One could argue that if the USSF covered ALL of the travel costs, you could pull off a true ‘blind draw’ … but that’s always the easy for us to say: “Just spend more money!”

Not until the qualification formula is overhauled and there are no ‘play-in’ matches to manipulate the schedule will it be able to describe itself with accuracy as an ‘open’ competition.

MLS teams may not like travelling away to USASA teams, but that is how the excitement of the game is spread – they must go out there and prove they are better!

Depriving smaller clubs their annual opportunity to step up one or more levels to show their quality is a scandal that undermines the credibility of USSF to represent their membership and weakens their claim to stewardship of the sport.

Call it a meritocracy? No, it’s a fix!

If USSF wants to be legitimate then the ‘Open’ Cup must operate an ‘open’ draw – no seedings.

From an economic perspective, repeats of recent league matches with added reserves are both meaningless and worthless – far better to put reputations on the line with a real and consequential test against unknown quantities.

Add to this the lure of 7 extra MLS teams entering one round earlier in an expanded round-of-32 to create a higher quality product in more markets and it is sheer reckless folly on behalf of those responsible that they continue to persevere with the current flawed and contradictory system. This would mean no extra matches to create additional fixture congestion for players, while anticipation levels for a potential giantkilling is marketing goldust for supporters (attracting fans, not alienating us).

So, whether it is by simple ignorance or a desire to protect vested interests the sham ‘openess’ is a transparent denial of the soccer community’s competitive instinct – which is the fundamental objective of the sport and the reason why players get involved in the first place.

Only small changes need to be made to the cup format and could be done very easily to the benefit of many, but until they are the resistance to change will continue to create resistance to wider acceptance of the country’s most popular sport.

It is a unique aspect of soccer in professional sports to be able and willing to pay it’s dues to all levels of the pyramid and respect the wider community enough to step onto the field with so-called lesser teams and it should not be underestimated.

USSF has apparently yet to fully appreciate this lesson.

USSF: grow up or die!