Imagine a game of pick-up basketball, and waiting to face the winner are Anthony Davis and his New Orleans Pelicans teammates.
That, in a sense, is what the New Orleans Jesters can experience starting Wednesday (May 9).
The Jesters, a semi-professional soccer team, will begin play in a tournament that could result in them facing a team from Major League Soccer, which could be considered U.S. soccer's equivalent to the NBA.
The tournament is the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and the first match is 7 p.m. Wednesday (May 10) at Pan American Stadium against Mississippi Brilla, a semi-pro team out of the lower-level Premier Development League.
"It's about working your way through the tournament and getting to play a big team," said Jesters director of coaching Kenny Farrell, whose team needs three wins to earn a fourth-round pairing against an MLS team.
"I hope that happens to us," the coach added.
The tournament has been around since 1914, and not since at least 1997 has a tournament game been played in New Orleans, when the New Orleans Gamblers hosted the MLS' Dallas Burn at Zephyr Field. The Jesters, founded in 2003, will make their tournament debut after winning their regular-season conference championship last season.
"A great reward for our season," said Farrell, whose team went 8-0-4 in the National Premier Soccer League's Southeast division last season.
If the Jesters win in the first round, they'll play a second-round match May 16 at home against the Indy Eleven, a full professional team in the United Soccer League, which is a second-tier league just below MLS.
The Indy team plays home games inside the Indianapolis Colts home stadium after outgrowing their previous home at IUPUI with an average attendance of about 9,000 in 2017. Their Lucas Oil Stadium debut last month drew 17,000 fans.
Pairings for 12 third-round matches May 23 will be determined after the second round, and third-round winners will play June 6 against MLS clubs. The tournament continues with the Round of 16 June 20, the quarterfinals July 18, semifinals Aug. 8 and championship Sept. 26.
For a lower-level team to advance beyond facing an MLS squad is not common, although second-tiered FC Cincinnati reached the semifinal last year by defeating the MLS' Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire.
For the Jesters to advance and face an MLS team would be a great accomplishment, but it's never been done by an NPSL team in league history.
After Wednesday, the Jesters will open league play 7 p.m. Saturday at home against Emerald Force SC out of Knoxville, Tennessee. The Jesters' 14-game league schedule includes one home and one away match against the other seven teams in the conference.
The Jesters plays two matches most weeks until the regular season ends July 7.
For now, the focus is on the first game.
"It's great that we're hosting this game," Farrell said.
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