“You can feel it in the locker room, when these Cup games get closer,” Hamid said about the vibe among the players before the 2-1 extra-time win over Atlanta. “There’s serious excitement among the guys.”
Birmingham Legion are Memphis’ biggest rival in the USL Championship. They’re separated by a little under 250 miles. And the rivalry that’s built up between the two clubs is inspiration enough for Howard, who still remembers the big crosstown games from his days with Manchester United and Everton both.
“Rivalries are fun,” said Howard, who’s planning to be in Alabama’s Protective Stadium for the big Round of 32 game. “This is our fiercest rival and no one will be holding back.” Hamid’s in similar mood, and he snaps at the notion that his teammates might take their next game lightly.
“If we take our foot off the gas at all, we’re gonna’ get beat,” he insisted.
Howard’s first taste of the Open Cup came back in 2001 when, at the tender age of 22, he lined up alongside Tab Ramos and Richie Williams when the MLS’ MetroStars (now NYRB) went down to the Charleston Battery. He conceded four that day in a heavy shock loss to a second-tier team. “You always want to be part of the good side,” laughed Howard, who won the FA Cup in 2004 alongside a fresh-faced Christiano Ronaldo. “But the losing, the being upset, it’s part of the story too.”
Cup Magic & Realities
The magic of the Cup is something that both men talk about, with Howard touching on how it gives players and teams “the ability to dream” and provides “so much romance.” But in the end, it’s the magic of winning that drives these two men forward.
“When we beat Atlanta, we weren’t supposed to do that,” said Howard, drifting back to his own successes – too many to count – out on the soccer field. “Talking to the players and seeing their faces at the end of the game, that’s what it's about.
“Those moments,” he sighed, “you don’t get a lot of them as a player.”
Hamid also knows how rare – and precious – those moments are. “It’s not that many games, man [to win the Open Cup] and you can have your hands on a trophy. You can lift it up,” said the man who knows, exactly, what it takes to push a team all the way to the Final – and up the steps to the podium. “It’s massive. There’s no reason you can’t make history. It’s right there in front of you.
“Why not us?” asked Hamid, the still-hungry veteran with a new reason to dream.
Fontela is editor-in-chief of usopencup.com. Follow him at @jonahfontela on Twitter.
