CHICAGO – The inaugural season of St. Louis CITY SC reaches another milestone Tuesday; the beginning of a third active St. Louis-Chicago professional sports rivalry.
St. Louis CITY SC is set to take on Chicago Fire FC twice this week. The first time in a tournament setting Tuesday, the second four days later as part of the MLS regular season schedule.
The new St. Louis-Chicago rivalry begins as part of the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States. CITY and Fire go head-to-head in The U.S. Open Cup, a single-elimination tournament launched in 1914.
Chicago Fire FC has won the U.S. Open Cup four times as an MLS franchise, though the competition has had quite a few winners from the Gateway to the West and the Windy City in the 20th century.
In the tournament’s early days, from the 1920s to the 1950s, several St. Louis-based amateur or club teams took home U.S. Open Cup titles. That includes Stix Baer & Fuller, Simpkins-Ford and Ben Millers. Take those titles into consideration with Chicago’s professional, club and amateur teams, St. Louis has bragging rights with a 10-9 edge in championships.
“I remember they didn’t really have a chance in the game. It probably wasn’t the most exciting Final ever played,” said the late Bill Eppy on the St. Louis Kutis SC title in a USA Soccer article commemorating St. Louis and Chicago history.
“It was a day out for the people,” said Roy, in the same story about his 1965 U.S. Open Cup bid with Chicago. “We really looked forward to practices on Tuesday and Thursdays and the games on Sunday.”
Though CITY and Fire are competing in a “round of 32” setting Tuesday, the two will play for a chance to extend on that history. The winner will advance to the Round of 16, which is set to be played May 23 or May 24.
In regard to the St. Louis-Chicago rivalry, Chicago Fire FC shared a video on the upcoming match last week, looking to assert dominance before the two MLS foes go head-to-head. Their social media influencer says, “When it comes to first, Chicago always comes out on top against St. Louis,” in a video previewing the match, which later gives examples of St. Louis teams that lost in their first games against Chicago squads.
CITY SC has been a bit outspoken in that regard, but shared a message via Twitter saying “twice in a week” with a grin emoji.
It might take come time to measure up close to Cardinals-Cubs or Blues-Blackhawks, but it seems both teams are hyped for the birth of a new Chicago-St. Louis rivalry.
It will also be interesting to see how the two clubs maintain this rivalry given that St. Louis plays in the western conference and Chicago plays in the eastern conference. St. Louis is off to an unpredictable, but surprising 6-1-3 start in MLS play, good for second place in the West. Chicago is only 2-5-3 over ten games, sitting at second to last place in the east.
Tuesday will be the first of two CITY SC road matches against the Fire this week. The cross-state foes play again in Chicago on Saturday at noon as part of a regular season, non-tournament matchup.
While CITY SC usually broadcasts most of its matches on Apple TV, Tuesday’s contest and other U.S. Open Cup matches will only be available through the CITY SC App and on the B/R Football YouTube channel. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday.
