Did you know that both Impact defender Josh Gardner and Impact director of soccer operations Matt Jordan both played for the Crew during their MLS careers? Of course you did.
Well, in anticipation of this weekend’s third match of the season, here is a top 5 of things you probably didn’t know about the Impact’s next opponent, who also happen to share a heated rivalry - also known as the Trillium Cup - with our next home opponent, Toronto FC.
WATCH the game at one of our pub partners
The Impact-Crew game will be broadcasted live on TVA Sports, at 4pm (ET).
Born in 1996
The Columbus Crew is one of the original ten clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception in 1996. D.C. United, the New England Revolution, the NY/NJ MetroStars, the Tampa Bay Mutiny, the Colorado Rapids, the Dallas Burn, the Kansas City Wiz, the Los Angeles Galaxy and the San Jose Clash were the other original clubs.
Lamar Hunt
The club was owned by Lamar Hunt, who also owned the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City), and the Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) until his death in 2006. The U.S. Open Cup, a knockout tournament in American soccer presently open to all United States Soccer Federation affiliated teams, from amateur adult club teams to the professional clubs of Major League Soccer, was renamed the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open in honour of one the U.S.’s most influential figures in soccer.
First soccer-only stadium
The Crew currently plays its home games at Columbus Crew Stadium. Inaugurated for the 1999 season, it is the first soccer-specific stadium built by an MLS club, with a seating capacity of 20,455. From 1996 to 1998, the Crew played their home games at Ohio Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University.
Proud origins
The nickname "the Crew" is the result of a local fan contest. Prior to the initial MLS season, a citywide public contest was created to decide the name for the team, the very first entry was a hit, and The Columbus Crew was born. The team colors are black and gold. The club badge is unique amongst MLS teams in that it features people - three silhouetted males wearing construction hats beneath a stylized "Crew" word mark – representing the hard-working, blue collar, German origins of the city.
Schelotto, the club's first DP
The 2007 season in Major League Soccer started with news that David Beckham signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy as the league’s first Designated Player. The Crew followed suit by signing its own superstar, Argentinean Guillermo Barros Schelotto, on April 19, 2007. In 2008, the Crew won its first MLS Cup, led by Schelotto’s seven goals and 19 assists, which won him the MLS Most Valuable Player Award that season.
