The "I saw Eric Gehrig running downtown . . . and I did not boo him" Thread

Discussion in 'Columbus Crew' started by Ch(Elsey), Mar 14, 2012.

  1. Ch(Elsey)

    Ch(Elsey) Member+

    Columbus Crew
    United States
    May 2, 2003
    Green, Ohio
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I will not be there to send the lovely lady off to her sunset.

    Historic Crew Stadium’s last game must be emotional for former players. I wonder how many are coming back. Former coaches, former anything.
     
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  2. Bill Archer

    Bill Archer BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 19, 2002
    Washington, NC
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I understand that Greg Andrulis is making a sentimental journey for one last look at his spiritual home.
     
  3. Ch(Elsey)

    Ch(Elsey) Member+

    Columbus Crew
    United States
    May 2, 2003
    Green, Ohio
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    [​IMG]
     
  4. Kryptonite

    Kryptonite Fancy Title Here

    Apr 10, 1999
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Oh, you best damn well believe he *will* be booed. Then again, using the chain reaction theory, if he doesn't get fired when he does, what does that mean for the chain of events which leads to Sigi being hired, 2008 and everything that followed?

    And with that said, I wonder if Chelsey is reconsidering.
     
  5. Flyer Fan

    Flyer Fan Member+

    Apr 18, 1999
    Columbus, OH
    OK, I'll bite: why? Andrulis's last season with the Crew was 2005 and his last game in charge was approximately 16 years ago. Sure, the team's performance and direction at the time weren't what I wanted, but I would think - after 16 years - I'd just want to thank him for his time, move on to the next thing, and focus more on closing out Crew Stadium than worrying about a coach who hasn't been involved with this team since the beginning of George W. Bush's second term.

    Maybe I'm just getting old.
     
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  6. Ch(Elsey)

    Ch(Elsey) Member+

    Columbus Crew
    United States
    May 2, 2003
    Green, Ohio
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    FF, you are in my hopefully good company as I have gotten old. Moved on, for sure.
     
  7. KCbus

    KCbus Moderator
    Staff Member

    United States
    Nov 26, 2000
    Reynoldsburg, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, I'm getting old right along with you, and I completely agree.

    The worst "sin" he committed against us was that he wasn't as good at his job as we wanted him to be. He didn't reject us, or badmouth us, or support the move to Austin. There's no reason to boo him 15 years later. Especially when he was the coach who led us to our first two trophies.
     
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  8. Ch(Elsey)

    Ch(Elsey) Member+

    Columbus Crew
    United States
    May 2, 2003
    Green, Ohio
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Two or three pink slips for old times’ sake would not hurt anyone.
     
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  9. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    Andrulis did his damnedest to kill off attendance at Crew games. There was a big dropoff from the Fitz years to the Nee years.
     
  10. Bill Archer

    Bill Archer BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 19, 2002
    Washington, NC
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I would boo him for what he did to Dante Washington alone.

    I trust I don't need to explain. It's one of the most disgraceful things I can recall any MLS team doing to someone.
     
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  11. 110toyourleft

    110toyourleft Member+

    Jan 27, 2007
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What happened here?
     
  12. Bill Archer

    Bill Archer BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 19, 2002
    Washington, NC
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #87 Bill Archer, Jun 14, 2021
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2021
    Despite leading the Crew with 15 goals a year or two earlier, The Drooler decided not to re-sign him for 2003.

    So, free agent, right? Well no, see back in those days even if it was you who declined an.option a player was still the property of his original team for TWO YEARS. Couldn't sign with anyone else without working a trade of whatever.

    Several teams were interested, particularly DC, but The Bearded Clam didn't want anyone else to have him so he refused to release him or take a draft pick or whatever. He just told everybody no.

    So Dante signed with Virginia Beach and led the A league (now USL Championship) in scoring. He could have gotten a decent job with a lot of teams. Andrulis said no and so Dante had to play minor league or quit.

    Finally, the team's exclusive rights to him were going to run out at the end of 2005 regular season and DC was going to sign him for the playoffs. So literally a couple days before.the teams rights expired they put him back on the team for the playoffs, where he was so shitty that he actually started one game over Edson Buddle.

    But although the Crew had won the Shield that year they got bounced in the first round (can't recall by whom). Their season was over, Dante showed up for camp in 2006 and was promptly cut.

    RSL signed him for 2006 but he played sparingly and retired at the end of the year.

    It was a terrible ass rape of a really fine man. The fact that Dante apparently holds no grudge against the team for robbing him of a couple years of his career by exploiting the rules speaks incredibly well.of him

    Dante Washington is a class act.
     
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  13. 110toyourleft

    110toyourleft Member+

    Jan 27, 2007
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thanks for the history - just before my time.
     
  14. zman31

    zman31 Member+

    May 5, 1999
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I stopped in Virginia Beach on the way home from Co-rec Soccer Team Vacation to the Outerbanks with Sirk and @KCbus to see Dante play. A great way to end a week's vacation.
     
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  15. Kryptonite

    Kryptonite Fancy Title Here

    Apr 10, 1999
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #90 Kryptonite, Jun 14, 2021
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2021

    There were definitely a few years when the newspaper ads prominently mentioned the star player of the visiting team.

    Because that's just how bad we were.

    And that was just after the "new stadium attendance bump" would have naturally worn off. It was when we should have been playing our best, in order to keep that attendance momentum going.

    TBH, if I see him, it'll probably be like randomly seeing John Cooper a few years ago. I'll have a moment of "is that..." and then continue my life like nothing happened. Even though he ruined many childhood Thanksgivings for me, enough good has happened since then that I still wouldn't think positively of the guy, but life does move on.
     
  16. Kryptonite

    Kryptonite Fancy Title Here

    Apr 10, 1999
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Are you referring to the two missed PKs vs New England? Wasn't one of them the whole thing where the ball was ripped out of the other player's hands?

    I think that 2004 game was the "postgame photo on the field in the rain." We had a streak of a few years where the last game was played in horrible weather. If not for making a beeline straight for the tent to dry off, I probably would have been in that picture.
     
  17. mateo319

    mateo319 Member

    Jul 19, 2004
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is all correct, except it was at the end of 2004 that the Crew brought Dante back so DC couldn't sign him. The infamous Tony Sanneh pk. We lost to the Revs. 2005 was the year the wheels really came off and the Crew cut Washington when they got Cornell Glen and, later, John Wolyniec. Oh, and this was after the team traded Jeff Cunningham to bring in Ante Razov, who took one look at the Columbus clown show and opted out. Andrulis was sacked and Bob ran out the season.

    If not the worst ever on-the-field year for the Crew, 2005 is certainly in the running.
     
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  18. Bill Archer

    Bill Archer BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 19, 2002
    Washington, NC
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #93 Bill Archer, Jun 14, 2021
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2021
    Thanks. As usual I didn't look anything up because I'm lazy. 2004 it is. Or was.

    And you're right to highlight all the terrible personnel juggling. Cornel Glen - Jesus, talk about a waste of space. Sanneh, Woly, Razov. It hurts my head even now.

    Of course, Ante Razov donated the quintessential summary of the idiot. He was an arrogant prick, but he got it right

    People can talk about what a wonderful job Zippy the Pinhead did all they like but it was a shit show. People forget that when Sigi came in he dumped every single player on the roster except for. I think 3 guys. Might have been 4, and one of them was out injured.

    I remember being at the superdraft in Philly watching him.work the room. He wasn't even trying to scrape up better players, his only goal was to get rid of 90% of who he inherited. It was open bloodshed.

    He would have taken a ham sandwich for just about any of them. In fact, he may have.

    He just wanted them gone.
     
  19. Flyer Fan

    Flyer Fan Member+

    Apr 18, 1999
    Columbus, OH
    I remember @hangthadj one time - probably not sober - extolling Glen's "dynamicism." It is now one of my favorite nonsensical words.
     
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  20. jairadballerina

    jairadballerina Member+

    Sep 15, 2004
    C-Town
    Woly came back and was the Red Cows only scorer in the 2008 Final. From 2004 playoff loss through 2007 were the darkest of years for Crewville.
     
  21. KCbus

    KCbus Moderator
    Staff Member

    United States
    Nov 26, 2000
    Reynoldsburg, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That ended up as a goofy game, too. A back and forth 4-3 affair.

    It's kind of funny that this came up now, right as we're gearing up for the final game at Crew Stadium. The thing that I remember most from that day was that people who worked there saw our Crew jerseys, and they wanted to talk to us like we were celebrities. As did some of the fans. They wanted to know what Crew Stadium was like, wasn't it cool having a soccer specific stadium, how great was the action we got to watch every week -- I tried to talk to them as much as I could before losing track of the two of you. I got the sense they would have listened to us all day if they could have.
     
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  22. hangthadj

    hangthadj Member+

    A.S. Roma
    Mar 27, 2001
    Zone 14
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Greg Andrulis helped us win two trophies, including one Shield which is a more difficult accomplishment than a tournament trophy, imo. Despite the colorful unfounded accusations of "ass rape" he seems to be a decent man. There are certainly things I wish I said and did differently sixteen years, including some naughty words I said about Andrulis. (Though extolling Cornell Glen's dynamism is not one of them). And I'm sure Andrulis looks back on some decisions and wishes he handled some differently as well. That's part of growing up or growing old or whatever.

    He should be welcomed back with cheers. He's part of the history of this organization and contributed far more than many. Booing Andrulis at this point is exhibitionism that says more about those who jeer, than about Andrulis, his accomplishments, and shortcomings.
     
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  23. hangthadj

    hangthadj Member+

    A.S. Roma
    Mar 27, 2001
    Zone 14
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    As an aside another player that definitely felt very done wrong by 2 time trophy winner and Crew Legend Greg Andrulis was Brian Dunseth. When Dunseth returned to Crew stadium as a member of the Dallas Burn and scored a goal he ran toward the Crew field, turned around to the Crew bench, and turned around pointing Rob Van Damm style at the name on the back of his shirt. At the moment, of course I was cursing Dunseth as any Black and Yellow blooded Crew fan would. Now, I look back on it as one of the more gloriously petty and hilarious goals and celebrations against the Crew in our long and glorious history.

    There are so many gifts from that era of Columbus Crew football and fandom. I am nothing, if not grateful, to have lived and loved through it.
     
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  24. Dan Milton

    Dan Milton Member

    Nov 25, 1998
    The Crew have been a big part of my life since 1996. I got involved with soccer when my daughter was was about five or six in '81 or '82! I began watching Ajax on tv and got hooked. My wife thought I was crazy wanting to go to Columbus from Middletown for a soccer game,but she got hooked too. Games at the Shoe and then at the fairgrounds! My wife and I went to the stadium while it was under .construction and saw Mr. Hunt coming out of the stadium into the parking lot. I drove towards him wanting to say thank you for building a new stadium for us and the team. I believe he thought some nut job was trying to run him over but I did manage to say thank you Mister Hunt for building us a stadium. I will miss the days when after a sixteen hour work day,my wife picked me up at work and I slept on the 90 minute trip to Columbus. I then slept on the way back to Middletown where my wife dropped me off at work. I was at the first game at Mister Hunts new stadium and I will be there for the last game!
     
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  25. Ch(Elsey)

    Ch(Elsey) Member+

    Columbus Crew
    United States
    May 2, 2003
    Green, Ohio
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Mark Williams. What a find to unceremoniously replace Dunny and not even have the guts to tell him. What an Allstar. Franchise player, Williams.
     

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