Columbus Crew

About Columbus Crew

The Columbus Crew is a professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio that participates in Major League Soccer. The club was owned by Lamar Hunt, who also owned the Kansas City Chiefs and FC Dallas until his 2006 death, upon which his son, Clark, took over his sports properties. The Crew currently play their home games at Columbus Crew Stadium, the first MLS soccer-specific stadium. From 1996–1999, the Crew played their home games at Ohio Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. The name "The Crew" is the result of a local fan contest and refers to Columbus' blue collar community. The team colors are black and gold. The team mascot is Crew Cat.

The Crew has won one tournament to date, the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, defeating the 2002 MLS Cup and Supporter's Shield winner Los Angeles Galaxy 1–0. The club has reached one other final, the 1998 Open Cup, which was postponed due to a hurricane and controversially relocated from Virginia Beach to Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Fire, who won the match in overtime 2–1. That is not the only championship the team has won, as they also won the 2004 Supporter's Shield for having the best record over the course of the regular season.

The team has 3 major support groups: "La Turbina", "Hudson Street Hooligans" and "Crew Supporters Union". These three supporters groups sit together in a section in the northeast corner of Crew Stadium, known as the Nordecke. Nordecke (pronounced Nord-eck-uh), which is German for North Corner, is a tribute to the German heritage of Columbus.