I was really excited to see the beginnings of my favorite sports competition in the world. I'm not referring to the NFL, not MLB, not even UEFA. Keep on guessing.
This is the FA Cup, a one of a kind tournament, the likes of which can't be compared to anything that takes place in the US. This is a massive tournament that allows soccer teams of all sizes to compete equally against one another for a chance at glory.
But what makes this event so special and so deserving of your time? The simple fact that it is so large and so unpredictable and that literally anything can happen in any round between any two teams. 762 teams compete for the FA Cup through 14 different rounds (six qualifying rounds, six rounds of the FA Cup "proper," along with the semifinal and the final, which will be held at Wembley Stadium in London again this year). Any team in the top 9 levels of the English football pyramid (if we were to somehow, place this in the context of American football, it would essentially be like all American football teams from high school and above) can enter the tournament. All matches are single knock out, with the losing team going home and the winning team advancing. Through the 14 rounds of the FA Cup, literally anything can happen.
Huge teams like Manchester United compete against virtual unknowns. Think of a baseball team, not even a minor league team. A team that plays in some kind of regional league that you've never heard of. To put it into baseball terms, teams like these have chances to compete against teams like the Yankees and Red Sox, giving every English soccer club a fair chance at glory.
Giant killers have become urban legends, to a certain extent, in FA Cup history. In the 1988-1989 FA Cup, non-league(meaning that they were below the 4thtier of English soccer)Sutton United upset top flight team Coventry City. In 1969, third division Mansfield Town upset West Ham United (who were currently sixth in the top division) 3-0. Perhaps no better giant killing story exists than the story of 1975 Wimbledon FC. The team, who was a non-league team at the timebeat top division team Burnley 1-0 in the third round and then followed that up by holding reigning first division champion Leeds to a 0-0 draw before narrowly losing the replay.
One of my favorite things about this tournament is the opportunity that it gives non-professionals to share the big stage with some of the best clubs in the world. There are so few situations in sports that allow people to do this, and this is what the FA Cup is all about.
Imagine March Madness on steroids. This is like the NCAA tournament, only better. Instead of 64 teams (which we see as huge), it's 762. Imagine the possibilities with so many teams, and think of all the teams you'll never have heard of.
Do you want to watch ten months of March Madness? Do you want to see amateur teams take on some of the biggest and richest clubs in the world on an even field? The FA Cup has all of that and deserves your attention. An event this special is truly something that we would never see in American sports and that is a shame. However, thanks to English soccer, we all get the chance.
This is the FA Cup, a one of a kind tournament, the likes of which can't be compared to anything that takes place in the US. This is a massive tournament that allows soccer teams of all sizes to compete equally against one another for a chance at glory.
But what makes this event so special and so deserving of your time? The simple fact that it is so large and so unpredictable and that literally anything can happen in any round between any two teams. 762 teams compete for the FA Cup through 14 different rounds (six qualifying rounds, six rounds of the FA Cup "proper," along with the semifinal and the final, which will be held at Wembley Stadium in London again this year). Any team in the top 9 levels of the English football pyramid (if we were to somehow, place this in the context of American football, it would essentially be like all American football teams from high school and above) can enter the tournament. All matches are single knock out, with the losing team going home and the winning team advancing. Through the 14 rounds of the FA Cup, literally anything can happen.
Huge teams like Manchester United compete against virtual unknowns. Think of a baseball team, not even a minor league team. A team that plays in some kind of regional league that you've never heard of. To put it into baseball terms, teams like these have chances to compete against teams like the Yankees and Red Sox, giving every English soccer club a fair chance at glory.
Giant killers have become urban legends, to a certain extent, in FA Cup history. In the 1988-1989 FA Cup, non-league(meaning that they were below the 4thtier of English soccer)Sutton United upset top flight team Coventry City. In 1969, third division Mansfield Town upset West Ham United (who were currently sixth in the top division) 3-0. Perhaps no better giant killing story exists than the story of 1975 Wimbledon FC. The team, who was a non-league team at the timebeat top division team Burnley 1-0 in the third round and then followed that up by holding reigning first division champion Leeds to a 0-0 draw before narrowly losing the replay.
One of my favorite things about this tournament is the opportunity that it gives non-professionals to share the big stage with some of the best clubs in the world. There are so few situations in sports that allow people to do this, and this is what the FA Cup is all about.
Imagine March Madness on steroids. This is like the NCAA tournament, only better. Instead of 64 teams (which we see as huge), it's 762. Imagine the possibilities with so many teams, and think of all the teams you'll never have heard of.
Do you want to watch ten months of March Madness? Do you want to see amateur teams take on some of the biggest and richest clubs in the world on an even field? The FA Cup has all of that and deserves your attention. An event this special is truly something that we would never see in American sports and that is a shame. However, thanks to English soccer, we all get the chance.
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