The Columbus Crew: The Platonic Ideal of What MLS Should Be | OneFootball

The Columbus Crew were first in many things within the world of MLS. From building stadiums to player transfers to becoming a symbol of American soccer, Columbus and their “Crew” have defined what the path of all MLS teams should be.

When MLS announced Columbus as one of its 10 founding cities, it raised a few eyebrows.

Columbus? In Ohio? A small market with no major pro sports teams, Columbus wasn’t even a host city for the 1994 World Cup. What soccer prospects would a team have? All were valid questions, but they were quickly laid to rest as the team began taking shape.

Lamar Hunt and his son Clark became the owners of the Columbus Crew, and while the Hunts always had big dreams for their other MLS team — the Kansas City Wizards — it was their “small” market Crew that would show soccer’s true potential in the United States.

The Crew made a massive statement early for MLS. In 1996, the team opened to a roaring and energetic crowd of 25,266 at the now infamous Ohio Stadium, known for its narrow playing field. The Crew defeated the first-ever MLS champions DC United 4-0 and boasted 10,000 season ticket deposits.

The team also went out of its way to sign interesting players: South African playmaker Doctor Khumalo, Uruguayan forward Adrian Paz, Polish midfielder Robert Warzycha, and on the American front, the club drafted a young up-and-coming striker who had a rough time in Germany with Wolfsburg, Brian McBride. U.S. men’s national team legend Paul Caligiuri and young midfielder Brian Maisonneuve also featured on the Crew’s initial roster.

Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Allsport

By all means, it was a very competitive team. Despite a 20-match stretch in which they won just two games, the Crew finished strong, winning nine of their last 10 to sneak into the first ever MLS Playoffs. The club also brought in American goalkeeper Brad Friedel near midseason, and played to an average attendance of 19,058.

In their first four seasons, the Crew made the conference finals three times. While it was frustrating to watch their MLS Cup dreams be dashed by DC United or Tampa Bay Mutiny, time would eventually set things right for the Crew.

Staying the Course

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The Crew never forgot who they were. Through various owners, the team had created an identity as a hardworking squad, and their crest for many years featured three construction workers.

That identity connected with a fanbase yearning for a major sports team in small-market Columbus.

Any MLS aficionado knows the story by now: in 30 years, the Crew have won three MLS Cups — two in the last five years — in addition to a U.S. Open Cup, three Supporters’ Shields, and two international titles in the Campeones Cup and last season’s Leagues Cup.

Their accomplishments go back to 2002, and the team has stayed relevant through all MLS eras. The key to that has been “playing the game,” and no team has done that better than the Columbus Crew.

Stern John of Nottingham Forest. Photo by Jamie McDonald /Allsport

The Crew were the first MLS team to make a high-profile transfer. For peanuts by today’s standards but still impressive, in 1997 they sold Friedel to Liverpool of the Premier League. A few years later, Trinidadian striker Stern John, one of the most lethal finishers in MLS history, was sold to Nottingham Forest. Two players in two different positions sold to England in less than five years. A feat that wasn’t talked about much in 1999 but deserves mention today, as selling players to Europe is not as new as MLS executives often suggest.

That tradition has carried on, with sales like McBride to Fulham, Giancarlo González to Palermo, Zack Steffen to Manchester City, and most recently, the Crew’s largest outbound transfer of $16 million for Colombian striker Cucho Hernández to Real Betis.

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The club never sat idly as star players left; they continued to roll the dice on many others over the years, including Diego Rossi, Lucas Zelarayán, Darlington Nagbe, Federico Higuaín, and perhaps the greatest player to ever play for the club, Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

The team has been a healthy revolving door of talented players and from day one established that it could be a launching pad to bigger and better things.

The Crew have made the postseason in 18 of MLS’s 29 seasons and, despite a relative down year in 2025 thus far, are still positioned to once again qualify for the playoffs.

If You Build It, They Will Come

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Aside from the early success both on the pitch and within the Columbus community, the Crew were trailblazers on the stadium front as well. Through the first three MLS seasons, all 12 clubs played in stadiums originally built for other sports. In 1999, funded by Lamar Hunt, the Crew took a massive gamble by opening the first soccer-specific stadium in the league, which has since set a trend across all of MLS.

A modest stadium by today’s standards, the ground would become the unofficial home of the USMNT due to the strong soccer fandom the Crew were able to generate. It also became the Dos a Cero capital, with the U.S. men defeating Mexico by a 2-0 score four times across four World Cup qualifying cycles.

Eventually, the team built a newer and better home in Lower.com Field, which hosted the 2023 MLS Cup Final and 2024 MLS All-Star Game.

Save the Crew

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As the Crew steadily built a meaningful legacy in MLS, everything was suddenly at risk. In late 2017, then-owner Anthony Precourt revealed plans to relocate the team to Austin, Texas. The news blindsided fans, many of whom believed that the club’s rich history would compel the league to intervene and protect one of its founding franchises.

Instead, MLS stood by Precourt. Behind the scenes, league executives quietly diminished the Crew’s value — highlighting poor attendance, pointing to limited sponsorships, and painting a picture of a failing market. To many, it felt like the league was laying the groundwork for the team’s departure.

In response, supporters launched the now-iconic #SaveTheCrew movement — a passionate grassroots campaign powered by protests, fundraisers, legal strategies, and political outreach. It quickly gained national attention and rallied support from across the American soccer landscape.

Fans’ frustration with Precourt grew into outright anger, seeing his actions as a betrayal. Their discontent also extended to MLS commissioner Don Garber, who many felt had enabled the move and turned his back on loyal supporters in favor of shiny new expansion markets.

Against the odds, the movement succeeded. In 2018, a new ownership group — led by the Haslam and Edwards families — stepped in, purchasing the club and keeping it rooted in Columbus. Precourt went on to launch Austin FC, while the Crew remained in Ohio, capturing a pair of MLS Cups in 2020 and 2023.

When the Crew hoisted their most recent league title and Garber took the stage to present the trophy, he was met with boos louder than any celebration. In Columbus, the commissioner remains persona non grata — a symbol of the league’s attempt to erase a club the city refused to let go.

The Best Team in the League

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Today, the Crew are without question one of the best-run teams in MLS both on and off the field. Under Wilfried Nancy, the Crew is, to many, the best team in the league in terms of fluid play.

The club still has an array of talented internationals, most recently signing striker Wessam Abou Ali, and continues to have a meaningful place for American soccer players. Unlike much of the league, which has been flooded with foreign talent, Patrick Schulte and Maximilian Arfsten continue the Crew’s long tradition of USMNT contributors.

Aidan Morris can also be indirectly added to the list, being the latest U.S. national team player to find a home in England through a transfer to Middlesbrough.

In 30 years, the Columbus Crew have survived many obstacles. Being a small-market team, they saw direct rivals Tampa Bay Mutiny fold. Early powerhouse DC United crumbled. Expansion “flavors of the week” like Atlanta United and LAFC have been up and down. And now, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami cast a massive shadow over the rest of the league.

Still, the Crew persist. The little team that could, known for its hard work, has seen success in every era of MLS. It’s a franchise of consistency, something rare in the league, and it’s truly a model club that all MLS teams should aspire to be.