Ben Olsen knows the Open Cup.
The ups and downs. The chaos. And, of course, the glory.
“It’s just nice to keep on keepin’ on in this thing,” said the Houston Dynamo boss – a former Open Cup winner as a player and a coach with D.C. United. “That’s what it’s all about. Moving on. Surviving. It’s always a wild ride and no matter what, if you want to win, you have to hang in there.”
“It’s always interesting,” Olsen added with a sigh.
Interesting. It’s a word he uses a lot. And it seems to contain an infinity of meanings. Especially when talk turns to how he and his D.C. United won the Open Cup in 2013, mired in last-place in MLS, to salvage what would have been an irredeemable season of misery.
“Winning it [the Cup] in 2013 saved my job,” said the 46 year-old Houston Dynamo boss about his famous run a decade ago as a young coach. “It was a horrible season. Everything spiraled away from us. But the Open Cup kept us together as a group and gave us a north star during really, really tough times.
“It adds up when you have so many losses in a row,” he said about a season he calls “fascinating” and his “most valuable” as a leader. “The Cup kept us from imploding.”