COLUMBUS -- The expression "been there, done that" does not apply to the Columbus Crew as they prepare to play host to the Chicago Fire on Thursday in the Eastern Conference Championship.
While it's true the Crew have reached the same spot four times previously and lost them all, never has the charter member played a home match with a chance to advance to the MLS Cup.
"It's huge," Crew general manager Mark McCullers said. "It's what we've been working for, for me, 10 years now. I'm coming up on my 10-year anniversary on Dec. 1. We've put ourselves in the position we've never been in in the club's history."
The Crew made it to the best-of-three Eastern Conference finals three consecutive seasons beginning in 1997, but each time were stopped by D.C. United. The first year, D.C. swept with the clinching game in Ohio Stadium.
In the following two years, the series went the distance and D.C. won both times at RFK Stadium. The Crew was a step from the title match again in 2002 but faced the deciding game at New England. Under the first-to-nine points system in use at the time, the Crew had to beat the Revolution to tie the series at four points to force a mini-game to determine the MLS Cup entry.
It ended in a draw and New England went on to lose the MLS Cup at home to Los Angeles, coached by current Crew boss Sigi Schmid. The Crew are trying to become the first team since the Galaxy to win the Supporters' Shield and the MLS Cup in the same season.
"This is really big for the organization and our fans. They've waited a long time," said midfielder Duncan Oughton, who has been with the Crew since 2001 and is the club's longest-tenured player.
The Crew have made an emphasis in making their home ground a fortress on the field all season long. On Thursday night, they hope they get an added boost from their 12th man in the stands.
"I would like to see us fill this place on Thursday night. I'd really like to see it packed," Schmid said. "As far as I know, there's not a lot of pro sports in Columbus. I know Ohio State is probably close to pro football. I don't think there's a lot of pro sports here and it's been a long time since there's been a (Columbus) professional team on the verge of a winning title.
"There's absolutely no reason to me why we can't pack this place with all the people in Columbus who say they like soccer. That's my marketing pitch. If we sell out I expect to get a bonus from McCullers."
McCullers would happily sign the check. "Sigi's comments in the press conference, I was cheering him on," McCullers said. "This community needs to get behind this team. We've done everything on the field and off the field we can do. We need Columbus to recognize we're in that position now. It's just exciting, a lot of fun."
If the games between the teams this season are any indication then the match could be headed to penalty kicks to decide a winner. They tied 2-2 in Columbus on July 5 and 2-2 in Chicago on Oct. 12 when Fire forward Brian McBride scored twice in his first match against his former club.
"The games have been pretty even but we like our chances. We know what we've got to do," Schmid said. "We didn't need to go to their game Thursday to figure that out. We've played them twice this season and watched their games on TV. McBride's added something to their team. (Cuauhtemoc) Blanco is another guy you've got to tie up but we also feel we can get at them."
The Fire defeated the Crew 3-2 in overtime in a U.S. Open Cup match June 10 in Peoria, Ill.
"They're rivals. I wouldn't expect it to be any different than any other playoff game," longtime Crew defender Frankie Hejduk said. "It's going to be a battle. It's going to be a tough game, lots of fouls, hard tackles. We're expecting them to come all out and the thing is it's at home for us.
"We're very confident playing at home and with the fan support behind us. I'm sure Chicago is going to bring a good contingent of fans so that makes it that much more motivation for us. The more people in the stands, the better and more motivated we are."
If there is an advantage for Chicago it could be that it clinched its series with New England two days earlier than the Crew.
"We'd rather have the same week Chicago had but it is what it is," Schmid said. "We have to accept it and move on. It's not like we're playing within 48 hours."
Having a short week might be a plus for the Crew. In their three Thursday-after-Saturday games this season they are 2-0-1.
"They get a little more rest, but whatever, that's just the way it works out," Hejduk said. "We've got a bunch of guys who are fit enough on this team to do what we need to do to be prepared for a Thursday game.
"We're confident in our play. We're confident in our style of play. We're confident in each other. Confidence spreads a winning attitude and a winning attitude breeds winning. That's what's been going on. We've got the home-field advantage, exactly why we've worked so hard the whole year. It's on our terms now. It's our chance to get the job done."
The usually laid-back Hejduk let it be known that friendships are on hold this week. He and McBride, who played for the Crew from 1996-2003, were Crew and U.S. national teammates, and Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch had an acrimonious split from the Crew in 2006.
Hejduk had this to say when asked how he expects the crowd to respond to McBride in his first game in Columbus as an MLS opponent (he played in Crew Stadium for Fulham of the English Premier League in the 2005 MLS All-Star Game):
"To tell you the truth, I could care less. Seriously, I could care less. I'm concentrating on our team. We're going to play our style of play. We'll let them worry about us because we're not worrying about them," he said. "We'll play our game. That's what we've been doing all year, not worrying about the other team and we're going to take the same attitude into the Chicago game. I'm not worried about any of their players or anyone. As long as we play our game we'll be all right."
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