The Revolution Will Not Be Televised for Tuesday Night's U.S. Open Cup Match

It is perhaps the worst kept secret in American soccer that Major League Soccer clubs want nothing to do with the U.S. Open Cup. Yes, it may be this country's only domestic cup competition, but MLS clubs view it as a meaningless affair and usually throw reserve squad players out there against lower division opponents. This is why USL Second Division clubs like the Richmond Kickers and Harrisburg City Islanders knock off the L.A. Galaxy and D.C. United. The MLS sides just didn't care enough.

However, it appears MLS is going from not caring to actively discouraging soccer fans from caring. Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup semifinal between the New England Revolution and the Carolina Railhawks will not be televised anywhere -- not on local TV, and not on the Internet. The only way to watch this game is to go to Veteran's Memorial Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut -- which holds only 8,500 people and is being used here because Gillette Stadium is not available -- and buy a ticket.

The other semifinal match between the Seattle Sounders and F.C. Dallas? The USL's online video service, USL Live, will show that game for free over the web. It appears, however, that USL will not be allowed to webcast the Revolution-Railhawks match, because it's a home game for the MLS side. Thus, it won't be webcast anywhere.

Now, it's entirely possible that I only care about this because the Railhawks are my local team. I've already seen them upset the Chicago Fire in this U.S. Open Cup and would like to see them try to pull off another upset and try to reach the Final, even though a road win against the Revs seems far more unlikely.

Still, this really is an insult to American soccer fans everywhere, and that would be true no matter what club was playing the Revs on Tuesday night. To deny the visiting side's fans an opportunity to see their boys play -- even through the Internet -- shows just how much contempt MLS has for U.S. Soccer and its efforts. This competition is supposed to be the equivalent of the FA Cup in England and the Copa Del Rey in Spain, and while it could use some better promotion, it still means something to the hardcore fans out there. As Tom Dunmore wrote at Pitch Invasion:

Ask any fan from Section 8, and they tell you last year's Open Cup final at Toyota Park was one of their favourite nights as a (Chicago) Fire fan. Yet as much as the hardcore loved it, only 8,185 were at the stadium.

Of course, as Jamie Trecker pointed out at ChicagoSports.com, the Chicago Fire are notorious for trying to market to everyone except the people who actually show up to the stadium.

Here in Chicago, I've watched with bemusement over the years as the Fire has chased after suburban whites and soccer kids while ignoring Polish and Latino community support. Ive watched security guards at Soldier Field go nuts on harmless fans because of the perception that all soccer fans are hooligans; Ive also listened to MLS higher-ups tut-tut the fan-friendly behavior of the team's old GM, Peter Wilt, who made a point of sitting with the teams most die-hard support.

Why, you ask? Apparently, all these loud, happy folks are bad for business because they might scare off the tremulous whites in the suburbs and their towheaded young.

Meanwhile, it appears that the New England Revolution want to scare off everyone, because they don't want people to see just how apathetic they really are to this tournament. Perhaps that's why they won't allow this game to be webcast, because this team cares so little that it might actually lose -- just like FC Dallas might become the third MLS side to go to Seattle and get demolished by the Sounders.

Maybe that's why MLS doesn't want you to watch the U.S. Open Cup -- because it's going to be an all-USL final in Seattle in October, and MLS wants to make sure that no sports fans discover that there's any sort of professional soccer in America beyond MLS, because if they do, the terrorists win.

I think I'll be rooting for both the Railhawks and Sounders on Tuesday night. I also hope Seattle sports fans show up at Qwest Field for the Sounders. Maybe they can get that Seahawks fan that dresses up like a giant koosh ball to be there.