Rocky Mountain Cup
Rocky Mountain Cup logo
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| Type | Regular Season Series |
|---|---|
| Teams | |
| First meeting | 2005 |
| Latest meeting | RSL 2–1 COL (August 26, 2016) |
| Next meeting | April 15, 2017 |
| Stadiums | |
| Statistics | |
| All-time series |
Cup wins RSL 8–4 COL Matches won RSL 15–12 COL (10 draws) |
The Rocky Mountain Cup is a soccer trophy contested between Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. The cup is awarded by the Committee of 10, a group of bi-partisan fans who run the competition, to the team with the most points in games played between the two. The teams are awarded 3 points for each win and 1 point for each tie in regular season MLS games against each other. The Cup is awarded at the conclusion of the deciding game of the series between the two teams.
If the teams end the season in a points tie, the team with the most goals on aggregate will win (for a two-team competition, this is equivalent to goal differential). If the teams are tied on aggregate goals, the current holders retain the Cup for another year.
The cup was created in 2005, the first year of play for Real Salt Lake.
When it was officially announced that Salt Lake City would be awarded an MLS expansion club, fans from Utah and Colorado founded the bi-partisan Committee of 10 (5 supporters from each club) and began to outline the official rules of the competition. The contest was named the Rocky Mountain Cup after a vote from the fans, and a trophy was acquired.
The Rocky Mountain Cup began on April 16, 2005 at Real Salt Lake's inaugural home game, in which Real earned their first-ever win with a 1–0 victory. Colorado eventually won the trophy in 2005 after besting Real in the three subsequent matches that season, officially clinching the Cup at their final meeting of the year at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Prior to the 2006 MLS season, the two clubs swapped players in a trade, exchanging forward Jeff Cunningham and midfielder Clint Mathis. The repercussions of the trade surfaced in an August 10 match in which RSL humiliated Colorado 4–1 at INVESCO Field, punctuated by a stellar performance by Cunningham in which he earned two goals and an assist.
The Rapids would have their revenge later that year during a very heated match in Salt Lake City on September 2. The affair saw numerous hard fouls and seven yellow cards. Fans showered the field with debris and missiles throughout the game. Colorado would grind out a 1–0 victory and secure the Rocky Mountain Cup for the second consecutive year. A myriad of controversy erupted after the game as the Rapids celebrated with the trophy. Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni removed his shirt, stuffed it down his shorts, and began making gestures at the Salt Lake fans. RSL owner Dave Checketts then came on to the field and confronted Mastroeni in an angry verbal exchange which was later broken up by players and officials. Much to the ire of Real fans, the League did not take action for Mastroeni's controversial behavior.
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