Crew to re-air ‘special’ Black & Gold matches during MLS hiatus

Columbus Crew SC is taking a page out of many other sports teams’ and leagues’ books and is set to air a number of “special” matches from the club’s history over the next few weeks. The Black & Gold announced on Wednesday that the Crew is set to re-air a number of Black & Gold matches throughout the month of April. This will begin on Wednesday night when the team streams the 2008 MLS Cup Final on ColumbusCrewSC.com. That stream will begin at 7 p.m. ET.

During the coronavirus outbreak, which caused sports as we know it to come to a stop, leagues across the country have opened up various methods for fans to still enjoy their favorite sports without any live-action. Both the NBA and the NHL made their premium streaming services free to allow unpaid subscribers to watch the older content. Major League Soccer started putting out a classic match each night on the team’s YouTube page. On Tuesday night, U.S. Soccer streamed the famous “Dos a Cero” match from Feb. 28, 2001, against Mexico at MAPFRE Stadium.

Now the Crew will get on board with games from the team’s 25-year history.

“During these challenging times it is important for us to be able to connect with our supporters and these re-airs are a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the Crew’s 25 years of history and how much the Club has meant to our community,” Crew President and General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in the team’s press release. “In addition to the content we are providing as a Club, we also want to thank our partners at FOX Sports Ohio for working with us to be able to provide our supporters the chance to re-live some of the best moments in Crew history while MLS play is suspended.”

In addition to the streaming of the Crew’s only MLS Cup championship win from 2008, SportsTime Ohio will re-air the Black & Gold’s 2019 regular season home match against Atlanta United which was originally played on March 30, 2019. This broadcast will occur on Saturday, April 4 at 4 p.m. ET and will also be streamed on the FOX Sports Go app. The Crew will then provide weekly update on matches that will be re-aired on SportsTime Ohio, the club’s website and the FOX Sports Go app.

It is important for fans to note that these re-aired games on ColumbusCrewSC.com will be geo-fenced to the Crew’s territory. This is according to MLS guidelines.

The Black & Gold will have additional digital programming, including a home workouts with assistant strength and conditioning coach Kelly Roderick and breakdown of specific Crew plays by TV analyst Jordan Angeli, both of which can be found on the team’s website and its Twitter account. Also, weekly food recipes from registered team dietitian Jay Short and a weekly Kids’ Corner activity book will be available on ColumbusCrewSC.com.

It has been a difficult time for the country and the world over the last few weeks. The coronavirus outbreak has seen much of the workforce shut down and millions of people forced to work from home. In times like these, people often turn to sports to help distract from the stresses of everyday life, yet those have been taken away as well to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Currently, MLS has suspended play until at least May 10.

At least now Black & Gold fans will have something to watch with good memories to keep them occupied during this uncertain time.