Kitson: Take This FA Cup and Shove It!

The third round of the FA Cup begins tomorrow, marking the first appearance of Premier League and Coca-Cola Championship clubs in this year's edition of the longest-running and most prestigious domestic cup competition in all of soccer. For Reading striker Dave Kitson, however, playing in the FA Cup is more of a nuisance than an honor.

"We are not going to win the FA Cup and I do not care less about it, to be honest. I care about staying in the Premier League, as does everybody at this club. Our league status is not protected by winning the FA Cup - simple as that."

Clearly, pragmatism has replaced romanticism at Reading. The club earned £23.64 million in league revenue last season, and because Kitson's club kept its league status, it can expect to earn almost twice that this season, thanks to the Premier League's new worldwide TV deals.

Meanwhile, the FA Cup's total prize pool is a mere £10 million, and the eventual winner will earn only £2.5 million in prize money and maybe a few million quid in TV cash. Plus, thanks to the efforts of the G-14, winning the FA Cup won't get you a spot in the Champions League.

I warned you this was coming, folks, and it's only going to get worse. The more players and clubs do the math, the more they'll look at the FA Cup with scorn rather than reverence. What's 136 years of tradition when you can get almost £50 million for mid-table mediocrity?