The Columbus Crew’s 3-0 opening day derailment of the trainwreck known as Chivas USA was enjoyable in its own right. Three points and three spectacular goals are what any fan hopes for on the best of days, much less in the very first game following the four-month void of the offseason. But lurking beneath the celebratory surface were deeper reminders of recent Crew glory.
There were a number of eerie parallels between Saturday’s victory and the win that put the 2008 Crew on the road to their most Massive triumph at MLS Cup. Five years ago, the Crew talked big about the team they had assembled, despite narrowly missing the playoffs the year before. The rampant optimism drew snickers from outside Black & Gold Blvd, as nobody predicted the Crew to amount to much of anything. They were considered a borderline playoff team at best. This year, Crew president and GM Mark McCullers has publicly stated that this year’s team can win the Eastern Conference and possibly even host MLS Cup. Once again, the national punditry has predicted this year’s Crew to be a borderline playoff possibility, with most having them narrowly missing the mark.
And that’s just the start. Consider:
* In both years, the Crew had an Argentine import who scored five goals in a partial season and would be expected to deliver greater success in his first full campaign. What was once Guillermo Barros Schelotto is now Federico Higuain.
* The Crew opened both seasons with a multi-goal shutout win over a league laughingstock. Back in 2008, it was a 2-0 home victory over Toronto FC. Both wins were tempered with a heavy dose of, “Yeah, that was fun, but it was only against (laughingstock.)”
* The first goal of each campaign was an eye-popping strike from distance. Higuain’s long-range laser off the post was preceded by Adam Moffat’s very first Moffat Rocket.
* A Crew goalkeeper came up huge at an important stage of each game. On Saturday, Andy Gruenebaum batted away a Chivas three-on-the-goalie jailbreak to keep the game scoreless after a deep turnover. Five years earlier, William Hesmer saved a penalty kick that would have tied the game right before halftime. Adding to the parallel, in each case it was Crew stalwart Danny O’Rourke who would owe his goalkeeper a favor.
* A key hustle play had an enormous impact on the scoreboard. In 2008, it was Moffat keeping the score 1-0 by crashing the box to clear the penalty kick rebound before Toronto could knock it into the net. In 2013, newcomer Agustin Viana sold out his body on a sliding tackle to keep the ball in the Chivas end of the field. Four passes later, Higuain put the ball in the back of the net to make it 1-0 Crew.
* Each game had a Crew goalscorer who once called Cleveland State University’s Krenzer Field home. Moffat played for the minor league Cleveland City Stars, while current Crew defender Josh Williams is a former CSU Viking.
* The Crew got a breakaway goal from a foreign player who was well-traveled within the league. Alejandro Moreno, the savvy workhorse Venezuelan on his fourth MLS team, slotted his breakaway into the side netting five years ago, whereas Dominic Oduro, the speedy Ghanaian on his fifth MLS team, iced Saturday’s win with a preposterous 75-yard streak that also saw him dribble the goalkeeper before depositing the ball into the empty net.
* Chad Marshall, Eddie Gaven, and Danny O'Rourke were key components of the 2008 MLS Cup championship team. They started against Toronto in 2008 and against Chivas in 2013. (In goal, Gruenebaum was Hesmer's backup in 2008.)
* Five years ago, the Crew had to contend with approximately 2,000 fans of the opposing team. Announced attendance be damned, the same thing happened on Saturday. Except Chivas was at home. But whatever.
All of this is not to say that the 2013 Crew are on their way to MLS Cup glory, or even that Saturday's performance was MLS Cup worthy in and of itself. This was just the first page of a lengthy script. There are many twists in turns to come in the remaining pages. The ultimate outcome could fall anywhere on the spectrum between delirium and despondency. As we learned in 2008, so many things have to go exactly right in order to win a championship. It would be ridiculous and presumptuous to start dreaming of MLS Cup 2013 after just one game. Then again, it also would have been equally ridiculous and presumptuous to do so in 2008.
A lifetime of Cleveland sports fandom has taught me to always assume the worst. So even though it was just one game, I enjoyed all of the subtle parallels between the 2013 opener and humble beginnings of 2008-- the one time in my sports fan life where the good guys came out of nowhere and “next year” finally arrived.
