Something I did not know but heard on Bone & Beam United's latest podcast was that in 2009 the Crew played with a silver game ball since they were champs (everyone else played with the usual white ball). Pretty cool detail that I did not remember...do they still do this for MLS Champs?
MLS planning to announce all of the home openers Wednesday afternoon, per two sources. Not expecting the full schedules for another two weeks.— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) March 9, 2021 We'll get season openers tomorrow
Because it's home openers, we could have a bunch of games announced. Crewsmas Any game we're on the road, but is the home opener for that team. Crewsmas In July? (Downtown opener?) Openers for the two other new stadiums?
Yeah that's the part that's not clear yet. Half the teams will have home openers as their first game of the season, others a week/two later. So we'll have a whole bunch of April games announced (I assume MLS will begin in April) and much later Austin versus [X] in June?
In the past, isn't that how they did it? Here's what I would expect: Definitely announced tomorrow: Crewsmas Any game we're on the road, but is the home opener for that team. Perhaps: Crewsmas In July. (Downtown opener.) Openers for the two other new stadiums. Cincinnati is in the same boat we are...aka the same boat DC was in a few years ago. Austin? They're probably in the same boat we were in back in 1999...a lot of road games, then maybe 3-4 home games in rapid succession before things balance out. I predict we'll have three games announced tomorrow. Our home opener, one game which serves as the opener for that team and our downtown opener.
When Historic Crew Stadium opened in 1999, it wasn't fully-functional. The ticket windows weren't yet running and the office was still a few months from being ready. Obviously, with a sold-out game and with a downtown office, those two things didn't matter. On one hand, we have a pandemic and digital tickets, greatly lessening the need for a ticket window. A window where people line up at and buy paper tickets from a cashier will eventually be a thing of the past. In the immediate future, ticket windows are still needed, even if the demand for them isn't as high as it was 5-10 years ago. They could, conceivably, open a stadium that isn't fully operational, much like what happened in 1999...but no way Sweet Dee allows it. Everything, including the things "behind the scenes" that the fans won't even care about will be fully operational.
I’m not so sure we’ll get the announcement for the new stadium openers tomorrow. I bet that gets released as its own MLS press release between tomorrow and the announcement of the full schedule.
We open on Sunday 4/18 at 5:30pm. No other Crew games are released. It's here! 📅⚽️Our 2021 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀. https://t.co/b5VuWBccuH pic.twitter.com/MEQP2lO1Tt— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 10, 2021
So we get only three days rest after our Champions League home game vs Esteli. Hopefully we bring back a multiple goal lead from our trip to Nicaragua and can roll out our impressive B-squad in the home leg.
Philly will be playing Saprissa the night before our CCL match, and they have to travel to Columbus, so it isn't a horrible mismatch. Both teams will most likely be rotating.
When is the last time Columbus had a nationally televised home opener? 🗓 𝟒.𝟏𝟖.𝟐𝟏#Crew96 pic.twitter.com/NygkPvmRR9— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) March 10, 2021
2002 was on ABC. 2005 was HDNet. At one time, HDNet wasn't a widely-distributed channel. In addition to the TV and equipment, it may have been on a premium tier, depending on the provider. Example: Time Warner had it on their HD Gold tier, but it was eventually bumped down to a regular HD package alongside channels like TNT HD and whatever else they had. (ESPN HD was originally part of HD Gold.) Tier 1 was local channels. "You get these just for having the box." Tier 2 was channels like TNT and other various ones. There was some sort of requirement which most people met, even if they didn't have HD. Tier 3 (HD Gold) was something like $6 extra and included HDNet, HDNet Movies, INHD, INHD2 and ESPN HD. Later on, HDNet and ESPN HD got bumped down. I can't remember when HDNet was bumped down. So yeah...HDNet was national, but with all the hoops, it was sort of like what TUDN is now. HDNet is now known as AXS. Does anyone have any info beyond 2005?
Note that we don't appear to play week two - Philly's home opener is Saturday the 24th - so we'll have what looks to be a decent break after our match on the 18th.
Well, only 11 games are listed for week 2. Supposedly, this was home openers for each team. Point being, there may be week 2 games that are not home openers that were not announced. I'd note that Toronto, Philly, Atlanta, and Portland all have week 2 games announced. So it isn't a "give the CCL teams the week off thing." Though with 27 teams, someone is going to get a week off every week. Further, the QF round is Aprill 27-29 (leg 1) and May 4-6 (leg 2). While week 2 off would be nice, week 3 would be better, between the Monterrey games.
That's not necessarily correct. We could be playing at home or on the road against a team that also played at home in the first week.
Fair enough. I'm quite sure you're right. Of course, sounds like we may need to wait a couple of weeks to find out just where we'll play week two.
How many people are going to be allowed in? Will they have to wear masks? Are they going to charge the same amount for a game in the old stadium as the tiny new stadium? Is it really a home opener if the fans can't fill the stadium?
Less than 20k. Yes. Are you talking about walk-up pricing or season tickets? Also: The new stadium is not "tiny." Yes.
Crewsmas is, and always has been, the first home match of the regular season. I believe the home match vs Real Esteli is Crewsgiving. (It can be debated what the away match is.)