Ten years ago, Major League Soccer had 10 teams -- and no stadiums to call its own. That would all change on May 15, 1999, when Columbus Crew Stadium opened.
The Crew came off a seven-game road trip while waiting for the stadium to open in first place of the Eastern Conference with a 5-2 record. But they lost star forward Brian McBride to a fractured cheekbone in the previous match.
Jeff Cunningham started for McBride and scored the historic first goal in Crew Stadium and he later assisted on Stern John's score for a 2-0 victory against the New England Revolution.
"The atmosphere was electric. It was awesome," said Crew assistant coach Mike Lapper, a starter for Columbus in the game. "When you have the anticipation and the hype and the buildup it seemed like it took forever and being on the road was tough.
"When it finally got here it was like, 'Soccer's here.' That put a stamp on soccer in the United States -- a soccer-specific stadium and a packed house."
The Crew starters were: Mark Dougherty in goal; defenders Lapper, Mike Clark and Thomas Dooley; midfielders Matt Kmosko, Todd Yeagley, Andy Williams, Brian Maisonneuve and Billy Thompson; forwards Cunningham and John. Current Crew head coach Robert Warzycha, forward Jason Farrell and defender Ansil Elcock were the substitutes.
Crew Stadium hosted a game for the U.S. under-17 national team that featured Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley a week later in the first of many international matches.
The most famous was La Guerra Fria (The Cold War) on Feb. 28, 2001 when the U.S. chilled Mexico 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier in sub-freezing weather before 24,624 fanatics.
U.S. Soccer has returned twice to play Mexico and won 2-0 each time, most recently on Feb. 11.
Other major soccer matches have included the 2001 MLS Cup won by San Jose in an overtime thriller against LA; MLS All-Star Games in 2000 and 2005; the 2003 Women's World Cup; two NCAA College Cups and a pair of U.S. Open Cup finals, including 2002 when the Crew downed the Galaxy 1-0 for its first title.
A long list of memorable games have been played in Crew Stadium beginning with the trio of Mexico matches and the first conference championship last November when the Crew beat Chicago to advance to their first MLS Cup where they defeated New York.
A fan favorite was May 19, 2001, in Greg Andrulis' first match, having replaced Tom Fitzgerald. The Crew played down two players for the final 31 minutes against D.C. United but managed a 2-1 victory when a John Harkes corner kick connected with Cunningham in the ninth minute of overtime.
Another memorable ending came Sept. 10, 2002 in an Open Cup semifinal vs. Kansas City. The Crew trailed 2-0 before Edson Buddle scored in the 76th minute to half the deficit. John Wilmar Perez came off the bench for the equalizer in the second minute of stoppage time and scored the winner in the 18th minute of overtime.
There will be no overtime Saturday when the Kansas City Wizards and the Crew meet in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the opening of Crew Stadium. It's debatable whether that's good or bad for the Crew, who in compiling a 0-2-5 record have seen second-half leads turn to draws four times and have been level after 90 minutes in three consecutive games.
Who knows? Another unforgettable match in Crew Stadium could be in the making.
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
