So this is how the munchkins felt when Dorothy's house plopped down on the Wicked Witch of the East.
With the Supporters' Shield already in hand and a celebration already planned, the Columbus Crew liberated their fans from a decade of tyranny by defeating D.C. United, 1-0, thereby terminating the playoff hopes of the Crew's longtime nemesis. A 0-0 draw would have knocked United out just the same, but the clamor in the stands made it known that the fans wanted to send their traditional tormentors home as losers. In the 77th minute, Brad Evans obliged with a 30-yard left-footed dagger that kissed the post, hit the net, and mortally pierced the black heart of the Imperial Eagle. From that moment until the final whistle, gleeful chants of "no-more-play-offs!" rained down upon the villainous visitors.
In many ways, it was a game that meant more to the fans than the players. That's not a knock on the guys, but none of them were around when United defeated the Crew in three consecutive conference finals. Those were epic Good versus Evil battles, with the low-key Crew taking on the arrogant and antagonistic army from the Mid-Atlantic. And each year, Evil's triumph was more painful than the year before. Now, a decade later, the shoe was finally on the other foot. And the other foot was finally doing the booting from the MLS Cup party.
"Fans' memories are longer than players' and coaches' memories are," said Crew coach Sigi Schmid, about ending United's season. "For sure, I think the fans were pleased with that. I know our ownership was very happy with it because there is a history with D.C., when Columbus had those very talented teams with McBride, Warzycha, Stern John, and all those people, and D.C. kept knocking them off. Is it payback? No, because it's a different era. But it's certainly something that our guys know about."
And the Crew pulled out all the stops. They even eschewed the usual banana kit in favor of their black alternates, thereby depriving United of their traditionally malevolent black uniforms. It was a subtle gesture appreciated by many. And of course, the Crew were presented with the Supporters' Shield, which had been won by United the two previous seasons. The pregame ceremony, in which the trophy was transferred to members of Crew Union, Hudson Street Hooligans, and La Turbina Amarilla, was another pleasant reminder of where the teams currently stood.
Two hours later, after the sun had set on both Crew Stadium and United's season, the team sponsored by Das Auto got on Das Bus to Das Airport and flew in Das Airplane back to Das Capital where they cleaned out Das Lockers and made Das Tee Times at Das Golf Course. For anyone who worked, played, or cheered for the Crew in the late 1990s, United's solemn postgame trudge-off was a sight to behold. Nearly a decade after repeatedly bearing the brunt of a seltzer bottle to the face, Crewville finally got to laugh at D.C. United as they slipped on a Massive Banana peel.
Schadenfreude is a curious thing in sports. After staking out a good spot in the field to watch the Nordecke officially present the Supporters' Shield to the Crew, I almost abandoned my spot to return to the tunnel. I wanted to observe Crew fans finally getting their chance to meaningfully taunt United's players, especially holdovers like Jaime Moreno and Ben Olsen. I thought it would make good Notebook material.
But then I realized it was stupid. The 2008 Columbus Crew worked too hard and did too well for me to be distracted by D.C.'s demise. It would have been disrespectful to ignore the current team's accomplishments in favor of overhearing a few choice taunts directed at last decade's news. So I stayed put.
As karmic repayment, my friend Mateo later rewarded my decision by sharing this gem he unfurled as the white-clad United players shamefully slunk away...
"We took your colors. We took your Shield. Now get the (bleep) out!"
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In the northeast corner of the stadium, a 1,500-strong teeming mass of black & gold awaited the Supporters' Shield winners as they made their way across the pitch for the official presentation. The scene was raucous, deafening, and utterly surreal.
I turned to Crew President & GM Mark McCullers and said that if someone had described this scene to me on March 29, I wouldn't have believed a word of it.
"Me neither," he laughed. (More on that later.)
Soon, my slack-jawed amazement was disrupted by a bear hug from behind. It was Notebook Hall of Famer Dante Washington, who was giddily caught up in the moment. He was so excited, you'd think he was still playing.
Once the team ascended to the stage, the events became a blur. The fans sang Alejandro Moreno's name, bowed for team MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto, and chanted "We are massive." Frankie Hejduk and Duncan Oughton, heart & soul, kissed the Supporters' Shield and held it high. Pirate Padula, Old Man Ezra, and Danny O took their turns. The fans chanted "Sigi! Sigi! Sigi!" until the Crew's coach made his way up to the stage and received a thunderous ovation. Sigi has never been accused of being the cuddly, emotional type, but he was clearly moved by the occasion. And when the Nordecke chanted "we're not done yet," they were joined in full voice by none other than Crew owner Clark Hunt.
Not since the birth of the Dawg Pound in the mid-80s have I witnessed such a powerful and organic bond form between the fans and a team. That's not to say that the fans of other teams and other sports don't support their teams, or that players from other teams or other sports don't appreciate their fans, but the relationship between the Nordecke and the 2008 Columbus Crew has taken on a special quality that has brought out the best in both. Neither group quits working for the other.
Once the party moved inside to the locker room, it wasn't as crazy as one might expect. Then again, the silver "V" of the Supporters' Shield isn't exactly as conducive to celebratory drinking as, say, the Stanley Cup. Rather, the team seemed content to ride the buzz from the Nordecke celebration, knowing they had to get back to work the next day.
I will now get out of the way and let Sigi and the players reflect on the emotional presentation in the corner...
Head coach and scarf-wearing reconstruction architect Sigi Schmid:
"It takes a lot to make me emotional, but that was great to see. The Nordecke and the support that we've received all season... You guys that have been around a long time, like Merz, who's been here from the first season... I don't think it's ever been like that, with the emotion and the passion in that corner. And we don't want to ignore the other fans and season-ticket holders that have supported us. One guy came up to me and said he drives up from Kentucky each game, so we don't want to forget those people either. But this was the culmination of a great season.
"It's...it's...really, really believe me...it's...I never try to compare things...it's a little bit like how I felt when I won my first NCAA title with UCLA. I played in three Final Fours and came up short each time, so to win it after rebuilding that program...they weren't even a playoff team when I took them over and then to get them to that stage, that was pretty emotional. Then tonight, when they were chanting and shouting and we were given the Supporters' Shield, and it's like, you know, we've come a long way. We've come a long way, but the real tribute goes to the players. They are the ones who believed and they are the ones who put in the work all the time.
"As a coach, your job is to create an environment where the players can flourish. That's what we've always tried to do. I was talking to (United coach) Tommy Soehn before the game and he said he had six or seven guys out with injuries, and I said, 'I remember my first year here, and we had like nine or 10 guys out with injuries.' It makes you realize how hard it was. So I appreciate the patience of the Hunt organization in allowing us to do this, and I think we have given the city of Columbus a great reward in how the players have matured and grown together. It's a tribute to them."
Indefatigable team heartbeat and captain, Frankie Hejduk:
"We play the way our fans are - with passion, energy, emotion and offensiveness. That's how we've been doing it all year, and it's great. Tonight, we were feeling their love and they were feeling our love. The atmosphere that they produce makes us play better. They bring a lot of energy to our locker room before the game, during the game and after the game.
"Nobody could have predicted this. Nobody can predict that type of energy. And it's positive energy, and I think it's been growing bigger and bigger as the season has gone along. Who knows what it could be like five years from now. They've brought a buzz to our locker room and to the fans in the rest of the stadium. They've made a difference in the way we play and the way other teams come into this stadium. It was no secret around the league that this was a visitor-friendly stadium. It's not that way anymore. Other teams know that when they play us, they have to play against 12 men.
"This is the best moment since I've been here. I can't speak for Duncan or Chad, but it's not too hard to figure out for me. The season we've had, the locker room and the fans... It's all been second to none. We still have a job to do, but it's good to carry this momentum into the playoffs. We hope to celebrate with a different cup in a few weeks. We have to take it one game at a time, but it would be a pretty huge celebration if we were to bring the other one back."
Longest-tenured vet and soul of the Crew, Duncan Oughton:
"As long as I've been here, it makes it all the sweeter. The fans deserved this because they have been great all year, and as cliché as it is, they have been our 12th man. Their group has been swelling in size as the year has gone on, but the core of them has been there all year. It was nice to share that with them. It was a special moment and I will always remember it. Winning the Open Cup in 2002 was great, and the 2004 season was very nice... This is definitely up there, but playing alongside Dante Washington many years ago was a very special memory that can never be topped."
(Dante, who was listening in right next to me, then stood on the bench in front of Schelotto's locker and did the Nordecke's "Guillermo" bow at Duncan.)
Goose egg collecting Goalkeeper of the Year candidate Will "William" Hesmer:
"It was awesome. I have never really been that close to the corner. I don't get to score any goals like the New York keeper, so I never get to run over there to celebrate. I never get to go in there, but to be that close tonight, and to feel that passion, it was inspiring.
"Tonight was great as long as nobody lets complacency set in. But I think it's good if guys are thinking, 'Man, that was cool, and I will do whatever it takes to do that again on a bigger stage in Los Angeles.'"
United-slaying midfielder and mid-season revelation Brad Evans:
"I've never experienced anything like that. UC Irvine doesn't exactly get the biggest crowds. It was great to be a part of it. This is only my second year, so hopefully there is more of that to come in the years to come."
Crew Swiss Army defender and local-meathead-done-good, Danny O'Rourke:
"It was awesome. Getting up on that podium and chanting and jumping up and down with the fans, it was the perfect way to end the regular season and to start the fun of the playoffs. I don't think we're going to need any extra motivation. We're already pumped."
The invaluably invisible Brian "BC" Carroll, who has stealthily anchored the midfield for three consecutive Shield winners:
"It was awesome. Being able to celebrate the Supporters' Shield in the corner with the fans was amazing. The passion, the energy, and the fire that they bring really helps us out. D.C. has some great fans too, but we never had a ceremony like this. The way our fans were able to present us with the trophy this year was really special and it was a great sight to see. It lets you envision, and it whets your appetite to do it again at the MLS Cup final. We were able to attain this goal, and now it's right on to work toward the next one."
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As I left the locker room, I flagged down Mark McCullers to follow up on our ultra-brief exchange on the field. I asked him what was going through his mind as he watched the Supporters' Shield presentation at the Nordecke.
"The word that comes to mind is pride," he said. "I am just so proud to be a part of that. I have to say that it was one of the proudest moments of my professional career. Like Sigi said, it's an emotional moment. To see the passion of the fans, it's a feeling you can't describe. It's why we're all in this business. It's what we all work for."
I then asked Mark to expound on our exchange about how neither of us would have believed tonight's postgame scene if someone from the future had told us about it on March 29.
"There's just no way," he said. "I would love to be able to say that it was exactly like we wrote the script, but everybody would know I was not being honest. It just all came together. One of the things we did talk about at the beginning of the year was becoming closer as a club. We wanted to make sure the competition side of the club and the front office side were working with each other and working for each other. I think that manifested itself on the field, but also off the field. That philosophy also took hold with our fans. They worked hard for us, and the team worked hard for them. But while we had that philosophy, I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined a night like tonight."
Given recent news events, one of the most heartening sights of the night was the presence of Crew owner Clark Hunt. Not only were he and the Hunt family in attendance, but he was delightedly whooping it up on stage with the team. I mentioned that it seemed to carry added weight since Clark isn't nearly as visible to Crew fans as Lamar was during the Crew's formative years.
"To be fair, Clark's situation is much different than Lamar's," McCullers explained. "Clark is overseeing a number of companies, whereas Lamar had the luxury of being able to focus on his love of soccer. Nobody should think for a second that Clark doesn't love soccer or the Crew as much as Lamar did, even if he can't be as visible as Lamar was able to be. Clark loves it. So does Dan, and so does Norma, Lamar's widow, who also was here tonight. They really care about this club and they wouldn't have missed this for the world. They wanted to be a part of it tonight, and to share in the moment, and I certainly can't blame them. What a night."
What a night indeed.
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Postscript: For a wealth of words directly from Clark's mouth, please be sure to check out Shawn Mitchell's "Covering the Crew" blog at Dispatch.com. Shawn has posted the entire transcript of the conversation that he and Michael Arace had with Clark after the postgame ceremony.
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Acknowledgements:
The end of the regular season seems as good a time as any to acknowledge those who have made the 2008 Notebooks possible. The Notebooks are a rather large undertaking, for both writer and reader alike, and one cannot generate as much gibberish as I have this year without the willing or unwitting help of others. It would only be fair to recognize them.
I guess I should start at the beginning, and thank Crew PR Director Dave Stephany and President & GM Mark McCullers for picking the perfect year to bring me back to the organization. It's been great to be "home" again.
Dave has also proven to be an incredibly effective editor and, believe me, I need it sometimes. His suggestions are almost always spot on, except for that one time when his childhood Vermont-Quebec border sensibilities got in the way of a perfectly acceptable word like Canuck. As miraculous as it may seem, it was to be our only content squabble all year. But Dave's attention to detail also spared me a few major blunders, so in the end, I still owe him one. Or more. I should also thank Dave's assistant, the ever-helpful Jason Smith, who is quite possibly the least loathsome Miami RedHawk that this Ohio Bobcat has ever met.
Over the years, I have always maintained that the Notebook would not exist without the help of the players, and that is perfectly true once again. A very special thank you to Duncan Oughton, Danny O'Rourke and Adam Moffat, who have been kind enough to let me bother them whenever the mood strikes, and often play along with whatever stupid idea I have at the time. But it's almost unfair to single anyone out because from top to bottom, this is one of the friendliest and most accessible locker rooms that I have ever seen. As a whole, this team answers intelligent questions honestly, unintelligent questions gracefully, and silly questions with a knowing smile. One of the longstanding goals of the Notebook has been to bring the fans a little closer to the players by spotlighting their personalities and revealing some of the locker room hijinks. If the players lacked personalities or the willingness to show those personalities beyond standard postgame fare, I would be dead in the water. So a big thank you to the guys for trusting me and letting me barge into their world so that I may share slices of it with you.
Like anyone remotely associated with the team side of the operation, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to team administrator Tucker Walther. If the Crew had borrowed the concept of the National Debt Clock and had installed a Tucker Debt Clock upon his arrival in Columbus, it too would need to be replaced because it ran out of digits. His superhuman helpfulness always makes my job easier than it would otherwise be.
It would be borderline criminal not to give a tip of the cap to Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch and Craig Merz of MLSnet.com. Not only are they true professionals who do excellent work, but as friendly and trusted colleagues, they have also directly and indirectly contributed quality material to the Notebooks. Some of it is obvious. I mean, I am convinced that Merz works up Notebook-worthy conversation material in advance of our pregame chats. But some of it is not so obvious, as I have benefited from the abundance of leftover crumbs generated by their more astute observations and interview questions.
Actually, other media members have also been of immense help. Columbus Alive's Chris DeVille seemed to specialize in unearthing absurd Adam Moffat nuggets that I could then explore in more absurdist detail. The Dispatch's Michael Arace deserves thanks, not for causing me to weep in despair over his talent, but for using the polarizing term "Fighting Canaries", which therefore inspired my use of "Massive Bananas." Thanks to radio man Neil Sika for letting me crash in the booth sometimes and, more importantly, for using "Massive Bananas" on the air. Dwight Burgess should be thanked simply for being Dwight Burgess. If you knew him, you would understand, and if you asked him, he would agree.
Notebook Hall of Famers turned broadcasters Dante Washington and Brian Dunseth continue to be valued friends and dependable co-conspirators. And another ex-Crew-man, Nelson Akwari, graciously provided personal updates throughout the Charleston Battery's run to the U.S. Open Cup final, going so far as to send one update from the library after his laptop computer melted down.
And of course, thanks to you for blocking a chunk of time out of your day to read these over-long ramblings after each home game. If you didn't love the Crew enough to wade through all my boundless babbling, the Notebooks wouldn't exist in the first place. Also, special thanks to reader Doug Sershen for letting me crib his goal scoring research for the Crew-Red Bulls Notebook back in September. That was mighty nice of him.
Gosh, I didn't mean to make this sound like an Oscar acceptance speech. And thank goodness it isn't, because the music would have started playing several paragraphs ago. However, as I said, the Notebooks are more than just me, so I wanted to acknowledge those who have made this year's edition possible.
And I wanted to get it out of the way now. The playoffs are no place for such squishy sentiment.
Steve Sirk is a contributor to TheCrew.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs. Questions? Comments? Can't wait until the Crew evens the score by ending United's season is 2009 and 2010 as well? Feel free to write at sirk65@yahoo.com.
