Ramos, 1996

23 years ago, in 1996, Tab Ramos became the first current Metro to appear in the Gold Cup. At that point, the MetroStars haven't even played a game yet. 17 years ago, in 2002, Clint Mathis and Richie Williams became the first current Metros to win the Gold Cup. Eight years ago, in 2011, Metro coach "Clever" Hans Backe forgot that the Gold Cup existed.

We didn't; back then, we traced every instance of every current Metro participating in the Gold Cup. Time to renew the list!

To quickly recap the original article, all USA unless otherwise noted: 1996, Tab Ramos; 1998, Alexi Lalas (the clown was traded to Metro in the middle of the tournament); 2002, Clint Mathis and Richie Williams; 2003, Craig Ziadie (Jamaica) and Mathis; 2009, Alfredo Pacheco (El Salvador) and Dane Richards (Jamaica).

So let's start in 2011, where a record four Metros made the rosters. Dwayne De Rosario, who was only on the team for a fleeting moment, actually managed to sandwich a tournament appearance during his tenure. He also became the first Metro to score a goal (Mathis' tally in 2002 came in the penalty shootout), and did so twice, both penalties for Canada, against Guadeloupe and Panama. Those were his country's only goals; Canada didn't make it out of the group stage. The cologne peddler Rafael Marquez played for Mexico, and scored as well, against Costa Rica. Mexico ended up winning the whole thing. Juan Agudelo (hard to remember he was a Metro) and Tim Ream played for runner-ups USA.

In 2013, only one Metro made a roster, and what a hero it was: Roy Miller! Costa Rica was eliminated in the quarterfinal. Miller would be back in 2015. Believe it or not, the man who never scored in 140 appearances for RBNY actually tallied in the tournament... against Jamaica and Kemar Lawrence. Miller then reverted to true self, beaten on the equalizer. Costa Rica lost in the quarters. Jamaica made it all the way to the finals, losing to Mexico. Also appearing was Karl Ouimette (yes, really!) for Canada, who failed to win a game or score a goal. Andrew Jean-Baptiste, was released by Metro just prior to the tournament, so his "participation" (he didn't get into a game for Haiti) can't be counted.

In 2017, Lawrence returned, and scored on a direct free kick in the semifinals to upset Mexico. Jamaica lost to the US in the final, and all was hunky-dory for American soccer from that point on. Michael Murillo played for Panama, and also scored, against Martinique. His team was eliminated in the quarters.

Which brings us to 2019, where debutanats Aaron Long for USA and Derrick Etienne for Haiti join returnees Lawrence and Murillo. Will any of them taste Gold Cup glory? The most important thing is they come back injury-free, especially the defenders...