USA MLS 03/23 23:30 - [11] Charlotte FC v Columbus Crew [1] L 2-0
USA MLS 03/16 23:30 - [2] Columbus Crew v New York Red Bulls [2] W 3-0
CONCACAF Champions Cup 03/12 22:00 4 Columbus Crew v Houston Dynamo D 1-1
USA MLS 03/10 00:30 - [4] Columbus Crew v Chicago Fire [11] W 2-1
CONCACAF Champions Cup 03/07 01:00 4 Houston Dynamo v Columbus Crew W 0-1
USA MLS 03/02 19:00 - [2] Minnesota United v Columbus Crew [3] D 1-1
USA MLS 02/24 19:00 - [2] Columbus Crew v Atlanta United [2] W 1-0
World Club Friendlies 02/17 19:00 - Los Angeles FC v Columbus Crew - View
Europe Friendlies 02/14 18:30 - Real Salt Lake v Columbus Crew - Cancelled
Europe Friendlies 02/10 19:00 - Toronto FC v Columbus Crew - Cancelled
Europe Friendlies 01/26 14:00 - Columbus Crew v St. Louis City SC - Cancelled
USA MLS 12/09 21:00 199 [3] Columbus Crew v Los Angeles FC [3] W 2-1
USA MLS 12/02 23:00 183 [1] FC Cincinnati v Columbus Crew [3] W 2-3
USA MLS 11/25 22:30 132 [2] Orlando City SC v Columbus Crew [3] W 0-2
USA MLS 11/13 00:00 7 [3] Columbus Crew v Atlanta United [6] W 4-2
USA MLS 11/08 00:00 7 [6] Atlanta United v Columbus Crew [3] L 4-2
USA MLS 11/01 23:30 7 [3] Columbus Crew v Atlanta United [6] W 2-0
USA MLS 10/21 22:00 - [4] Columbus Crew v CF Montreal [8] W 2-1
USA MLS 10/07 23:30 - [6] Atlanta United v Columbus Crew [4] D 1-1
USA MLS 10/04 23:30 - [3] New England Revolution v Columbus Crew [5] W 1-2
USA MLS 09/30 23:30 - [4] Columbus Crew v Philadelphia Union [3] D 1-1
USA MLS 09/24 00:30 - [9] FC Dallas v Columbus Crew [3] D 1-1
USA MLS 09/20 23:30 - [5] Columbus Crew v Chicago Fire [10] W 3-0
USA MLS 09/16 23:30 - [3] Orlando City SC v Columbus Crew [5] L 4-3
USA MLS 09/02 23:30 - [8] CF Montreal v Columbus Crew [5] W 2-4
USA MLS 08/31 00:30 - [5] Houston Dynamo v Columbus Crew [5] L 2-0
USA MLS 08/26 23:30 - [5] Columbus Crew v Toronto FC [14] W 2-0
USA MLS 08/20 23:30 - [6] Columbus Crew v FC Cincinnati [1] W 3-0
Leagues Cup 08/05 00:00 5 [1] Columbus Crew v Minnesota United [2] L 6-7
Leagues Cup 08/01 00:00 3 [2] Columbus Crew v Club America [1] W 4-1

Wikipedia - Columbus Crew

The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league. The team is currently operated by an ownership group led by the Haslam family (also owners of the Cleveland Browns and Pilot Corporation) and former team physician Pete Edwards. The Haslam/Edwards group is the third ownership group in club history. The Crew is considered to be one of the most successful clubs in MLS.

The franchise was founded in 1994. Its stadium is Lower.com Field, opened in 2021. From 1999 to 2021, the Crew played home games at Historic Crew Stadium (formerly Mapfre Stadium and Columbus Crew Stadium), the first soccer-specific stadium built for an MLS team, with a seating capacity of 19,968 as of the 2015 season. From 1996 to 1998, the Crew played its home games at Ohio Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. In 2023, the team set club attendance records for both most cumulative attendance and most sellouts.

The Crew have won seven major trophies: the MLS Cup in 2008, 2020 and 2023; the Supporters' Shield in 2004, 2008, and 2009; and the 2002 U.S. Open Cup. The Crew have qualified for the CONCACAF Champions Cup (or its predecessor, the CONCACAF Champions League) five times, reaching the quarter-finals on the first three occasions. In 2021, the club won their first continental trophy by winning the Campeones Cup.

History

The beginning (1994–1998)

The Crew played their first game on April 13, 1996, at Ohio Stadium.

On June 15, 1994, Major League Soccer announced that Columbus, Ohio, would be home to one of the ten founding members of the new top flight North American professional soccer league. Columbus had promised construction of a soccer-specific stadium and had sold over 12,000 season ticket deposits. The team was tentatively named the Columbus Eclipse in its application to the league, as a solar eclipse had passed over the city after reaching the league's 10,000-deposit minimum. Prior to the initial MLS season, a public contest was created to decide the name for the team. The name "the Crew", was picked out of 2,500 entrants and 650 nickname suggestions. The winning individual linked it to Christopher Columbus, his voyages and the crew that accompanied him on his discoveries. However, by the time it was chosen as the official name of the team, it was detached from the famous explorer and instead pitched as representative of Midwestern hard work.

MLS investor Lamar Hunt, and his son Clark became the owners of both the Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards in 1996. The first players for the Crew were South African national team veteran Doctor Khumalo, by assignment, and Brian McBride. McBride was selected as the first overall pick in MLS's first draft in 1996. Former U.S. National Team coach Timo Liekoski would be the team's head coach for its first season.

The Crew played their first game on April 13, 1996, in front of a home crowd of 25,266 in Ohio Stadium against D.C. United and won 4–0. Columbus would struggle, however, winning only 5 of their next 21 games. After the 6–16 start, Tom Fitzgerald replaced head coach Liekoski. The Crew, under Fitzgerald, won 9 of their last 10 games to finish fourth in the Eastern Conference. They went on to lose in the conference playoff semi-finals.

The Black & Gold finished 15–17 in both 1997 and 1998, which put them in third and fourth place, respectively, in the Eastern Conference. Each season ended with losses in the Conference Finals to D.C. United. In 1998, the Crew reached the U.S. Open Cup Final. However, the match was postponed due to a hurricane and was controversially relocated from Virginia Beach to Soldier Field in Chicago, the home of the Chicago Fire. The Fire would go on to win the match 2–1 after extra time. Stern John, in his first of two seasons with Columbus, was the 1998 scoring champion, amassing 26 goals and 5 assists.

A new home (1999–2003)

Columbus's 1999 season began with the opening of Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium in the United States. Columbus won their first game in the stadium, 2–0, against New England Revolution in front of a sell-out crowd of 24,741. Columbus would finish in second place at 19–13, but would lose in the conference finals to D.C. United for the third straight season. The 1999 season was the last for Stern John who scored 52 goals in 65 games for the club. The team had the lowest goals against average in the Eastern Conference, and Mark Dougherty became the first goalkeeper in league history to record 50 wins, with a 4–2 win over the MetroStars on August 18, 1999, at Giants Stadium.

The Crew hosted the 2000 MLS All-Star Game, with Mike Clark, Brian McBride, and Dante Washington representing Columbus in the game. The aforementioned Dante Washington was acquired from the Dallas Burn to replace Stern John, but his 13 goals in 2000 was not enough to propel the Crew to the playoffs. For the first time, Columbus failed to reach the postseason. Columbus got off to a slow 1–3–2 start in 2001, which led to the replacement of coach Tom Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, who had coached 161 of the Crew's first 183 MLS matches over parts of six seasons between 1996 and 2001, was replaced by Greg Andrulis. Andrulis would lead the Black & Gold to a 2nd-place finish in 2001 but the team was ousted from the playoffs in the league quarterfinals.

In 2002, Columbus would win the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in team history. They advanced to the finals by beating the Richmond Kickers, MetroStars, and Kansas City Wizards. In the final, they beat LA Galaxy, who had just won the MLS Cup earlier in the week. Freddy García scored the only goal and keeper Jon Busch posted the shutout in Columbus's 1–0 win. It was the first championship in team history. The Crew finished 11–12–5 in the regular season and finished in a tie for first place. They lost in the league semi-finals to New England. Kyle Martino won rookie of the year in 2002, a first for the Crew. By winning the 2002 U.S. Open Cup, Columbus received a bid to play in the 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. They advanced to the second round by beating Árabe Unido 4–2 on aggregate in the first round before losing to Monarcas Morelia, 6–2. McBride would play his final season with Columbus in 2003 before joining Fulham of the Premier League.

Transitions (2004–2006)

With the departure of Brian McBride, Columbus added Robin Fraser and Simon Elliott to the club. These additions proved to be vital as Fraser went on to win the Defender of the Year award in 2004. The Crew set a franchise record for points, 49, by going 12–5–13, thanks in part to an 18-game unbeaten streak (8–0–10) to end the season. Despite winning the Supporters' Shield for best record in the league, the club would be eliminated from the MLS Cup in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. In his last season for the Black & Gold, Jeff Cunningham scored his 62nd goal, which tied him with McBride for the franchise record.

Over both of the next two seasons, Columbus battled injuries to several players and struggled to win many games. Despite winning the MLS Coach of the Year Award in 2004, Andrulis was replaced on an interim basis by Robert Warzycha midway through the 2005 season. After missing playoffs in the 2005 season, the club would hire former L.A. Galaxy and UCLA head coach Sigi Schmid. Schmid had won an MLS Cup and U.S. Open Championship in his six seasons with Galaxy. Warzycha remained on staff under Schmid. In 2006, the Crew went on a 13-game winless streak (0–7–6) between June 10 and August 19. The season ended on a tragic note when team founder and owner Lamar Hunt died on December 14, 2006.

Around this time, Columbus Crew supporters began using the term "Massive" to describe the club and city, at first ironically, but then as a term of pride and endearment of the club that continuously fought the odds.

The Barros Schelotto era (2007–2010)

The Crew signed Guillermo Barros Schelotto in 2007, who helped them reach their first MLS Cup the next year.

The 2007 season in Major League Soccer started with news that global icon David Beckham signed with the LA Galaxy. The Crew followed suit by signing Guillermo Barros Schelotto on April 19, 2007. Columbus also signed forward Alejandro Moreno to bolster its attack. Even with these new players, the Crew still missed the playoffs in 2007.

In 2008, the Crew won its first Eastern Conference title, and subsequently, its first MLS Cup. Led by Barros Schelotto, who scored seven goals and had 19 assists and won the MLS Most Valuable Player Award, the team also won its second Supporters' Shield. After going 17–7–6 in the regular season, the Black & Gold won playoff games against Kansas City and Chicago Fire before beating the New York Red Bulls 3–1 in the final. Chad Marshall won MLS Defender of the Year award, and Sigi Schmid won Coach of the Year.

After the 2008 season, Sigi Schmid declined a contract offer from Columbus and became coach of Seattle Sounders FC. The Crew's ownership believed that Schmid had been in contact with the Sounders despite being denied permission to talk to other teams during the season. It was also alleged that he shared confidential information with Seattle after his contract with the Crew had ended. Major League Soccer ruled that no tampering had occurred, but ordered Seattle to financially compensate the Crew. Columbus would then name former player and assistant coach Robert Warzycha head coach. In 2009, Barros Schelotto was rewarded with the honor of becoming the franchise's first Designated Player. The club went 13–7–10 in the regular season, good enough for 49 points and their second consecutive Supporters' Shield. The Crew was eliminated by Real Salt Lake in the two-legged Eastern Conference semi-finals, 4–2 on aggregate. Chad Marshall won his second consecutive MLS Defender of the Year award.

Columbus started the 2010 season in the CONCACAF Champions League. They reached the quarterfinals but lost to Toluca in March. The club finished the season 14–8–8 but lost in the quarterfinals of the MLS Cup playoffs to the Colorado Rapids. The Crew lost 2–1 in the 2010 U.S. Open Cup Final at Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Sounders.

Warzycha's final years (2011–2013)

In 2011, the Crew finished ninth in the league at 13–13–8 and lost in the wild card round of the playoffs to the Colorado Rapids.

In 2012, the club finished sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 15–12–7 record. They would narrowly miss the playoffs.

On September 2, 2013, the Crew parted ways with Head Coach Robert Warzycha after an embarrassing home loss to the Seattle Sounders, combined with a highly frustrated fanbase. Brian Bliss, the Crew's technical director, took over as interim head coach. This effectively ended his stay with the club since 1996, when he joined the club as a player.

The Precourt era (2013–2018)

On July 30, 2013, Anthony Precourt became the second investor-operator in the history of the club. Precourt upgraded portions of Crew Stadium, as well as evolving the team's brand in a way that identified with the city of Columbus, all within his first 15 months with the club.

On November 6, 2013, Precourt announced that Gregg Berhalter would be the club's new head coach. Berhalter also became the first sporting director in club history.

The 2014 season saw Columbus return to the postseason for the first time since 2011. Under Berhalter, the Crew finished the year 14–10–10, good enough for the third seed in the Eastern Conference of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

The Crew also sent two of its players to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, center back Giancarlo González and left back Waylon Francis, who both represented Costa Rica during the tournament. Gonzalez was hailed for his performance, being named to ESPN's Best XI of the group stage.

Berhalter was nominated for 2014 MLS Head Coach of the Year. Likewise, goalkeeper Steve Clark was nominated for 2014 Goalkeeper of the Year and Michael Parkhurst won the Individual Fair Play Award for the third time.

Off the field, the Black & Gold announced sports industry veteran Andy Loughnane as its new President of Business Operations on August 16, 2014. The team set the all-time attendance record and sellout record for a single season at Crew Stadium. The combination of the club's on-field success and off-field resurgence capped a successful full first year for Precourt and Berhalter.

On October 8, 2014, the Precourt ownership changed the name and logo of the club, changing the name from "Columbus Crew" to "Columbus Crew SC".

The beginning of the 2015 season started in late 2014 with the return of Kei Kamara. Kamara proved to be beneficial as he scored 22 regular season goals and 4 playoff goals. Along with Kamara, Ethan Finlay and Waylon Francis received spots in the 2015 MLS All-Star Game versus English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. On September 26, 2015, Crew SC hosted their largest sellout crowd since 2008 with an announced attendance of 22,719. Crew SC came into the playoffs with a bye in the first round after securing second place in the Eastern Conference. Following the Eastern Conference semi-final and final match-ups, Crew SC played host to the Portland Timbers in the 2015 MLS Cup Final. This was the club's second-ever MLS Cup Final appearance after the 2008 MLS Cup championship. The Crew was upset by the Portland Timbers at home following the 2–1 loss. All three goals were scored in the first half including the lone Crew SC goal scored by Kamara. Kamara was nominated for the Landon Donovan MLS MVP Award. Kamara was also nominated for and won the MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year Award. Wil Trapp was nominated for the MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Proposed relocation to Austin

A "Save the Crew" tifo before a game against the Chicago Fire in 2018

On October 17, 2017, Precourt announced intentions to relocate the franchise to Austin, Texas, if a downtown stadium could not be secured in Columbus. Following the news, fans and supporters of the club began a campaign and movement known as #SaveTheCrew. Many had been present in the city's council building on behalf of the cause. Later in the month, it was revealed that Precourt had a clause in his purchase of the club that would allow him to relocate the franchise, but only to Austin.

On November 15, 2017, Precourt and MLS commissioner Don Garber met with Columbus mayor Andrew Ginther and civic and business leaders about the Crew's future in Columbus. After the meeting, both sides issued press releases detailing the meeting. Per the delegation from Columbus, Precourt and MLS refused to take the relocation threat off the table. Per Precourt and MLS, Columbus leaders did not present any plan for a downtown stadium. On the issue, the mayor stated it was "obvious that Don Garber nor PSV (Precourt Sports Ventures) had any commitment for the team to stay in Columbus".

In the annual state of the league conference, commissioner Garber addressed more on the potential move. He had stated the difficulties there has been present with the market over the years. Discussing in 2008, when the league began its initiative to end having ownership groups owning multiple franchises in the league, there was no success in finding a local ownership group in the market of Columbus, with an interested group wanting to purchase the team but with a very low value. It was then when the league's executives hired a different company banker and expanded its search regionally where Anthony Precourt was involved. Garber stated that had Precourt not acquired the club, there was a possibility that Columbus would have ceased operations and ultimately folded. As to why the issues were not stated publicly, Don Garber stated that the league is a "private business" and what's been happening has been seen in other major sport leagues in the country.

On March 5, 2018, Ohio attorney general Mike DeWine and Columbus city attorney Zach Klein filed a lawsuit against Precourt, citing a previously untested 1996 state law that prevents sports teams that benefited from public facilities or financial assistance from relocating to another city without a six-month notice and attempting to sell the team to a local ownership group (the Modell Law). The bill was originally passed after the controversial relocation of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore.

Haslam era and two MLS Cups (2018–present)

On October 12, 2018, the owner of the Cleveland Browns, Jimmy Haslam, released a statement stating he was in the process of buying the Crew, along with other local groups. MLS later released a statement stating their willingness to keep the Crew in Columbus, and that Precourt will get the rights to start a team in Austin if the deal goes through. As part of the deal, the lawsuit against Precourt was dismissed that day; the Modell Law remains untested as a result.

On January 1, 2019, control of the Crew franchise was officially transferred to the Haslam family and longtime team physician Dr. Pete Edwards, who took full ownership of the club after reaching a deal with Precourt Sports Ventures LLC. The new ownership group also quickly announced that they would be building a new stadium for the Crew in the Arena District of downtown Columbus.

The team then hired Tim Bezbatchenko as president from Toronto FC and Caleb Porter, previously with the Portland Timbers, as their new coach for the 2019 season. The 2019 season was a forgettable one as the Crew dealt with injuries throughout the season.

Before the start of the 2020 MLS season, the Crew made two major signings, bringing in new designated player Lucas Zelarayán and midfielder Darlington Nagbe. The team started out the season well, winning their group in the MLS is Back Tournament before going out in the round of 16 and finishing in third place in the Eastern conference and fourth place overall. After making a run in the playoffs, the Crew won their second MLS Cup just two years into the Haslam era, defeating the Seattle Sounders 3–0 at Mapfre Stadium on December 12, 2020, in MLS Cup 2020.

Weeks into the 2021 season, the franchise announced they would now be known as Columbus SC, using "Columbus Crew" and "The Crew" in informal instances. The rebrand received strongly negative reception from supporters of the team. A statement by the Nordecke claimed that "neither the Nordecke nor any Crew Supporters Group was involved at any time with the conception, development, or design of the rebrand. The Board was only shown the rebrand in the last few days, and it was presented to us as a completed product with no chance for input." The logo was further criticized as generic and harming the team's identity. This was done despite promises of fan involvement by team president Tim Bezbatchenko, which led to him being labeled as a "traitor". A petition was created on change.org to restore the team's name. Other observers noted that the rebrand was part of a similar trend in MLS teams to emulate European naming conventions, and was compared to the rebranding of Chicago Fire FC two years earlier. On May 17, 2021, in response to the backlash surrounding the rebrand, the franchise announced that "Columbus Crew" would remain as their official name and that the new logo would be modified accordingly. In addition, the "SC" was dropped from the brand, with the team's name being simply the "Columbus Crew" once again.

Crew players celebrate winning the Eastern Conference final in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs.

They recorded their first win at Lower.com Field on July 17, 2021.

Columbus fired Porter after the team failed to qualify for the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs. In December 2022, they hired Wilfried Nancy from CF Montréal as Porter's replacement. In Nancy's first season, Columbus advanced through the playoffs, beating Atlanta United FC, Orlando City SC, and FC Cincinnati in a playoff edition of the Hell Is Real derby to reach MLS Cup 2023, played on December 9 at Lower.com Field. The Crew defeated holders Los Angeles FC by 2–1 to capture the third MLS Cup title in the club's history.

The Columbus Crew is a professional soccer team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was founded in 1994 and has been a member of Major League Soccer (MLS) since its inception in 1996. The team plays its home games at the MAPFRE Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 19,968.

The Columbus Crew has a rich history in MLS, having won the MLS Cup in 2008 and reaching the final in 2015. The team has also won the Supporters' Shield, which is awarded to the team with the best regular season record, three times in 2004, 2008, and 2009.

The team's colors are black and gold, and its logo features a stylized representation of the state of Ohio with a soccer ball in the center. The team's mascot is a yellow canary named "Crew Cat."

The Columbus Crew has a passionate fan base known as the "Nordecke," which is a section of the stadium where the team's most vocal supporters gather to cheer on the team. The team's supporters also have a number of traditions, including singing "Glory to Columbus" after every goal scored by the team.

Overall, the Columbus Crew is a respected and successful team in MLS, with a dedicated fan base and a history of winning.