The 1998 U.S. Open Cup final between the Chicago Fire and the Columbus Crew has been postponed for the second time because of the slow-moving Hurricane Bonnie, which has been bearing down on Virginia
Beach, Va. for the last 48 hours. No date for the rescheduled final has been set at this time. The match was originally scheduled for Aug. 26 and delayed one night when a state of emergency was
declared by the Virginia governor. The U.S. Open Cup committee will meet with the two finalists and representatives from MLS next week to finalize a new game date. "After consulting with (MLS
Commissioner) Doug Logan, it was determined that it was in the best interests of the fans and teams to postpone the game indefinitely," said U.S. Soccer's secretary general Hank Steinbrecher.
"Clearly, we were caught in a no-win situation. We had hoped by delaying for one day we would be able to fit the game in, but when the hurricane slowed down, it took away any chance of playing this
week. We are looking to replay the match at a suitable date in the near future." Both Columbus and Chicago will leave Virginia Beach immediately, prior to the hurricane's expected arrival this
afternoon. The Fire heads to Kansas City to play the Wizards, while Columbus will travel to Los Angeles for its game with the Galaxy.
