How can you not love a night dedicated to honoring The Dude? The guy who captained the 2008 Massive Champions? The guy who loaned his MLS Cup championship ring to an injured fan? The guy for whom the club basically invented a job whereby he just gets to run around town being himself, thereby making people excited about Columbus Crew SC?
You can read my Dude of Honor edition of Sirk’s Notebook for a full look back at that night. But for those just passing through the article, I will end this section with some words from his halftime speech:
“My family always made me feel, even in times where things went wrong, that I was better than I was. You guys made me feel the same way here in Columbus. Even when I had those games where everyone was like, 'Frankie, whoa, what the heck is he doing?', you guys stood behind me if times were good and if times were bad. And that's what a family does—they stick together. I'm so honored, so privileged, to be a part of this community, to be a part of this city, to be a part of this club.”
