Crew fever hits Columbus as team readies for championship game at home

COLUMBUS — Crew fans are basking in the spotlight as the road to the MLS championship runs through Columbus.

"I woke up this morning and I decided I was wearing black and gold," said longtime Crew fan Evonne Segall. "The bandwagon is getting fuller and there's always room for more. Everybody is welcome on the bandwagon."

The Crew are trying to win its first championship since 2008 and its first in front of its own fans.

"It's fun to have it in Columbus," said Jon Winlend, the general manager of Hendoc's Pub on North High Street, a popular bar for Crew fans. "The atmosphere will be great the whole weekend, the buildup leading into it."

Some fans went to the bar to watch the recording of the latest episode of "The Massive Report", a fan podcast. They said this is the moment they've been waiting years for.

"(I) was walking and three guys in a random car sped up to me and were like, 'we're going to the final'," said Matt Goshert, one of the hosts of the podcast. "I was accosted because I happened to be wearing a Crew jacket."

Crew fans may feel like they deal with the shadow of the Buckeyes, but for one weekend, they'll have the spotlight to themselves.

"We're all Buckeye fans just like we are Crew fans," Winlend said. "Having two teams having the success like our teams have, it's fun to be a Columbus fan."

If the Crew win Sunday, they will become the first Ohio major professional team to win a championship at home since the Reds did it in Cincinnati in 1972.