The legendary studio mogul Samuel Goldwyn, when quizzed by associates as how he’d structure a blockbuster film, replied, “Start with an earthquake, then work to a climax.” There were plenty of natural disasters leading up to the 1998 U.S. Open Cup final. It started off with a hurricane, and from thence, escalated. After Hurricane Bonnie washed out the original date of Aug. 26, there ensued a wrangling over sites and dates. The general managers of Chicago and Columbus traded barbs, with the Fire’s Peter Wilt claiming the Crew’s Jamey Rootes had been lobbying for the match to be played in Dublin, Ohio, and had no reason to squawk when Chicago was picked. Rootes said not so, that he favored Indianapolis — site of the 1997 final — and that U.S. Soccer had asked him to check on the availability of Dublin. A U.S. Soccer source refuted Rootes’ assertion that the federation had made any such overture. Some bridges had been burned in Indianapolis as well, which made going back on short notice a problem. U.S. Soccer, out of convenience and with no regard to fair play as well as one eye on potential revenues, granted the match to Chicago, where it is headquartered and would host meetings of the national board of directors in late October. Then Chicago won the MLS title. Could it do the double? More than 18,000 fans showed up at Soldier Field in driving rain to see an excellent match. Chicago won 2-1 in sudden-death overtime, the winning goal coming from local boy Frank Klopas. A neutral site and live national TV coverage would have made the final perfect. But in Year 3 of MLS, the Open Cup is really taking off.