Off Field
Since its debut on March 31 in Toronto, Robert Warzycha has earned style points among the Black & Gold faithful for the sleek black Adidas jacket he's sported on the touchline. Every time the Crew head coach wears the jacket, tweets begin to roll in from fans asking where they can purchase the latest piece of outerwear in Warzycha's wardrobe.
The bad news for Crew fans: Warzycha's jacket is the only one of its kind that exists.
When I asked Warzycha about the jacket's origins, the Crew head coach replied, "It's one of a kind. I can't say."
To learn more of the jacket's mysterious beginnings, I consulted defending MLS Equipment Manager of the Year Rusty Wummel for answers.
"It's a one of a kind jacket," Wummel explained. "When the whole line changed over, because everything goes through a cycle and it will change over again in the next couple of years, that jacket was a prototype presentation suit jacket to be used for travel, appearances, and also for games."
"Somewhere along the way, that jacket was switched to our yellow hoodie jacket," he continued. "It was a prototype jacket that never made it through production"
The Black & Gold is currently undefeated in the five away matches (Toronto, Portland, San Jose, Seattle, and New England) that Warzycha has worn the jacket. Though Warzycha claims he's not superstitious, he admits he'll have the jacket handy during the summer months when it won't be needed due to the 90 degree temperatures currently blanketing Columbus.
"Some of the guys wear scarves even in the summer," Warzycha said with a laugh. "I'm at least going to have (the jacket) in the locker room."
Whether or not the jacket is responsible for the Crew's success doesn't take away from the jacket's flair.
"Superstition or not, we're doing well as a team right now," Wummel said. "But it is a cool jacket."
Crew fans get ready to "Put out the Fire" not only on the pitch but also on Twitter! Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #VoteCrew to help spread the word and get out and vote for the Black & Gold for MLS All-Star on July 25th in Philadelphia. The Chicago Fire will be using the hashtag #VoteFire during the same time and just before kickoff on Saturday, June 23rd we will calculate the results between the two teams to see who is the winner.
To vote for your favorite players log onto MLSsoccer.com/allstar or text the player’s last name only to 22442.
Twitter Voting for the First XI players to be named MLS All-Stars will run from 12 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 21 through 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, June 22.
The terms for Twitter voting are as follows:
- An eligible vote consists of #MLSAllStar and the player's full name (first and last required), with or without a space.
- A user may vote for multiple players in a tweet; however, a user may not vote for a single player multiple times within one tweet.
- All users must follow @MLS for their votes to be eligible.
The tweet doesn't actually count as a vote, but the hope is that other fans will be encouraged to participate and vote.
Use the button below to tweet your support!
Robert Warzycha gave the Crew a break on Thursday and Friday, let's take a look at how some of the players enjoyed their day off with some help from Twitter:
Center back Josh Williams took a drive up I-71 to his hometown of Copley, Ohio to enjoy some downtime:
So good to be back home!!!
— Josh Williams (@josh3williams) May 31, 2012
His partner in central defense Eric Gehrig also made a trip home to Northwest Indiana, or as the locals affectionately call it: "The Region."
Out for lunch with my familyyyyy, maybe some shopping and then hittin Chicago tonight :) #yippeee
— Eric Gehrig (@eGehrig16) May 31, 2012
The pride of New Jersey, Dilly Duka, headed home to the Garden State, but not without a trip to the Big Apple.
NYC twitter.com/D_Duka11/statu…
— Dilly Duka (@D_Duka11) May 31, 2012
With the Memorial Tournament happening this weekend in Columbus, a few members of the team decided to cheer on the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, and Rickie Fowler.
Great day and beautiful weather out at the @MemorialGolf tournament!
— Aaron Schoenfeld (@aaronschoenfeld) May 31, 2012
Representing #crew96 at #Memorial golf tournament. Who will be #massive & win? instagr.am/p/LTU8kCQheT/
— Duncan Oughton (@Oughton8) May 31, 2012
In this edition of Throwback Thursday, we pay homage to the most infamous jersey in US National Team history: the denim kit. Here is Crew assistant coach Mike Lapper's head shot wearing the star-laden uniform. Lapper represented the United States in the 1994 World Cup on home soil.
Justin Meram talks with TheCrew.com about his recent induction into the NJCAA Hall of Fame and his golazo that is up for Goal of the Week:
Good news! Our proposed 100-foot signage marquee is another step closer to reality, after unanimous passage (with conditions) by the City Graphics Commission on Tuesday. The Graphics Commission hears requests for variances, special permits, appeals, graphics plans and certain miscellaneous graphics. The Crew’s proposal, for a cylindrical tower on the North side of Crew Stadium facing I-71, will now be considered by the Ohio Expositions Commission, which manages the State Fairgrounds property on which Crew Stadium is located.
Crew Brand Ambassador Frankie Hejduk joined the Ohio Machine to attempt to break the World Record for largest lacrosse game in celebration for Columbus' Bicentennial and the Ohio Machine's inaugural season. The Machine's home opener is Saturday, May 19th 8:00pm at Selby Stadium in Deleware, OH on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University.
Like Brian Bliss and Duncan Oughton, Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer weighed in on his All-Time MLS Best XI. Hesmer deviated from Bliss and Oughton's 3-5-2 formation to go with a 4-1-4-1 look. The veteran 'keeper chose a very American-laden lineup with the exception of Canadian Dwayne De Rosario and former Crew teammate Guillermo Barros Schelotto, check it out:
|
William Hesmer's All-Time MLS XI (4-1-4-1) |
||
|---|---|---|
| GK | Tim Howard | |
| DF | Frankie Hejduk | Bench |
| DF | Carlos Bocanegra | Kasey Keller |
| DF | Chad Marshall | Ryan Nelsen |
| DF | Jeff Agoos | Wade Barrett |
| CDM | Brian Michael Carroll | Marco Etcheverry |
| RW | Landon Donovan | Shalrie Joseph |
| CAM | Dwayne De Rosario |
Brad Davis |
| CAM | Guillermo Barros essssSchelotto | Jaime Moreno |
| LW | Clint Dempsey | Coach: Jeff Cunningham |
| ST | Brian McBride | |
As part of MLS Supporters Week, former MLSers and Crew front office personnel Brian Bliss and Duncan Oughton took the time out of their Monday to choose their All-Time MLS Best XIs. Bliss took the time to list all the candidates he felt were qualified at each position and narrowed the list down one by one. Oughton went the extra mile and included a bench to his list.
Check it out:
|
Brian Bliss' All-Time MLS XI (3-5-2) |
|
|---|---|
| GK | Pat Onstad |
| DF | Marcelo Balboa |
| DF | Robin Fraser |
| DF | Carlos Bocanegra |
| CDM | Pablo Mastroeni |
| RM | Steve Ralston |
| CM | David Beckham |
| CM | Peter Nowak |
| LM | Preki |
| FW | Landon Donovan |
| FW | Brian McBride |
|
Duncan Oughton's All-Time MLS XI (3-5-2) |
||
|---|---|---|
| GK | Brad Friedel | |
| DF | Robin Fraser | Bench |
| DF | Ryan Nelsen (love for a fellow Kiwi) | Tim Howard |
| DF | Frankie Hejduk | Carlos Bocanegra |
| CDM | Peter Nowak | Chris Armas |
| LM | Mark Chung | Ross Paule |
| CM | Marco Etcheverry | Robert Warzycha (or I might lose my job!) |
| RM | Clint Dempsey | Stern John |
| CAM | Guillermo Barros Schelotto | Jeff Cunningham |
| FW | Brian McBride | |
| FW | Jaime Moreno | |
(Note: Oughton only chose ex-MLS players)
Check back TheCrew.com throughout the week for more Crew personalities' All-Time MLS Best XIs.
Several MLSers talk about their favorite player which happens to hold a special place in our hearts, Brian McBride.