For the last 12 years, TheCup.us has been the only media outlet that gives full coverage to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Now, with the help of very generous and talented people, its time for the site to get a makeover.
As largely a one-man show in terms of the day-to-day management of the site and its social media accounts, it’s been difficult to find the time to pull off a makeover like this, but thanks to Brian Perez, we have launched stage one. The ultimate goal is to make the tournament’s information, both past and present, more accessible and easier to find for fans and media alike.
Click on US OPEN CUP CENTRAL (above) to see the new home page
It has taken a long time to get this done due to a series of personal obstacles but I’m excited to finally share it. This is not a finished product, mind you. There’s still plenty to be done, but in the interest of not pulling a Guns & Roses Chinese Democracy, (or Dr. Dre’s DeTox, if you’re a hip-hop fan), I thought it would be best to get it out there and continue to add features as the tournament progresses.
For starters, thanks to the wonderful work of Dan Hagan (who has provided many of the new graphics that you see on the site), we have a new logo. We kept it simple, with a very ‘American’ color scheme and highlighting the iconic moment of any cup competition the world over: the lifting of a trophy.
The site is now broken down into three sections. US Open Cup Central is where you will find the latest stories with the site and links to all the important information about the tournament. For fans looking to take a trip down memory lane, there’s US Open Cup History with past results and stories that date back to the inaugural tournament in 1913. If you’re looking for qualifying information, both past and present, you can find it in the US Open Cup Qualifying section.
The wishlist I have for features is long, and it will take time to implement them, but we hope you appreciate the challenges that go into making this site possible and you’ll grant us some patience. You’ll see improvements to gameday coverage, a mobile app and much more. If you have any of your own suggestions, or would like to contribute to improving the site both on the website side or the writing side (we’re also looking for video editors and photographers), please use our email form and let us know. We’d love to receive your feedback but most of all what’s helpful is that if you know someone who played in the tournament years ago or was associated with a team that played in the tournament, please let us know. The history of this tournament is like a massive puzzle and we’ll take any pieces we can get, no matter how small they are. Sometimes those small pieces can lead to bigger discoveries.
We will continue to have our arsenal of writers from across the country helping us cover the tournament at every venue. So you’ll still have the same coverage you’ve come to expect over the years.
In order to take this coverage to the next level, we are recruiting sponsors to advertise their products and services to our soccer community of thousands. Our readers and followers continue to grow with each passing year and if a company is looking to reach die-hard soccer fans from all over the country, then this is the place to be.
If you would like to directly contribute to the site’s growth, we’re setting up a donation system through Patreon where you can make a small monthly contribution and depending on your amount, you are eligible to receive a variety of prizes and benefits. There are plenty of dedicated fans out there who love this tournament and appreciate what we do, and if those readers gave just a small amount, it would go a long way toward keeping this site growing for years to come. Stay tuned for more details on our Patreon account.
The goal of this site remains to raise the profile of this great tournament and give it the coverage it deserves and, more importantly, preserve its rich history for generations to come. We hope that TheCup.us 2.0 is a huge step toward accomplishing that.
Josh Hakala is a sports broadcaster and the creator/senior editor of TheCup.us. You can reach him on Twitter @USOpenCup or on his personal account @JoshHakala. Anyone interested in contributing (writing, research, website design), sponsoring TheCup.us, or if you have any questions or have some historical information about the US Open Cup to share, please email him here.