Celebrating Ozzie Alonso during the Seattle Sounders 50th anniversary is perfect. MLS rejecting history by not-quite pulling out of the US Open Cup is not.
It's like a pattern. Things start going really well and then MLS lurches to a new angle, forgetting the way things were.
Think back to when MLS tried to force the Sounders to be the not-Sounders. When that went well the league followed with a couple other teams that didn't reject their origins and histories.
A few years later, that embrace of history is gone. City FC as far as we can see.
St. Louis' launch leaned heavily into the region's soccer past, even if they did convince a team to fold. Then MLS will lurch back into rejection when San Diego abandons what made the city support lower-division soccer.
History. Modernity. History. Modernity.
It's a silly cycle and it is made more painful when fans of two-thirds of the teams in the league don't get to see their teams try to do what the Houston Dynamo did – beat the much-favored giants at Inter Messi to win a trophy.
T2 and Crown Legacy being in the Open Cup is a rejection of what made the Open Cup special. MLS deciding (and yes, the commissioner works for the owners) that Portland and Charlotte don't deserve to pursue a title is absurd.
It's even worse that D.C. United isn't involved on any level. They don't have a Next Pro team to put forward as a weak proclamation that they want to be the giants they once were. They're just quitting. A majority of the league is.
There's a veil of legitimacy that entrants in the Concacaf Champions Cup need fewer matches. They could call up their youngsters for the Open Cup match, playing, in effect, their Next Pro teams.
Instead, American soccer history loses. The Open Cup has a history of Sigi Schmid, Archie Stark, Seb Le Toux, Bob Bradley, Garth Lagerwey (as a player), Messi.
MLS is rejecting that. The diminished opportunity for players and communities to have what Kitsap had, what Kezar saw – it's sad.
At least the people of Washington will have multiple teams that do want to make history. As usual, the Sounders and soccer fans through the state have it better than most fans of the men's domestic game.
– Dave
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Catching up on Sounder at Heart
Did you step away from the computer during the week? Here are our latest stories, sorted by subject
US Open Cup
- Compromise solution means Sounders will play in 2024 U.S. Open Cup
- Ballard FC will host Spokane Velocity in U.S. Open Cup
Ozzie Alonso celebration
- Osvaldo Alonso will always be 'El Corazón de los Sounders'
- Osvaldo Alonso signs one-day contract to retire with Sounders
- Ship's Log, Feb. 27: Always a Sounder
Reign FC
Next up (preseason): UW Huskies v. Reign FC at Husky Soccer Stadium on Wednesday, March 6.
Defiance
Sounders
- Missing five starters, Sounders actually played OK
- Realio’s Ratings: Road loss to runners-up as 2024 kicks off
- Nos Audietis mailbag episode for Week 2
- Andrew Thomas will get second start after 'surreal' debut
- Competitive 5v5 drill lifts Sounders spirits
- Fantasy Soccer: MLS Week 2
- Bear With Us: Retirement edition
- Three Questions with Verde All Day
Next up: Sounders v. Austin FC at Lumen Field on Saturday, March 2. The 7:30 pm match is on MLS Season Pass.
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Looking back at the week's news
Everything else you need to know.
The revamped-but-temporary format will keep the Open Cup alive, for now. But to sustain it, U.S. Soccer officials bent their Pro League Standards to accommodate one member’s dollar-driven desires. - Henry Bushnell in Yahoo.
The NWSL has private equity rules now.
Reign FC win this kit ranking contest.
Amanda Vandervort has ambitious plans for the USL Super League.
Niamh Charles, Chelsea left back, talks about her experiences with soon-to-be USWNT coach Emma Hayes.
Losing to Mexico is a sign of the growth of the women's game. The USWNT has more challenging opponents than any time since they started playing professionally.
John Textor, who still kind of owns Reign FC but is selling the club because he can't afford to keep it in OL Group, says that teams shouldn't have financial restrictions and there needs to be a Super Duper League.
Atlanta's turf is getting replaced for the Men's World Cup in 2026. Then it's getting replaced by turf, a familiar tale.
Portland Timbers won't have a kit sponsor this weekend. They canned the sponsor that they had for a single match.
Some people like the new Concacaf Champions Cup format where the opening round is spread out over a full month.
The PSRA is still locked out by MLS and PRO.
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