I can watch most sports.

Soccer is the only one I care about.

At the age of five, I started playing on a gloriously named team: Bohemians. I played in high school as a central midfielder. When I lived in France, the second time, I lined up at left back for a side which was something like a college intramural team that traveled around the city.

Francis and I at the Crew home opener. Mar 2017

USA v Guatemala World Cup Qualifier. Mar 2016

Club

I've been a Columbus Crew season ticketholder since 1999, when MAPFRE Stadium (né Crew Stadium) opened.

Home opener, Mar 2020, Crew 1 - NYC 0. We had a promising team. And then COVID. And then we won the championship.

The Crew won the US Open Cup in 2002 and the Supporters' Shield (best regular season record) in 2004, 2008, and 2009.

2008

Until 2023, the hallowed year of franchise history was 2008. We won MLS Cup, Guillermo Barros Schelotto won league MVP, Chad Marshall was named Defender of the Year, and Sigi Schmid—may he rest in peace—won Coach of the Year.

2015

The 2015 MLS Cup final, at home against Portland was...not so hot. We lost 2-1 on one very poor play and one very poor non-call.

The scene before the MLS Cup final, 2015. Dec 2015

2020

Another excellent year.

COVID screwed up so many things, including the MLS season. As a season ticket holder, I only went to three games including the playoffs.

Despite the adversity, we advanced to the MLS Cup final. Right before the match, two key midfielders, Darlington Nagbe and Pedro Santos, tested positive for the virus. And the formidable Seattle Sounders were in town, looking for their third title in five years.

It didn't go well for the visitors. We played a masterful match and crushed them 3-0. Be sure to watch the second and third goals.

2023

But...holy shit, 2023 was the best season in Crew history.

In our first match of the year, we lost 4-1 to Philadelphia. In the press conference following the game, Union coach Jim Curtin said, "This Columbus team is going to be very, very, very good."

He was right. It took a while, we had some personnel issues to work out in the midfield and on defense, and of course—just because nothing is ever easy—we transferred Lucas Zelarayán, our #10, to Al-Fateh in Saudi Arabia. (We picked up Uruguayan Diego Rossi from Fenerbahçe, so it worked out.)

Our tifo game is strong. Dec 2023

The whistle had just blown. Champions! Our third star! Dec 2023

By the middle of the campaign, pundits and neutrals called us the most fun team in the league to watch, and by the end of the regular season, we were clearly on a roll.

We entered the Eastern Conference playoffs as the #3 seed, beat both Atlanta United and Orlando City convincingly, and then went down to Cincinnati to face the Supporters Shield winners and #1 seed. That game was simply amazing—one of the most epic comebacks I've ever witnessed. Just watch the highlights.

We hosted defending champion LAFC in the final, and Francis and I attended. Again...just watch the highlights. We won our third star, 2-1!

Closing Notes

• I'm not going to say anything about the sonofabitch former owner of the team, Anthony Precourt, but I will say: In 2018, we saved the Crew!
• And finally, as many good memories as I have in the old stadium, the new one is amazing!

Lower.com Field. We have seats in the River Club.

Country

I've attended most of the US National Team games in Columbus—including every US/Mexico World Cup Qualifier. The most recent Mexico qualifier (November 2016) was a real gut-punch, a weak performance in the first half followed by bad defending on a set piece at the end of the game.

The following October, we didn't even qualify for the World Cup finals after a dismal match at Trinidad & Tobago.

Friends Olivia and George with Gina, tailgating before the match. Sep 2013

Tifo before the USA v Mexico World Cup Qualifier. Nov 2016

What will it take for the US to get back to the World Cup, and to go from the mid teens of the world rankings—which may be a little high—into the top ten?

Many people claim to have the answers. I still remember how armchair experts thought José Torres would be our savior on the field in South Africa 2010. Or Jurgen Klinsmann on the sidelines in 2014 and 2018. They weren't. (I blame Torres for nothing and Klinsmann for quite a bit.)

National anthems, USA v Mexico World Cup Qualifier. Sep 2013

An unshakeable consensus surrounded Gregg Berhalter before he was named head coach in 2018. Will he improve our results at the same time he makes the transition to a new era that neither Klinsmann nor Bruce Arena could? I hope I'm wrong, and I very well might be, but...I don't think he will.

The point is most people are sure about what we need to do to become a world power. I only pay attention to people's certainty on the subject if:

• They have at least a B License, and working experience with the US Soccer bureaucracy, or
• They've played professionally

Otherwise, they're just fans talking shit. They might as well be arguing about formations or best uniforms.

Until 2023, the hallowed year of franchise history was 2008.

Favorite players

Speaking of fans talking shit, here are my favorite players ever. Reasons vary. Not in order, except for the first one:

• Zinedine Zidane: When I saw him at Bordeaux, I immediately knew he was special. I realize I'm not the only one.
• Guillermo Barros Schelotto
• Carlos Valderrama
• Lucas Zelarayán
• Paul Scholes
• Dennis Bergkamp
• Andrés Iniesta
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic
• Thierry Henry
• Clint Dempsey
• René Higuita (see below)

Why no Messi, especially after Qatar 2022? I don't know. His skill is breathtaking, and he's one of the greatest players ever, if not the greatest. I just wouldn't call myself a fan. Fan implies passion—fanatico—but for some reason, I don't feel any of that toward Messi. It's okay...he has millions and millions of fans. He doesn't need me!

Coaches: Sigi Schmid, Caleb Porter, Wilfried Nancy, Hector Cuper

If you're unfamiliar with René Higuita, watch this. England v Colombia, September 1995. Worth the forty seconds: