Real Estate Laundry » It’s tough being a Crew fan!

It’s tough being a Crew fan!

June 18th, 2007 categories: Columbus, Entertainment, Local Communities, Sports, Westerville

Until a few years ago when my twin daughters began playing soccer, I didn’t know the first thing about the game. In fact, I often made fun of one of my good friends from high school who is, to say the least, a soccer fanatic. And now, I have become a bit of a fanatic!

My daughters are entering their third season as a part of the WASA Eagles club. For most of the year, our family devotes 4 days a week or so to the sport I once jeered. Truth be told, I love it. The Mid Ohio Select Soccer League is a thriving organization and we have enjoyed seeing our girls and their friends learn, grow and challenge themselves.

Win, lose or draw, they are our children and we support them. As a parent, this is easy to do, but as a fan of the Columbus Crew it is a bit harder.

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I do not consider myself a fair weather fan, but winning is nice. My new found passion for soccer has lead me to follow the only Major League Soccer team in our area.

The Crew were introduced in 1994 and in in 1999 opened the first soccer specific stadium in the United States. Fan support was strong and Columbus was honored to be a part of Major League Soccer. The story since then has been one of ups and downs.

The last few seasons the Crew has struggled, not making the playoffs since 2004. Last year, with storied coach Sigi Schmid coming on board, was billed as a re-building season. After a dismal 2006 season the “construction” is again active this year. With a roster which changes like Columbus area weather the Crew again have a firm grip on the basement spot in the Eastern Division.

But wait! There is hope! They are actually scoring goals and fortunately have tied more often than they have lost. This is a good thing in soccer as ties gain points for a team while losses do not. Somehow, someway there is still hope. At least from my perspective as a soccer convert there is hope.

In the meantime what can we as Columbus Crew Fans do to help?

1. Attend the games – Crew Stadium is a great venue and a fun place to take a date, have a family night out or just be alone in your soccer kilt

2. Watch the games – This year MLS has the best TV coverage ever

3. Stay positive – Remember, there is hope

4. Be patient – The Crew is here to stay as is evidenced by the planned training facility

The bottom line is we are lucky to have the Crew. Soccer is growing in the United States and will continue to do so. Clearly, we can not win them all but at the same time it can’t get much worse. If you are like me, you will find a way to put your disappointment aside and be a true fan, win or lose.

Go Crew!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 18th, 2007 at 4:33 pm and is filed under Columbus, Entertainment, Local Communities, Sports, Westerville. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

High School Friend said at June 27th, 2007 at 9:46 am
And I often made fun of you for wrestling, but a blog entry on WWF Smackdown is nowhere to be found. Isn’t that interesting?