It is a time-honoured soccer tradition, right from the FA Cup down, that Cup draws for club play are not seeded but drawn randomly from a bowl or hat.
That, of course, can lead to some weirdly unlikely match-ups.
Welcome to the 2013 Jackson Cup, for annual cup playdown supremacy of the men鈥檚 Vancouver Island Soccer League for Division 1 and 2 clubs. The Jackson Cup, fought over since 1914, has been won by World Cup players George Pakos and Jamie Lowery and other multi-capped Canadian national team players such as Bob Bolitho and Brian Robinson. But few seasons have seen a hand dealt such as this year鈥檚.
Fate has drawn the two top Division 1 teams on the Island in a suddenly-marquee first-game match-up tonight at 6 at Finlayson Field in Topaz Park. The shocker is that it鈥檚 not even a first-round game but a play-in fixture to make an even number for the first round in the 19-team tournament.
This megaton Jackson Cup opener 鈥� between first-place Bays United Liquor Plus (15-1) and second-place and defending champion Cowichan FC (13-1-3) 鈥� has the Island soccer community buzzing.
It鈥檚 a repeat of last year鈥檚 cup final, won 2-1 by Cowichan over Bays United. But one of those teams won鈥檛 even get to the main draw this year, thanks to the vagaries of soccer kismet.
鈥淭his could have been the potential cup final [again],鈥� admitted VISL executive president Vince Greco, whose hand drew the pieces of paper out of the bowl of the Jackson Cup.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 remember the last time the No. 1 and No. 2 teams have met so early. It can be thought of as unfortunate, but that鈥檚 the luck of any cup draw. You can argue back and forth all day long about this method of drawing the match-ups. But [soccer cup] draws are done this way around the world to bring parity for all.鈥�
The 2013 Jackson Cup final is March 24 at Royal Athletic Park.
The other VISL cup competitions, also now underway, are the George Pearkes Challenge Cup for Division 3-4 teams, the Tony Grover Over-35 Cup and George Smith Under-21 Cup.
