Supporters Summit Brings Groups Together

After tonight's Supporters Summit at The CCS, a new optimism for the Nordecke is spreading throughout the three main Crew supporters' groups. Supporters from Crew Supporters Union, Hudson Street Hooligans were present in the Huntington Club to listen to coach Sigi Schmid, Chris Keeney, Assistant Coach and Spanish Radio Broadcaster Eddie Carvacho, and assorted players including Frankie Hejduk, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Danny O'Rourke, and Alejandro Moreno. The main message of all of the Crew representatives was to reiterate the importance of the Nordecke to the team morale and the overall Stadium atmosphere at The CCS. Alternating between English and Spanish, Crew Frontman Alejandro Moreno stressed the importance of unity in the Supporters Groups. Moreno wanted to stress that rather than worrying about which group you are a part of, it is more important to remember that you are all cheering for the same team and the same goals. To quote "Malibu's Most Wanted" character Gov. Bill Gluckman's campaign ad, 'Instead of worrying what sect your in, or what crew your rollin' with, why can't you just be brothers?"

Coach Sigi Schmid told stories of his youth attending games in the Bundesliga and how the supporters of the club form the backbone of the crowd and how important it is to have a vocal cheering section in the home ground. Coach Schmid also said that the current atmosphere in The CCS is by far the strongest and most supportive since he has been coming to games in Columbus as far back as 1999. Schmid wants the Supporter's Groups to know that the unity in the section created by the building of the infamous stage in the North End has made a huge difference in the intensity and the overall noise level of The CCS.

After listening to the various speakers praise diversity and unity for the Nordecke, members of the various Supporters Groups got to ask questions of the panel. Concerns of banner placement, safety of families in the Nordecke were discussed. Keeney told the group that additional uniformed security will be added to the Nordecke to make sure that everyone is able to enjoy a safe atmosphere at The CCS. On a slightly lighter question, a fan asked GBS how he keeps his sleeves rolled up. (Rubber Bands) It was also revealed that former Crewman Dante Washington will be joining the Hudson Street Hooligans at Ruby Tuesday's before thursdays game and will take part in the walk over to the stadium.

Questions were also asked about the overall Team Fitness. Sigi Schmid revealed that Eddie Gaven and Ezra Henderson are close to returning to action for The Crew. Gaven is unlikely to play until after West Ham, but by the way Sigi talked it sounded as if Ezra is closer to returning. There was no mention or question about the mystery Nigerian striker thought to be joining The Crew in the near future.

At the end of the proceedings, Chris Keeney rewarded the loyal fans who attended the summit with FREE TICKETS to the game on Thursday. Keeney also offered extra tickets to people as long as they promised the extra tickets would be used to add to the Nordecke. This generous gesture was definitely appreciated by the fans and allowed me to use my ticket money on a White Castle run :) Overall, the Supporters Summit helped CSU, HSH, and LTA come to a common ground. It doesn't matter what our different backgrounds and groups are, because we are all Columbus fans and that is what really matters.