Morning Afterthoughts: Crew Clinch the Supporter's Shield

The Crew facepalmed the rest of the league on Sunday.

Many times, the best moments in life are the ones that tie together just enough pieces of life to make the event special. The Kodak moment, with sun hitting on your face just at the precise moment that the wind picks up ever so slighty, is often hard to come by, and even harder to script. It's for that reason that the movie industry makes so much money; everyone wants to see the storybook ending, but not everyone gets one.

It's not often that life works out to be poetic. But Sunday afternoon and evening was one of those days for Crew fans. With the exception that the Crew did not defeat arch-rivals Chicago, more than 200 Crew fans witnessed a picture-perfect scene as the Crew drew 2-2 with the Fire to gain one point more than anyone else in Major League Soccer can this year. It is the first time since 2004 that the Crew have gained possession of the honor. The Crew also become the 3rd team in league history to hoist the trophy more than once, joining the L.A. Galaxy as the other two time winner. D.C. United has won it four times.

Even better than that, the Crew are the first multi-time winner of the Supporter's Shield to not have a city name that is commonly abbreviated (unless you listen to Jim Rome).

The Supporter's Shield was won by the Crew's dogged determination, and Guillermo Barros Schelotto's goal proved to be the point-getter the Crew needed to lock up their second piece of hardware this season. Besides the facts that the league's best supporters showed up en masse to see the team clinch the Supporter's Shield, and that the league's probable MVP scored the goal that sewed it up for the Crew, consider these other coincidences that make for interesting thought:

* The Crew beat the current team of Brian McBride, who got to see up close and personal what he's missing by not playing for his old team.

* The only player who could seem to beat the Crew defense today is the guy who leads the team all-time in goals scrored.

* With the Crew's tie, they needed the Houston Dynamo to tie or lose to clinch. The team that helped the Crew to that end? None other than one team more responsible than any other in the league for causing the Crew undue misery over the years: D.C. United.

* The keeper who was bested by the Crew today? Former Crew keeper John Busch.

* The Crew clinched just hours before Columbus Day.

The team played admirably, although at times, it seemed as if they were conserving energy. Both goals conceded to Chicago were soft, but seeing as how Chicago blew some well earned chances, the game probably saw a fair result in the end. Still, both Columbus goals were class, and it looks as though whenever the Crew have their heads in the game, they will not be beaten.

The Supporter's Shield is officially handed over at the Supporter's Summit at MLS Cup every year, but in the spirit of Kodak moments, that game just happens to be against the team that currently holds the trophy, D.C. United. Seeing as how they've already done us one favor, I don't suppose it's too much to ask for them to drop it off early. After all, it's not like they're using it...

Other Notes:

- Me and my brother and my brother's wife all decided to check out the official away game headquarters of the Crew, Brewskie's Sports Bar on Kenny Road. Unfortunately, we picked the one week of the year that the game was on Telefutura, a channel the bar didn't have. Although the game was also carried locally on ONN, the bar did not have that channel either, as it is only available as part of Time Warner's digital package, which the bar did not have. So where did we have to go to watch the game?

Buffalo Wild Wings on Bethel, the former home of the Crew away game viewing parties until the location switched to Brewskie's this season. Yep, seems as though no matter how much things change, they still remain the same. Lesson, as always? Go to Ruby Tuesday's on Summit and 19th for the game.

- Frankie Hejduk gets some international acclaim from this piece in London's Daily Telegraph. The article doesn't seem to think that being an everyman who gets down with his most fervent fans is such a good thing. Then again, maybe the Brits could use a guy like Frankie to qualify for an international qualifier or two...

- Kudos are due and given to Big Soccer and Ruby Tuesdays-frequenter Chris Deville, who aside from being an alright dude, also works for the Columbus Alive newspaper. His employer is pretty high on the Crew this week including stories here, here, here, and...(whew)...here. Also, the print editions of the paper have one Robbie Rogers in full-speed attack on the cover, along with the catchphrase "Massive" in bold. These papers are free, and readily available around Columbus. I grabbed 20 copies...

- Finally, congrats to the Blue Jackets, who won their first game of the season 5-4 on a Rick Nash overtime-winner. Yes, they lost the following night against the Phoenix Coyotes, but the Jackets have a very solid team this year. Should be fun to watch, kinda like the Crew.