For 15 years, North America’s sporting gaze has locked onto Columbus and the home of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew SC.
MAPFRE Stadium — Crew SC’s home and America’s first soccer-specific stadium — has hosted World Cup Qualifiers between the USA and Mexico in every qualification cycle since 2001. For a publicly acclaimed soccer-frenzied media market in the Midwest, a score of reasons originally brought USA-Mexico to MAPFRE Stadium. Variables like the weather, the venue, and — most importantly — the supporters in the stands.
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Crew SC’s impact on the international showdown is obvious, and the impact of the regional rivalry on the Black & Gold — while not always as apparent — is certainly equal. Since its inception in 2006, the Crew SC Academy system has enveloped Columbus’ youth and Crew SC soccer into a cohesive collaboration, with the USA-Mexico showdown taking center stage in their backyard.
Crew SC’s Ben Swanson, Chad Barson and Wil Trapp — all Homegrown Players — have histories with U.S. Soccer's previous visits to MAPFRE Stadium. Both Swanson and Trapp were at the 2013 installment of the USMNT’s Dos A Cero win over Mexico and remember watching the earlier games on TV.
“I just remember it was pretty cool; there’s no other way to describe it,” Swanson, a Grove City native that was just 17-years-old for the game, says. “I was with a bunch of my Crew SC Academy friends in 2013. We all got tickets and we tailgated before the game— I can still remember all the chants and the crowd. The American Outlaws section was crazy.
“It’s always so hyped, and it’s all over this city — there are Dos A Cero shirts sold at HOMAGE and all that. It’s just pretty cool how big it is.”
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Barson, a Lewis Center native, was up close and personal with former Crew SC and USMNT striker Jeff Cunningham during one of the matches as a ball boy and player mascot.
"My old club coach had some connections with U.S. Soccer and through that I had some great experiences with U.S. Soccer when it came to MAPFRE Stadium and Columbus,” Barson says. “I had the opportunity to act as a ball boy with them. I remember tossing the ball with Jeff Cunningham so he could get some touches in. I remember being a part of the international walk out with the American flag and the FIFA flag too. All in all, it's great and I have some good history with U.S. Soccer at MAPFRE Stadium."
Trapp, Crew SC’s first Homegrown Player to become a MLS All-Star, was also at MAPFRE Stadium in 2013. Both Swanson and Trapp experienced the mystery and mythology of Dos A Cero from the stands inside the stadium. In that match — the fourth meeting in Columbus since 2001, with the previous three all ending with identical 2-0 score lines for the Americans — the lore of Dos A Cero was in line until the USMNT earned a penalty kick at the death. Already leading by the familiar 2-0, tradition was swaying on a razor’s edge.
“It was just a ball of emotion wrapped up in a game that had everything you wanted,” Trapp says. “To see MAPFRE Stadium packed with the energy and intensity, for someone that plays there every single week, it was special to see everything come together like that."
In the 94th minute, Clint Dempsey stepped to the penalty spot, shot and fooled the Mexican goalkeeper. But the score didn’t change; Dempsey’s shot soared wide and high. Dos A Cero remained and the legend lived on.
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“Wow, that was one of the best sporting events I’ve ever been to,” Trapp says. “We didn’t sit down for the entire 90 minutes. To see MAPFRE Stadium as full as it was with that electric atmosphere, and then with the two-goal Dos A Cero still showing on the scoreboard in the end. That was just fantastic.”
U.S. Soccer has once again selected MAPFRE Stadium to host Mexico this Friday (7:45 p.m. ET kickoff) for a fifth consecutive time. Swanson already has his ticket and will be cheering from a different perspective than he’s grown accustomed to as a Crew SC player.
“It says a lot about the fans here and Columbus as a whole to host this game,” Swanson says. “It says a lot about what soccer means here in this city and region. The support we give to U.S. Soccer is so special, they always want to play here because the atmosphere is so unique and it helps them win. I expect a great game of soccer, a great crowd and – hopefully another Dos A Cero in a few days.”
The Americans and Mexicans will play each other on the same pitch that Swanson and Trapp call home as Black & Gold will shift to Red, White and Blue for the match, but all eyes will be watching the scoreboard for that familiar final result.
“We are fortunate to host that game,” Trapp says. “It’s the most exciting game that the USA can host and play in, and they always pick MAPFRE Stadium to host it. It’s amazing to see our stadium surrounded by all the intensity – so many fans, so much soccer and so much excitement. It’s all like gasoline on the fire.”
