Eye on the Tigers: Browns – Bengals Preview
December 4, 2015The Bengals come to face Austin Davis – Browns Friday Fumble – 2015-12-04
December 4, 2015Imagine for a moment you are driving south on I-71. After two hours, near exit 112, you see four light posts jut out of the Columbus sky like massive toothbrushes Jack’s giant left behind. They encompass Mapfre Stadium, the nation’s first soccer-specific stadium. Sixteen years old, the building has aged well, even if the location leaves a bit to be desired. The field is quiet for the moment; contemplative, even. Temporary bleachers stand on the stage, eager to contain the near-22,000 fanatics who will pile in on Sunday for the MLS Cup Final. For the first time in club history, the Eastern Conference Champion Columbus Crew SC will host the Cup Final in an attempt to earn their second star against the Western Conference Champion Portland Timbers.
The average Clevelander may not know it, but the Crew are having one of their best seasons in club history. If there were ever a moment to board a semi-local club’s bandwagon, this is it. Last season, the Crew reached the playoffs only to face quick elimination at the hands of DC United by an aggregate score of 7-3. A year later, Columbus continued to gel under head coach Gregg Berhalter and placed second in the competitive Eastern Conference. The Crew charged to the finish line going 6-3-1 down the stretch.
After a first-round bye, Columbus met with the dangerous Montreal Impact and star striker Didier Drogba (formerly of England’s Chelsea, among other clubs) in the semi-finals. The Black and Gold dropped the first leg 2-1 north of the border, but scored a critical away goal (the first tiebreaker if the aggregate score is tied after two legs). Late in the second leg, the match was tied 1-1. Columbus would need something dramatic if the season were to continue. “Something dramatic” came in the form of midfielder Ethan Finlay’s 77th minute goal to tie the series. In the second extra period, it was all-league forward Kei Kamara who provided the knockout blow. His 111th minute header granted the Crew an advantage it would not surrender. When the final whistle sounded, the Crew had marched on.
In the conference finals, the Crew faced top seed New York Red Bulls. The first leg began with MLS history when Crew forward Justin Meram scored the fastest playoff goal in league history. Just nine seconds into the match, before many of the supporters had found their seats, Meram received a pass and slipped the sphere past Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles. The Black and Gold padded their advantage in the 85th minute when — who else? — Kei Kamara tapped in the ball for a 2-0 score. The game went as well as possible for Columbus and they headed to New York with a two-goal aggregate lead.
In the Big Apple, the Crew and Red Bulls held serve for the full ninety minutes and change. In the third minute of stoppage time, Crew keeper Steve Clark drifted too far from the line and allowed Red Bull forward Anatole Abang to find the net. Now down 2-1 on aggregate, New York threw everything they had at the Crew defense. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, an attacking Red Bull squad managed to squeak the ball past all Columbus defenders rolling toward the waking goal mouth. The ball equivocated for a few precious feet as if it could not decide where to go. Eventually the sphere settled off the post in play, and Kamara deftly cleared the ball out of bounds. The Arch City collectively exhaled. Columbus avoided drama for the remaining seconds and when the final whistle blew, the Crew walked away with the best 1-0 loss in club history.
The Crew balances a strong defense with myriad scoring options. Keeper Steve Clark recorded six clean sheets during the season, and allows on average 1.56 goals per game. He relentlessly challenged opposing offenses and is the sort of man who makes you say “YES!” Offensively, the Crew’s Kei Kamara scores goals at an elite level. The Sierra Leone native booted/headed 22 goals in 2015, followed by his customary heart-shaped hands celebration. Midfielder Ethan Finlay specializes in assists and has 13 to his name this year. The offense all comes down to one man: Frederico Higuian. “Pipa,” as he is known, facilitates the offense as well as any midfielder in the country, and is no stranger to goals himself. Now in his fourth season with Columbus, Higuian seeks the elusive MLS Championship to add to his litany of accolades. Earlier this week, Kamara and Finlay were both named to the MLS Best XI for 2015, the first time either has earned the honor.
Crew SC do not move the needle in Cleveland as much as the Cavaliers, Browns, or Indians. Even in Columbus, soccer’s season generally coincides with the religion of Ohio State Football, which makes drawing a crowd more difficult. However, in the playoffs the city has rallied around its team with strong crowds of 19,026 and 21,617. Within 24 hours of their conference-clinching game, the club announced Mapfre Stadium would be sold out for the Cup Final. The Crew even added temporary bleachers on the stage which will push the attendance closer to 22,000. With that sort of homefield advantage, Columbus certainly has a leg up on the visiting Timbers.
If you are unable see the game in person, tune in to ESPN at 4:00 p.m. to see what Major League Soccer is about at the highest level. The state has one professional soccer team, so if you’re going to support, you should support Columbus.
3 Comments
“The state has one professional soccer team, so if you’re going to support, you should support Columbus.”
Sorry, not with those colors.
I actually adopted Portland 2 years ago as my MLS squad due to them hiring Caleb Porter.
I have literally said this dozens of times. Any football fan of the states teams can’t support them. Couldn’t they have gone with orange or red or even blue? Black and yellow could both be acceptable when paired with something else, just no together.
And why would you identify yourself with rivals of the fanbases you are trying to draw in? On a scale of 1-10 how poor was this planning? Doesn’t seem bright when the MLS is behind other leagues and is trying to grow in popularity.