CONCACAF Champions Cup

The Crew plays this Sunday in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, against Deportivo Arabe Unido of Panama. This competition is the premier Club competition in North America and for the first time the Crew gets to play in it, on the basis of their winning the 2002 U.S. Open Cup.

The first leg is in Panama, but the next leg, on March 23rd, is right here - IN COLUMBUS, OHIO! Crew fans - MAKE SURE YOU COME OUT FOR THIS GAME! This is the biggest competition that America's Hardest Working Team has ever been involved in. Judging by the number of folks who showed up to the U.S. Open Cup Final at Crew Stadium, there isn't a heck of a lot of knowledge about such competitions and how important they are. This was obvious when the Crew won its first title ever and only about 6000 folks showed up to watch. It was a good loud crowd, of course, but it also showed how many fair-weather Crew fans there are. It was cold that night but both teams played their hearts out and it was a great result for a deserving team.

This international competition needs to be well-attended. The Revolution, another team involved in the competition, has basically forfeited the first round by opting to play both their home and away legs at their Costa Rican opponents stadium. That's asinine, of course, but if MLS teams don't see that there's a financial benefit to playing these games at home, then they're not going to do it. And international competition is what soccer is all about.