Strikers' Sandy Sarbadhikari Remembers His Time During An Improbable U.S. Open Cup Run

One of the often overlooked beauties of a professional sports operation is the passion among the front office members.  This passion comes in the form of playing memories from the pitch and great moments as a business professional.  

Strikers Director of Corporate Partnerships Sandy Sarbadhikari has a slew of memories from his time with teams in the NFL, MLB, MLS, NHL, and NASCAR. None are greater than when the Rochester, N.Y., native was a part of the Rochester Raging Rhinos improbable run to a U.S. Open Cup crown in 1999.

Since Major League Soccer’s (MLS) inception in 1996, Rochester remains the only non-MLS team to claim the title in U.S. soccer’s oldest-running tournament. At the time, they played in the Second Division A-League, now known as the third-division United Soccer League (USL).

Sarbadhikari was the director of ticket sales at the end of the last century, working his first job as a professional. Like his colleagues and Rhinos’ fans, he didn’t foresee the second division club claiming the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophy

“While we won our league the previous year (in 1998) and knew that we had a solid team, there’s no way anyone could have predicted that run,” Sarbadhikari said.

It began with a close win against a PDL franchise, the New York Freedom. The win was followed by consecutive triumphs over the MLS’ Dallas Burn, Chicago Fire, and the Columbus Crew, the latter coming in a heavy rainstorm.

The Rhino’s shocking of the soccer world reached its apex on September 13, 1999, when they blanked the MLS’ Colorado Rapids, 2-0, in the final.

“It was an odd mix of professional pride and simply pride as a fan. My colleagues and I stormed the field as the game ended,” Sarbadhikari said.

Another notable intersection of the worlds of off-the-field business and play on the field: The Raging Rhinos marketing campaign that year was “If you can’t join ‘em, beat ‘em.” The slogan was originally utilized during Rochester’s push to secure an MLS franchise. While the city was never awarded a club, it certainly lived up to those words in the summer and fall of 1998.

One footnote to that magical time: A month later, the Rhinos missed out on a chance at back-to-back league championships and a rare league and cup double. They lost in the league final to the Minnesota Thunder.

For his part, Sarbadhikari is pleased to be back in soccer and in South Florida.