly playing against a Premier League (or 1st division) team, sometimes doing so in their own backyard. If you still have no idea what it's about, then think of it as a bigger version of March Madness. You think seeing 64 college teams play basketball in 2 days is a lot? Try watching more than 100 teams play soccer nonstop for nearly a year.

As it is put in the same breath as March Madness, you can probably guess that a tournament so vast can be ripe for upsets. Surely, you're not mistaken, for established MLS sides have been trounced day in and day out by their inconspicuous amateur counterparts where--and they actually happened--some teams were formed simply for the sake of leisure. Memorable games have been played in this tournament and this year's edition has proved to be no different. For reference, look at the various penalty shootouts and late-winners that have salvaged the winning teams from their near deaths and doomed the resultant losers into sudden elimination and heartbreak.

Here are some examples:

1. The DC United vs Orlando City SC shootout in the round of 16.
2. The Minnesota United vs FC Cincinnati shootout.
3. The USL's own Louisville City FC's Cinderella run to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
4. The EPIC Columbus Crew vs Chicago Fire shootout.
5. The upset win from Sacramento Republic FC vs the 4-time U.S. Open Cup winner Seattle Sounders.
6. And the instant-classic semi-final game between the Dynamo and Los Angeles FC.

I'm only giving you a miniscule amount of all the highlights from the entire tournament, reader, so that you may look more into the rest of the other games by yourself.


This event is such a wonderful gathering of various walks of life. People whose ordinary jobs consists of accounting, construction work, and much more that play this sport can be paired up with professional soccer players in the blink of an eye. No other major sport in this country has a competition that can remotely compare to this. You don't see AAA or AA minor league baseball teams play Major League teams in the middle of the regular season nor do you see D-League affiliates face off with their parent NBA team.



The Open Cup is one of a kind, and it's only fitting that it ends later today as a new champion will be crowned at the final game's end. But you know what would make this even more perfect, reader? Maybe have a game that ends in a penalty shootout. The soccer fan in me would be ecstatic, but the Dynamo fan in me would absolutely detest it. Either way, we're in for a good one in Houston.