Hell Is Real
The first installment winds up in a draw.
One of the most fun/emotional soccer games I've been too (I can't remember if it was the first or second Dos-Cero at Crew stadium, that atmosphere rivaled and OSU Football game. I've only been to one of those and am leaning towards the first one, but remember chanting Dos-a-Cero for a lot of the match.)
There was a an incredible amount of tailgating going before the game. Cincinnati fans were fun and respectful. Like the "harshest" thing I recalled being said was "Free Beer!, unless your wear Crew merch then it's $15 dollars." said with a smile.
FCC fans had am impressive loud march into the stadium. I was surprised they didn't look like more fans once they shoe horned into their corner. Once in the stadium the supporters sections were both loud and drum banging cheering constantly going on.
#daytonstrong - there was a moment of silence before the game, and both teams got together to pose for a support of Dayton Shooting survivors and families. Then in the 9th minute it got eerily silent, I asked my buddy what just happened; we looked it up later to see both the supporter groups had a second moment of silence in the 9th minute. Just another reminder that life is so much more important than the sporting distractions we choose to love.
Crew started off the game looking horrible. Fouls all going against them. Some deservingly so; One Crew non-regular starter, Maloney, twice did this two handed shove of an FCC player in the back, causing the Ref to blow his whistle. He would spin around and act all innocent, but the fouls were so bad even the Crew fanatics couldn't condone his bad play. Some were confusing; Artur playing defense got position on an FCC player, who then did this swim move to try and get past him, elbowing Artur just below his eye. Artur was called for the foul then sent to the sidelines to have the blood taken care of. After 23 minutes the Crew was down 0-2.
Food Lion Fans were delirious with Joy. The Banana teams fans stayed loud (unlike say OSU fans who get silent when the team looks like they are going to lose.) Just before Half Crew scored on a penalty kick from Zardes. Crew dominated the 2nd half and able to tie the game up on a rocket shot by Santos.
The last Ten minutes the Crew dominated, and missed 5 golden opportunities to win the game. Columbus fans went home disappointed at the missed chances, while Cincinnati Fans stayed and sang songs at holding on for a tie.
Man if every game was like this I think there would be tremendous support from the fans/community. The normal is (and I'm stereotyping now) rich elitist fans who show up to socialize, and don't really care about the product on the field.
