JOURNALING: 3/2/19, on a nearly freezing afternoon, a new era began for Columbus CrewSC at Mapfre Stadium. It was fun to see former mascot "Crew Cat" back cheering on the faithful in the sold-out Nordecke section. Crew Cat had been retired and replaced by his son "SC" when former owner, "he-who-shall-nevermore-be-named," took over the team. Now, both "cats" will roam the "erector set" stadium until the new one is built. The new owners, featuring Dr. Pete Edwards and Dee Haslem, were formally introduced to raucous cheering from the near-capacity crowd of just under 18K prior to kickoff. How fitting was it that defender Gaston Sauro tied the game at 1-1 just before halftime when he headed home a Federico Higuain corner? In 2016, Sauro suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. After experimental surgery in Texas, he returned to the lineup late in the season. But problems developed and it was Dr. Edwards who took over Sauro's 19 month rehabilitation and, against steep odds, got the Argentinian back on the pitch. THANKS DOC, FOR EVERYTHING.
CREDITS: PHOTOS: mascot pic from Crew website; other photos by me; TEMPLATE: "Template Challenge March 2019" - Southern Creek Designs; KIT: "Soccer Goals" - FranB Designs (I made the little Crew player element out of pieces from the kit); FONT: Myriad Pro
