Mickey Mouse cup

"Mickey Mouse cup" is a pejorative term used particularly in British football[1][2] to describe some knockout competitions regarded as having lesser prestige than others, for example the English Football League Cup, compared with the FA Cup, or single annual match tournaments as the UEFA Super Cup. Despite its status as worldwide competition organised by the sport's governing body, FIFA, the term has also been applied to the FIFA Club World Cup, a competition won by an English club three times since its debut in 2000.[2][3]

Often, a club that perceives a competition as a "Mickey Mouse Cup" – usually a Premier League side – will field a weakened, reserve or youth team in the competition, resting more high-profile players and further weakening the perception of the competition.[4] However, this often has the effect of giving chances to play to developing players, who may progress into the first team.[5]

The term may also be applied to a competition to intentionally disparage the winning of it by a rival side, or to minimise the importance of the competition to a club if knocked out. This may be done as part of a mind game with rival clubs in other competitions, or for reasons to maintain team morale.[6][7]

Cases

European club football

The English Football League Cup is often referred to as the "Mickey Mouse Cup" by larger Premier League clubs [8] as is the EFL Trophy which has been known by various sponsors' names and which was previously the Associate Members Cup.[9] The perception of a cup as "Mickey Mouse" may not be universal, since smaller and lower standard competitions give a chance for lower league clubs to win silverware, and additionally gain extra revenue from playing a much larger club.[8] Also for some of the top league clubs, reaching and winning the final at Wembley Stadium has some prestige. [10]

Since the rebranding of UEFA club competitions in late 1990s, the UEFA Cup is considered by a group of mass media, personnel related to football and fans as a "minor trophy" or "Mickey Mouse cup" due to being mediaticly overshadowed by the Champions League.[11] Originally the Champions League (formerly European Cup) was only open to the domestic league winners, while the UEFA Cup featured the domestic league runners-ups and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was for the winners of the top domestic cup competition. However the expansion of the Champions League to include up to the top four finishers in the strongest European domestic leagues has reduced the prestige of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (which was abolished and folded into the UEFA Cup) and the resulting expanded UEFA Cup. Consequently achieving a top three or four domestic league finish (which guarantees Champions League participation) became much more important than winning a domestic cup (which only guarantees entry to the UEFA Cup).[12] Since the 2014–15 season, the UEFA Europa League's importance has improved somewhat as winners will enter the next season's UEFA Champions League at the group stage. The Conference League, created in 2021 as a demerge of the Europa League (the UEFA Cup's commercial name since it was rebranded to resolve its sporting and economic crisis in 2008),[12] has also been described as a "Mickey Mouse cup" by that group.

Champions League participation, and achieving a top three or four domestic league finish (which guarantees Champions League participation), has become much more important than winning a domestic cup (which only guarantees entry to the UEFA Cup) like the FA Cup or English Football League Cup. For instance the 2011–12 Copa del Rey had its final scheduled unusually late by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, so that it would allow the big clubs such as FC Barcelona and Real Madrid to focus on the Champions League. Another example was when Manchester United controversially withdrew from the 1999–2000 FA Cup,[13] the first time the holders had done so, which combined with the UEFA Cup's decline (see above) has reduced the importance of the FA Cup and other domestic cups. United had earlier entered into the inaugural Club World Championship, supposedly to help England with its World Cup host bid, under pressure from the government and The FA. United stated that entering both the FA Cup and Club World Cup would overload their fixture schedule that would make it more difficult to defend their Champions League and Premiership titles, and claimed that they did not want to devalue the FA Cup by fielding a weaker side. The move benefited United as they received a two-week break and ended up winning the 1999–2000 league title by an 18-point margin, although they did not progress past the group stages of the Club World Cup. The withdrawal from the FA Cup, however, drew considerable criticism as this weakened the tournament's prestige and manager Alex Ferguson has since admitted his regrets in how they handled the situation.[14] While winning three FA Cups in the 1990s, as part of the "Doubles" in 1994 and 1996 and the 1999 "Treble", switching focus to the Premier League and UEFA Champions League meant that United has only won the FA Cup in 2004 and 2016. [15]

The terms Mickey Mouse Treble and Mickey Mouse Double have been used subjectively to disparage the winning of what are perceived as multiple lesser trophies by larger clubs in a single season, in comparison to a continental treble and a double. Such terms are usually applied by a rival club. The term "Mickey Mouse Treble" along with "plastic treble"[16] and "tinpot treble"[17] has been used to describe Liverpool's 2001 win of the Football League Cup, UEFA Cup and FA Cup, compared to Manchester United's win of the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in 1999.[18] Manchester United themselves were criticised for celebrating a 'Mickey Mouse Treble' in 2016–17 when they won the FA Community Shield, League Cup and UEFA Europa League,[19][20][21] especially since domestic super cups are perceived to hold little, albeit still official, status in Britain.[22] Liverpool in 2021-22 won the EFL Cup and FA Cup while finishing runners-up in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, as they lost the title by 1 point to Manchester City while losing 1-0 to Real Madrid, with some suggesting that fixture congestion was to blame for Liverpool falling short at the end.[23]

Other football competitions

Since 2010, the term has been used as a nickname for the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, a preseason tournament played by teams in the Major League Soccer, a league that itself has been called a "Mickey Mouse League".[24]

In recent years the term has also become popular amongst Australian Football League fans when referring to the fruitless and seldom taken seriously NAB Cup.

Other users

The term has also been used to undermine football referees. After a questionable decision by an official in a Newcastle United match, manager Joe Kinnear reacted by criticising the quality of refereeing, saying: "It was a blatant foul, a blatant push prior to the penalty, and he ignores it...it was just a Mickey Mouse ref doing nothing."[25]

The Los Angeles Lakers' victory in the 2020 NBA Finals has been described as a "Mickey Mouse ring" for its unusual circumstances, chiefly the fact that the entire 2020 NBA Playoffs took place in the NBA Bubble in Walt Disney World due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, the Los Angeles Dodgers also had their 2020 World Series championship called a "Mickey Mouse ring" since the season was shortened to 60 games, whose playoffs also occurred under a bubble format across multiple neutral sites.

The Kansas City Chiefs earning the one seed in the AFC has been described as a "Mickey Mouse one seed" due to the Bengals-Bills game being canceled as a result of Damar Hamlin collapsing which prevented the Buffalo Bills from controlling their own destiny at earning the one seed in the AFC and the Cincinnati Bengals from having any chance at earning the one seed in the AFC.

References
  1. Collins, Roy (2000-03-20). "Home and away: a tale of the divide between rich and poor". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  2. "Wenger breakaway threat". The Times. London. 2003-01-05. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  3. "Edwards derides 'no win' situation". BBC. 1999-06-28. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  4. Reade, Brian (2004-10-30). "Sorry Kev should just walk away ...While he can cling to his sanity". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  5. Reade, Brian (2004-11-13). "Big two should stop their mind games and start worrying about Chelsea". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  6. Tyldesley, Clive (2003-02-28). "League Cup takes its chance to shine". The Times. London. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  7. Maddock, David (2006-02-20). "Fading Alex Cup". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  8. Dale, Michael (2008-09-24). "League Cup: Blackburn vs. Everton Preview". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  9. Buckingham, Philip (2020-08-04). "Allams' plan, difficulty selling, transfers: Hull City transcript". HullLive. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  10. "Up for the cups: Jürgen Klopp ends Liverpool's wait for Wembley final | Andy Hunter". TheGuardian.com. 20 January 2022.
  11. Moses, Toby (12 March 2015). "Europa League is finally emerging from the Champions League's shadow". The Guardian. Europe's second-string competition has suffered from a diminished reputation in England ever since the UEFA Cup was merged with the Cup Winners' Cup back in 1999. [...] While the Champions League is the sole preserve of the rich and powerful, the Europa League offers a chance to everyone else, those locked out of Europe's top table by the oligarchs and well-established dynasties.
  12. Sánchez Vega, Guillermo (27 September 2008). "La Copa de la UEFA cambia para frenar el declive y generar negocio". Cinco Días (in Spanish). PRISA. es: El año pasado [2007], los 40 equipos que comenzaron la competición se repartieron 40,3 millones de euros, una cifra irrisoria si se compara con los al menos 588,6 millones para los 32 clubes participantes en la Champions, según datos de la UEFA. Los menores premios hacen que frecuentemente, los equipos grandes no convoquen a sus mejores jugadores para los partidos iniciales, lo que disminuye el interés de la competición. [Last year [2007], all 40 teams that started the competition shared out 40.3 million euros, a derisory amount compared to the at least 588.6 million euros for the 32 clubs participating in the Champions League, according to UEFA data. The lower prize money often means that the big teams do not call up their best players for the opening matches, which reduces the interest in the competition.]
  13. Staniforth, Tommy (29 October 1999). "United underline Cup withdrawal". Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  14. "Sir Alex Ferguson: Manchester United's 1999 FA Cup withdrawal was a mistake". London: Telegraph.co.uk. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  15. "Manchester United's 5 Biggest Flaws This Season". Bleacher Report.
  16. Smith, Rory (2009-12-09). "Michael Owen: career highs and lows". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  17. Lacey, David (16 May 2007). "Liverpool win the greatest final". theguardian.com. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  18. Winter, Henry (2002-01-22). "Liverpool's spirits lifted by Murphy". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2013-04-21. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  19. Innes, Richard (25 May 2017). "Liverpool fans react to Manchester United 'treble' - by reminding world about infamous United banner from 2001". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  20. de Menezes, Jack (25 May 2017). "Manchester United fans may live to regret this banner about Liverpool but there's more than meets the eye". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  21. McLean, Max (24 May 2017). "Manchester United fans are calling it the 'wooden treble' and we absolutely love it". independent.ie. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  22. Zeqiri, Daniel; Scott, Patrick (9 October 2017). "No medals and a lack of knockout pedigree - how do England compare to their European rivals?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  23. https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/soccer/news/liverpool-quadruple-chase-2021-22-reds-man-united-treble/pmwqorelovih6pge6xnpv3av
  24. "Torsten Frings to Say Farewell to Toronto FC?". 22 February 2013.
  25. Fifield, Dominic (2008-11-10). "Kinnear rant at referee trashes respect agenda". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
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