Bunbury is one of few in Revs’ Blue who knows what it takes to win the Open Cup. He was on the frozen turf of Sporting Park in 2012 when his then-Sporting Kansas City beat Seattle Sounders in a shootout to lift the trophy for a second time (it’s four now). “Oh, that day, was incredible,” he remembered. “It was only our second year in the new stadium and the fans was amazing. We were emerging and changing as a club. We hadn’t won a title in a long time and the fans were hungry. We were up against Seattle, who were known for winning Open Cups, and the game was incredible. Jimmy – the White Puma – Nielsen was saving everything, and I just remember running together with my teammates at the end after the last penalty. That really stayed with me.”
It’s no wonder Arena handed Bunbury the armband in the 2019 Open Cup. Born in Canada, but a U.S. international with four senior caps, he was raised “in awe of the game” watching his dad become a hero scoring goals in Portugal for Maritimo on the archipelago of Madeira. The armband isn’t extra responsibility for Bunbury. It’s “an honor.” It’s something he’s “grateful for.”
Now, just like in 2012, Bunbury has the chance to help a club turn a corner in a tournament that likes an underdog and respects a hard worker with the skill and guts to take a chance near the end when hope and luck look to have left the building.
“It’s a chance to win a trophy,” Bunbury, a decade-long veteran of MLS, said of the Open Cup. “It’s hardware right there for you. Obviously our season wasn’t going great, but we’ve been able to turn it around some in the last month or so [the Revs are undefeated in five games and off the foot of the table] and anything can happen in the Open Cup. You don’t always know what you’re opponents are going to look like. You might play on a field in bad shape. But, it’s a chance to win something – an opportunity.”
Tough Test in Florida
Bunbury sees the positives ahead of a Round of 16 game against Orlando City on the road in the sticky muck of Florida (Wednesday, June 19; 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+). He’s thinking like a leader and helping a team grow beyond its limits. “We have potential,” he said, a hint of something like hope in his voice. “We’re starting to gel as a team. Sticking together as a group is the most important thing. It’s easy to get up when you win, but the real character comes out when things don’t go your way. You need to keep moving forward.”
That’s exactly what Bunbury did to twist the knife in the Red Bulls. A man down and dog-tired on the road, he kept moving forward. Arena, and all those New England fans in need of a long-coming lift hope there’s more of that to come. “I think we can get it done in Orlando,” the captain said. “The Cup’s a fun opportunity to do a special thing.”
