Playing for Geoff Hurst
amusing and odd team names from the second round qualifying for the FA Cup:
Ramsbottom United, Frickley Athletic, Clitheroe, Cammell Laird, Liversedge, Workington, Shepshed Dynamo, Belper Town, Coalville Town, Stone Dominoes, Dorking, Folkestone Invicta, Leatherhead, Merthyr Tydfill, Bognor Regis Town, Weston Super Mare.
these teams come from the British equivalent of Podunk and are all vying to the right to play the role of chum to the sharks of the Premiership (Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United) in the later ("proper") rounds. but you have to love any tournament that gives 661 different teams a chance to take home the crown, even when it means that Goliath stomps David, as happened to Millwall in last year's final. "win-or-go-home" tournaments provide the most drama, the most excitement and the best storylines. and best of all they settle the game on the field and not in polls. NCAA football hierarchy take note.
Comments
It's a rare and fine thing to hear a 'foreigner' make sense of "the cup". The whole point of the competition is that it's allcomers and dog eat dog at the same time. It's an inevitable fact that the big teams do well but the flash of a minnow in the later stages can remind us all of the essential beauty of football. It's still a competition that is often described in romantic terms. Oh, i almost forgot, my dad, a good amateur player, played in a few FA cup ties in the 60's.
Posted by: Bowles | September 22, 2004 06:54 PM
i suppose i would be remiss if i didn't mention the fact that the US has its own version of this called the US Open Cup, which has been around since 1914. this year's Cup was won last night by the Kansas City Wizards. not that anyone gives a shit, but it does include teams all the way down to the semi-pro leagues such as Azzuri, the Chico Rooks, the Syracuse Salty Dogs, Greek American Atlas and the Cocoa Expos.
Posted by: jamie | September 23, 2004 12:08 PM
....and let's don't forget....brooklyn italians.
Posted by: Dave Nelson | September 23, 2004 08:18 PM
I could use a salty dog right now. The British guys I work with loved the list of team names. They declared that the rugby league is more appropriate for Workington. They also took pains to point out that Merthyt Tydfill is a Welsh team, and made some crude cracks about dirty miners while they were at it. It's no Yankees Suck, but still.
Go Brooklyn Italians!
Posted by: jake | September 24, 2004 09:42 AM
Don't mess with the Salty Dogs! They used to play some of their home games, I think, at my high school's stadium. Now they play at the home of the Syracuse SkyChiefs (Toronto Class AAA affiliate), a field that must be the only newish "old-time" baseball stadium to feature AstroTurf. I blame Canada.
And their coach, a man, is named Laurie.
Posted by: Matt | September 27, 2004 01:53 PM