Nuke Soccer

By Ben Knight Globe & Mail On Soccer

Knight: ‘Oh, Danny Dichio!’
Columbus Part 3

Stairs, stairs, stairs – green.

It doesn’t matter how many arenas and stadiums I visit. That first sighting of the playing surface is always a thrill.

Old Wembley, Yankee Stadium, Maple Leaf Gardens when I was a kid, Plough Lane, Wimbledon back in ’72, the Montreal Forum, endless little lacrosse barns all over everywhere – the thrill may differ in intensity, but is essentially always the same.

Crew Stadium, Columbus, is a pure case of function over form. There are no frills, no adornments. The grandstands are graceful, and the field sparkles lush, emerald green as the late afternoon sun burns off the clinging, end-of-winter damp.

I’m in the front row, above and just left of the south goal. But there’ll be no sitting this afternoon.

It just isn’t possible. The seats, metal benches running the width of the pitch and then some, are set back about three feet from the railing. If you try to sit, your view will be utterly blocked. Fans are pouring in from all angles, filling every empty, unclaimed spot. It takes a couple of minutes, but I’m eventually able to claim my piece of railing, sliding in sideways at first, then widening the gap with judicious, unapologetic shoulder turns.

On the pitch, Toronto FC players are out warming up. Stretching, light sprints, shooting drills. Danny Dichio is conspicuously wearing a heavy gray tracksuit. The rumours are true. The fan favourite will not be starting this game.

But still the fans sing his name. “Oh, Danny Dichio!”

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