Many D.C. United employees use RFK Stadium's administrative entrance to go to work every day, walking past the crowded trophy case where the spoils from the club's 11 major championships are kept.
Whether through pride or pressure, those trophies weigh heavily on the minds of everyone associated with United -- and despite the hectic tempo of their league slate, the current squad is eagerly awaiting their most immediate opportunity to add to that collection, next week's U.S. Open Cup semifinal against the New England Revolution at RFK Stadium.
"Yeah, absolutely. We're always trying to get trophies in the cabinet here," admitted Devon McTavish this week. "Being able to get to a semifinal, I think we're pretty fortunate. You've got to take advantage of some situations, and now we can see the final."
D.C. captured the Open Cup title in 1996, when the arrival of MLS clubs brought the venerable tournament into the modern professional era, and returned to the final a year later only to fall to the Dallas Burn on penalty kicks. But for all their league and international success since then, the Dewar Trophy has repeatedly evaded the Black-and-Red, including semifinal defeats to MLS rivals in 2001 (New England), 2003 (MetroStars) and 2006 (Chicago).
Often forced down United's priority list by packed schedules and midsummer fatigue, early Open Cup rounds have traditionally been used to give less-experienced players a chance to make an impression and on several occasions minor-league sides have sprung ambushes on the youngsters.
But last month's confident wins over Rochester and Chicago have set up D.C. with a tasty opportunity, hosting a familiar old adversary on home turf. The Revolution stole a march on United in their last do-or-die trip to RFK, ekeing out a hard-won 1-0 victory in the 2006 Eastern Conference Championship, and one of the few faces left over from the Black-and-Red's Open Cup semifinal defeat to the Revolution seven years ago still remembers the occasion bitterly.
"We haven't won a championship now for a couple years and I think we're itching to try to win something," said defender Bryan Namoff. "I was also a part of that 2001 semifinal Open Cup against New England, ironically. I was on the losing end of that, so this game is especially personal for me just because I want to be able to not make that a recurrence in these events."
Defending Open Cup champions, New England are presently top dogs in league play and will enter Tuesday's clash on a high after beating Houston in the SuperLiga final on Tuesday night.
"Any time you can get to the final of a tournament, it's pretty special. We've got a tall task against New England, a great team this year that's been on a hot roll," said McTavish. "So they know how to win, and it's going to be a tough matchup against them. But coming in to RFK, I think we'll have a bit of an advantage."
The Open Cup has also been given new meaning with the decision to award the winner a place in next season's CONCACAF Champions League. International competition remains a huge priority for United and with a third consecutive Supporters' Shield looking like a tall order at this point, the tourney offers the most direct route.
"Any opportunity that we're able to be in that type of tournament is crucial for D.C. United," said Namoff. "It allows us to play outside the league and on the international stage again."
With an important conference match at New York on Sunday, head coach Tom Soehn will have to balance his lineups carefully, and he already knows he'll be forced to do without suspended defender Marc Burch plus recent signings Joe Vide and Ivan Guerrero, both cup-tied with San Jose.
But the Dewar Trophy is so tantalizingly close -- should they advance, D.C. could potentially host the final at RFK, too -- and prognosticators might find meaning in the notoriously tight-lipped boss' words after last week's win against Kansas City.
"I'll just say that we're going to make sure evaluate where we're at, and make sure that we're set up to be successful in both," said Soehn, "if we can."
The Revolution make a return to league play this weekend after more than a month's absence due to their SuperLiga exertions, playing host to the Chicago Fire -- a team they've lost twice to this season, both times by heavy margins. United hope the attention elsewhere gives them the opening to match the power and savvy of Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph and company right from the kickoff. The hosts know a lively crowd could play a pivotal role in making that possible.
"We always have wonderful fans here and if they can come out in force against New England on Tuesday, then that'll help us that much more," said McTavish. "So hopefully we'll get that."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
