Ex- Crew Legends: Players, Coaches, and Personalities

I am not sure I agree with all that you said, in both your full post and the part cut, but I do have high hopes Bez + Porter + $$$ + a turned-around organization +++ etc.,etc. can attract and sign some real talent. In my mind, I think it can. Yet, I realize some may say I am a dreamer. I am glad to see I am not the only one.

 

It is my firm belief that a visit to the city/a match with hosts that love Columbus can be infectious, and when combined fair market offer will lead to bringing a few big names to our fair city.

 

Yes. I agree.

 

Weeeel, we've seen how that works with the Blue Jackets. A lot of guys do stay here or come back after their careers end. But then there's guys like Panarin who come here and play but still want the bright lights and big city. I suspect there's lots more of those at the big name level than not who want what Panarin wanted.

I wish it were otherwise--but it's not. Doesn't mean we can't get good players here, but it's a lot more challenging. Fair market money alone may not do it.

 

Adam Jahn scored twice in Phoenix's 4-2 win at Tacoma

 

I'd like to see Bez try to sit down with someone like Zlatan or Messi. I want them to think big. Go for the big fish. Columbus has certainly made massive improvements over the past decade-plus, but there's still a ways to go. Mass transit? Michelin star restaurants? We definitely have the right FO and civic mindset to take our team and city up several notches. Heck, it's still not that long ago when the only sports in town were OSU football, the Memorial and (occasionally) OSU basketball. The indoor concert season consisted of the Newport and...well, St. John and Battelle Hall were the two biggest indoor venues.

But yeah, the number of players (CBJ and Crew) who stick around says a lot. Similarly with former OSU players. Even if the former players don't live here year-round, they still have a presence on TV and radio...is that the exception or the norm? I'm honestly curious.

As far as the other part of my comment -- I had plans to go to the 2008 reunion game last year until a very sudden change of plans earlier that afternoon. I was there for the match at the Historical Center later on, but not the thing at halftime vs...was it DC on 9/29? My point there was that when the FO organizes things, they traditionally have a sort of corporate feel, a different feel. Witness last year when the players were all ushered off the field and they had that "We're going to celebrate with the Nordecke" mindset.

Compare that to the more organic feel of the STC event.

I forget what year it was, but I remember when a bunch of the former players came back and they really wanted to hang with the fans in the tent after the game, but the FO representatives made sure to shoo them up to the VIP party. I think @eboe may remember this. I think Duncan, Dante, Dunseth and even a few others were all part of it.

Still... I'm jazzed for this era to really get started. It may seem cheezy or corny, but people like Dr. Pete know what got the league started with the promotions and making things fan-friendly. Compare that to the previous mindset of "We don't really think we need promotions."

 

Two things: I love our town, but we're never going to be NYC or LA. That's what some players want. What we *can* be is more like a Green Bay. A destination because of tradition and rabid fans. Second, to your last point, it's not all on the ownership, though much is. The players had something to do with the change too--with the union more and more limiting player appearances. Back in the day, players were happy to do anything the could to help, as they knew that the league needed it and, as Mais once noted they were "lucky to be making money doing what they loved". Now? Not so much--there's more of a sense of entitlement among some (but not all).

 

The days of fans and players hanging out at team-sponsored events are long gone, and we have mainly the CBA to thank for that. Sure, you may run into some guys out and about, or even at a bar after a match, but the "good ol' days" you speak of are nothing but a fond memory. The FO produced events have a "more corporate feel" because it is a freaking corporation. This ain't a family business anymore.

That's a good thing and, personally, I'm ok with it. There are myriad reasons why, but the one that always comes to mind for me first is that if we're going to continue to attract top talent, we must keep the lines between fans and players clear and clean. Yes, fans idolize players and players are grateful to the fans for the support and atmosphere, but that's as far as it should go. There's a reason that there are fences between the stands and the field in South American stadia and an army of stewards surrounding the field in Europe: someone will take it to far.

I had fun getting to know guys like Cole Grossman and Dilly Duka and Justin Meram and Rich Balchan and, yes, Chad Marshall. But you know what they say: you should never meet your heroes.

Let's enjoy the memories we have and let the players be people going forward.

 

The good old days are not yet gone. Last Sunday in San Jose:

We raised money for the community.

And we had a lot of fun doing it.

The 7th Annual Wine & Dine Event was a freakin' hit. 🍷 #VamosSJ pic.twitter.com/wuDGqKcArV

— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) August 28, 2019

By the way, at the end of the evening, after the live auction, when they were asking the crowd to raise their hands to pledge cash to "fund a need," it was to be able to send the Quakes Special Olympians to an away match next season, as the Crew did by sending yours to Avaya earlier this month. (Our contingent didn't even have numbers on their backs for that game.) Quakes players were very generous, and I saw Wondo raise his hand at the $1,000 level.

 

I ran into Jeff Cunningham at an athletic club during his second stint. I said hi and asked how his re-hab was going and said I was rooting for him to break the scoring record. I kept it brief, in part because I knew his family was there and didn't want to interrupt his family time at the pool, but also because I don't fanboi* about anyone, except for Bez, of course.

Surprisingly he seemed to want to keep chatting. Or maybe he just didn't want to seem like he was the one ending the conversation and come across as rude to a fan.

Anyway, long story short. I'm okay with it too. At the same time, players who want to mingle with fans should be more allowed and encouraged to do so. Maybe they are and they just don't want to, but it seems like the CBA actively prevents it.


*edit - I don't mean to denigrate anyone who does get excited to meet and know people who are truly exceptional people, at least in their field. I just didn't know a better way to say it.

 

It's my understanding that the CBA allows for two unpaid appearances per year, which would be the events at the start of the year and the middle of the year. Anything else, if it's postgame or one player at a Giant Eagle or Kroger or whatever, has to be paid. If they could get a sponsor for Autograph Alley (it used to be AAA), then there's nothing legally preventing such from happening. The kids would love the autographs, the organization would undoubtedly benefit from the PR of the kid wearing the autographed shirt and there'd be more opportunity to sell concessions vs shutting the tent down in the 80th (or whenever) minute and telling people to scram. Get people to stick around after the game, sell them a soft drink or another pretzel, they can watch the post-game press conference on the TV or video board and when they leave the parking lot, it's not as chaotic because it's a delayed exit. Compare that type of exit to recent years where people need to strategically park if they don't want to sit in a line of cars for 30 minutes while they wait to exit the lot.

 

I did not know any of them, and I am glad to keep it that way. These days the social media connection is too far.



Yes. I will kick the kids off the lawn with you.

 

You missed some neat stuff then....

Edit: I'll note one--talking national team stuff with Sigi one-on-one.

That said, I realize it is a different time.

"To every thing, there is a season..."

 

Yep--we ended up talking about Cherundolo a bit and I got some real insight in to the game (not just about Cherundolo either).... Under the stands at Mapfre one day--I'm not sure what the occasion was. That wasn't the only time I had a chance to talk with him, but it is the one I remember the most. But it wasn't "fanboy and coach"--just two guys who loved the game.

 

I think Sigi wanted to be Nats coach.

At one of the chalk talks he spoke about his experience in 94 as an assistant to Bora. They were having open tryouts and taking nominations from college coaches when trying to find players. Some community college coach in Oklahoma nominated 2 of his players so they had to be vetted. Sigi said the better one could juggle the ball about 5 touches.

 

Well, juggling's good and all, but I never could juggle worth a lick. But I could score.... Mind you, the only way I'd ever had gotten close to a national team would be to buy a ticket....

 

Anyone remember the reserve league? Unused subs, players rehabbing to match fitness, and prospects would play Sunday AM at Obetz after a home game. Admission was free. Being of limited funds at the time, this was the best thing ever. Two defining moments:

DC had a new striker - Nicholas Addlery. He can over to our side of the pitch to take a throw in. Knowing his past, I said "Vietnamese 1st division, seriously?" to which he smiled and said "yup". Mad respect.

The F!re were in town, and the wife and I had set up chairs by the touch. Behind us further back were those portable aluminum bleachers. After a few minutes, we heard a voice coming from those bleachers. One guy, little short fella, wouldn't shut up and incessantly talked about nothing. Got so bad, we actually moved. I see he's now with North Carolina in the USL. Dave Sarachan.

 

Yeah, I miss the reserve matches. Team were supposed to let the assistants coach so the head coaches would sit with the fans sometimes. I spoke with Bob Bradley and Bruce Arena that way.

 

Reserve matches were the best. So much fun interaction to be had for all. Especially if you were there with Kristina and her loud mouth, lol.

 

I loved reserve league matches. In fact:

My wife's first ever introduction to the Columbus Crew was the reserve league match in 2011 where the championship was on the line, meaning it was actually played at Mapfre, on a Tuesday morning (9am, if memory serves). We'd been together for about a month and she agreed to take the day off to meet some of my friends. HSH did the whole game day thing: Ruby's for the pre-game, march to the match, loud and obnoxious in the stadium, etc. And, because this was reserve league we also brought the trophy (which we'd had made a few days before) and a few, ahem, dozen bottles of champagne. If I remember correctly there were 25-30 of us and we each had at least one bottle of bubbles, among other things. I can still taste the MD 20/20.

(Curious how we got champagne into the stadium? You know those bushes over by the big white tent that are inside the fence? They're great for catching bottles that are gently dropped onto them.)

The match went about as well as you'd expect - the Crew reserves dominated on the field and HSH won the stands from our temporary home in section 129. We heckled players, we gave coaching advice, we were in top form. Some of the dozens of Crew fans got involved and everyone was loud and proud, save for the opposing players and their families and fans. We mostly kept our chants PG-13 but every now and, well, the Hooligan needs to Hooligan and F-Bombs were unleashed. The crowd was raucous that day my friends. Full voice, I tell you.

At halftime the ranks of HSH retreated to the hidden nooks and crannies of Mapfre's undercarriage to imbibe on various and sundry illicit liquids and other substances. At one point I went looking for my date - she'd been whisked away by an Elder Hooligan - and found her in a restroom drinking champagne from the bottle while a cadre of others were a bearing a beer bong for their bubbly binging.

Anyway, we got kicked out just after the half - to the surprise of absolutely no one. Apparently the MLS Reserve League wasn't ready for the Hudson Street Hooligans Tuesday Morning Edition. A boisterous and jubilant gang of Hooligans made their way back across the tracks to Ruby Tuesday's that sunny autumn Tuesday morning, all hopped up on cheap champagne and Reserve Domination. I later heard from some rogues that had stayed behind that the Crew clinched the Championship, but I have no idea what happened to the trophy. I hope Tucker has it somewhere, else I fear it's been lost in all the shuffles and turnovers in the intervening years.

And, in case you were curious - that's the day my bride-to-be became a Crew fan for life. Indoctrination at it's Hooligan best, I'd say.

 

"I only regret that I have but one upvote to give you"

 

I knew you'd chime in there.

Sadly, I only made it to a couple of them. Argh.

 

That's hardcore. It reminds me of the guy who managed to get the bottle of wine *out* of the stadium.

There was another story of someone who took a couple bottles of beer (complete with stadium vendor stickers) *out* of the suites, but that's absolutely small beans. After all, those had already been paid for.

 

Romain Gall with an assist in a win.

https://sbisoccer.com/2019/08/americans-abroad-midweek-rewind-gooch-de-la-torre-and-more