Amateur team plays `beat the pro' in Cup
Fantasy football leagues started becoming popular in the 1970s, partly as a response to the growing popularity of sport in the US and also a function of the inaccessibility of professional football to the average person.
Soccer, though, has long had its own version of fantasy football. In this country, it is called the US Open Cup, and it is neither fantastical nor virtual. The US Open Cup is just that -- a cup, or elimination, competition open to any team, amateur or professional.
Say you are Michael Schell, you run a home electronics business in Dallas, and you want to form a soccer team. The team does well in the North Dallas Premier Soccer Association, so you progress to the US Open Cup and defeat the Laredo Sol. Then, the fantasy element turns into reality.
Schell's Roma FC team also defeated Miami FC, with Brazilian World Cup legends Romario and Zinho, and became the first amateur squad to defeat an MLS team, eliminating Chivas USA on penalty kicks. Yesterday, Schell got the team together for a 7 a.m. practice at the University of Texas-Dallas, went to work, and planned to meet everyone again at DFW Airport for another flight to the West Coast.
This time, Roma FC will meet the Los Angeles Galaxy at the
This is the first time since MLS teams began entering the event that an amateur team has advanced to the round of 16. The other matchups have a higher profile, including the Revolution's visit to the Rochester Raging Rhinos tomorrow. But Roma FC is the ultimate underdog in a sports world dominated by professionalism.
``We played at that level and stayed competitive," Schell said. ``And now we have had three weeks to train and get game fitness. If the Galaxy uses their starters and gets after it, our chances are not as good as they were against the Chivas team. But Chivas went with half starters and half reserves, and we were just as good if not better.
``The bottom line is we have just as good a chance as anyone out there, but they are in the middle of their season and our fitness is suspect. A team like New England would run circles around us. We're not in-season; we have jobs and can't work out and build our bodies up."
Schell started Roma FC six years ago, entering the team in a nine-on-nine league played between seasons in Dallas.
``I'm Italian and I always liked AS Roma," Schell said. ``We decided to keep the name for the full-blown outdoor league.
``I know my name is German but I don't have any German in me. My grandfather came here from Sicily and his name was Aiello, but for whatever reason, we got stuck with Schell. Why that happened is a secret everyone in the family would like to know."
Schell recruited his brother, Dominic, who played for the Columbus Crew in MLS and found others who had performed for the Dallas Sidekicks, a professional indoor team.
``Maybe it's just the way I am," Schell said of his ability to recruit talent. ``I don't promise the players a thing. They aren't paid anything. They come here of their own free will. They have a chance to play against professional teams, and we are the only team in the area that takes it seriously enough to do that.
``I know it sounds like a cliché, but we are happy to be here. We are not supposed to be here, so we are just having fun, and as long as we play like we know how, we have a chance. I don't look at us as a Cinderella team. I've worked on this team for two years, mixing and matching, making some key changes."
It is fantasy football without a transfer budget. Plus, much of the glamor wears off when Schell starts working on logistics.
``I am the general manager but I am also the equipment manager and towel boy," Schell said. ``I told people jokingly that I pretend to be a GM for the summer, but I am not pretending. I have to stick my neck out there and find players and coach them. It's the part of the job I enjoy, but I would much rather be out there playing than coaching."
Schell has budgeted $13,000 for the trip to Los Angeles, including the rental of two vans and a car for team transport.
The victory over Chivas has certainly raised awareness for Roma. The team was allowed to move its training sessions from the baseball field to the soccer field at UT-Dallas.
``Rusty, the groundskeeper, knew who we were and he felt bad that we were on the baseball field," Schell said. ``He told us that field was too hard and that we could move to the game field. He said if we keep winning we could stay there, and if anyone gets mad at us, we should send them to him."
