Chicago Fire Notebook: U.S. Open Cup officially canceled

Through two World Wars and the Spanish Flu pandemic, the U.S. Open Cup has been a soccer fixture in the United States for the last 106 years. But, like a lot of things, that streak will end in 2020.

U.S. Soccer announced today the 2020 edition of the U.S. Open Cup competition is officially canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Open qualifying for next year’s tournament, which was scheduled to take place this fall, is also canceled.

The 106-year streak was the second-longest for national cup competitions worldwide, only surpassed by the Irish Cup in Northern Ireland.

In other news...

The Chicago Fire had the day off today, and will train at SeatGeek Stadium Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The team will travel to Columbus via a charter flight on Thursday morning, ahead of the match against the Crew (Thursday, 6:30 p.m. CT, WGN & ESPN+). The team will then fly home after the match. The same-day travel schedule will be used for most MLS away matches, in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Fire Head Coach Raphael Wicky is scheduled to meet with reporters Tuesday afternoon at 1:30. Follow @patrickmccraney and @HotTimeOldTown for updates.

Finally, a minor schedule change - the Fire announced today the match originally scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 1 at FC Cincinnati will now be played Wednesday, Sept. 2 (still at 6:30 p.m. CT, WGN & ESPN+).