By FRANCO PANIZO
The 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will much different than any of its predecessors.
U.S. Soccer announced a number of changes for the 99th edition of the tournament. Those changes
include a 64-team field (the largest in the modern era), a random selection process for determining
home teams from the opening round until the quarterfinals, and the inclusion of all professional
teams from the top three divisions, meaning the MLS qualifying bracket is no more.
The US Soccer Federation has approved a major change to the US Open Cup. A change that will
certainly enhance how the tournament is played in the US.
The competition will feature a Modern Professional Era (1995-present) record 64 teams, including
every US-based professional club in the American soccer pyramid from Major League Soccer (16
teams), the North American Soccer League (6 teams), and USL PRO (10 teams).
This past week has been a whirlwind for Fire fans. We had the MLS SuperDraft hoopla last week
with a couple of new player signings sprinkled in (Robayo and Puppo). On the heels of that we had a
sponsor announcement and new jersey unveiling. Somewhat lost in the shuffle was the announcement of
the changes to the U.
