With their figurative fingers to the pulse of all-things Columbus entertainment within their weekly magazine pages and online, Columbus Alive circulates 35,000 magazines throughout Central Ohio. This week's cover — and four separate stories within — cover the Black & Gold's 2017 Major League Soccer regular season kickoff on Saturday against the Chicago Fire at MAPFRE Stadium, presented by MAPFRE Insurance.
Editor Andy Downing dives into the international influence of Crew SC's four Ghanian defenders: Designated Player Jonathan Mensah, Harrison Afful, newcomer Mohammed Abu and 2017 MLS SuperDraft selection Lalas Abubakar. Downing points to the cultural connections between players and City:
But even this distance hasn't stopped the four defenders from injecting the Crew SC with a spirit for the game that they've seemingly carried in their bones from birth, nurtured by a nation where football is life.
Check out the full Crew Season Preview: Global Crew here, and enjoy the cover art showing off the foursome in Crew SC's highly acclaimed 2017 Gold primary jerseys.
The magazine also explores 17 Questions For 2017, Seven Game-Day Bars to Catch Crew SC and Assistant Editor Jim Fisher speaks local contractor and Crew SC supporter Blake Compton to break down the aptly named Blake Compton Dreams Up New Crew SC Stadium Sites.
The 2017 Major League Soccer and Crew SC regular season opens on March 4 against the Chicago Fire at MAPFRE Stadium, presented by MAPFRE Insurance. The full Crew SC preseason and regular schedule can be downloaded and synced on iOS and Android devices.
MAPFRE Stadium's gates will open at 12:30 p.m. ET for Saturday's 2 p.m. ET kickoff. The first 10,000 supporters in the gates will receive a free MAPFRE Insurance Crew SC key chain, and Saturday will be the general public's first chance to purchase the club's new 2017 Primary Jersey (while limited supplies last).
