"So apparently Wil Trapp and Josh Williams came over to the Nordecke to tell #Crew96 fans to stop yelling obscenities at Michael Bradley after the game tonight?" - Patrick Murphy
It takes a lot for players to go off-script. Pre and post-game interviews are inevitably canned comments that we've all heard a thousand times. Even when they are playing in a game they are following orders from one coach or another. Along with that, think about other times in their life where they have to hold their tongue, especially in the social media world.
So when Wil Trapp and Josh Williams - a combined 329 games over 15 years with Columbus as well as sticking with and by the team through the potential move - come over to tell a certain section of the fans to effectively "cool it," you should listen.
NO BRADLEY FANS
My criticisms of Bradley go back almost as long as this site. His play, which can drift from good game to he's not trying today, has brought up my blood pressure many times over the years. It also pokes at my soul that he has more opportunity and safety net because of who his father is. Have you ever thought about how many players in his position have been left off rosters because he is always there regardless of form or overall ability? It bugs me to no end.
Columbus Crew fans dislike of Bradley goes back to when he started with Toronto. Sometime during that season, he made a few passing comments about Columbus that weren't flattering. Last year, as you can see in the video embedded (that, notably, hasn't reached 2k viewers), he took those feelings even further.
Bradley likes to hit a nerve with Crew fans and the fans respond, to a sadly predictable fault.
CREW FAN ODDITIES
This dark feud with Bradley is just one thing you can add to the bizarre list of Crew fan touchstones in recent years that miss the mark entirely and manifested itself in that oddly negative Pulisic USMNT tifo a few years ago (which isn't a comment on the artwork or effort, just the theme) that was in such stark contrast to the much more representative "home" that came before.
All the way from when West Ham visited to McBride going to Chicago to Mendoza to Pedro Santos and everything in between. It's not fun, nor memorable for the right reasons, and often it makes zero sense.
I am a harsh critic of MLS, so it's easy to take this as just another reason to bang on the league - but I do see things creatively going on in place like Portland, Seattle, sometimes KC and even down in Atlanta that hit the mark.
There is an awesome group of fans that regularly attend games and enjoy them. At one point, in the not so distant past, they shared a strong relationship to the Nordecke. As a matter of fact, the early connected earthy feel of the supporters' section was born from the long-time families and friends that attended games around 2008.
The long-time families and friends are still going to games and having a great time. What's changed is the northeast corner. It didn't happen all the sudden, or quickly, but here we are.
When I was a kid there was a mean-spirited saying that went; "You want to be in Ohio when the world ends because it'll take 10 years to get there," which, at the time, referred to trends. Now that I'm living here (and older), I don't hear it. Which is good, because it isn't true for a lot of the state. But I do think about it every once in a while when things like this arise, but I know it's just a handful of voices ruining it for many others.
In a couple years, the new stadium will be built and the nordecke-type experience will be a selling point, but that's about it. The move takes the stadium away from a few areas that fuel that corner of the stadium. It will be more controlled, more corporate, more expensive, more blah - but if it rids the general dark viciousness of a few fans?
Well, I'm sure that more than a few will be okay with that.
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