CLEVELAND — The Columbus Crew made their way up to Cleveland for the first MLS game in Northeast Ohio, hosting Inter Miami FC and global superstar Lionel Messi inside Huntington Bank Field. And while the Crew fell 1-0 on Saturday, a few guys still enjoyed the day because of what it meant to play in the stadium.
Crew midfielder and captain Darlington Nagbe, who grew up in East Cleveland and won a National Championship with the Akron Zips back in 2010, was eager to play just miles away from his hometown.
Heading into the match, Nagbe was perhaps most looking forward to getting on the field of a stadium he grew up sitting in the stands, watching the Cleveland Browns play.
After the game, Nagbe said the experience was better than he could have anticipated, even in a loss.
"It was better than what I expected. Definitely lived up to it and surpassed that. I wish we would have gotten the win just to enjoy a little bit more, but yeah, it was such a great experience," Nagbe said. "Like I said, watching the Browns here and growing up a couple of miles from here. So to be here, be able to captain the Crew, play a home game here in front of these fans, in front of our fans that made it down from Columbus, it was definitely a special evening."
Similar to Nagbe, midfielder Sean Zawadzki grew up watching Browns games at the stadium. An Olmsted Falls native, Zawadzki is a true homegrown talent with the Crew. Playing in Northeast Ohio in front of a crowd of 60,614 fans, it almost didn't feel real, Zawadzki said.
"It's a surreal real moment for me. Being a little kid in the stands with my parents, my grandparents, and now fast forward 15-plus years and I'm on the field playing somewhat in my hometown, I would like to say, in front of my family and friends and in front of all the Crew supporters, it means so much to me. Obviously would've liked the results to be different but it was a great, surreal moment for me," Zawadzki said.
The excitement from the local players extended to the local crowd. That attendance number of over 60,000 marked the largest Crew home game in franchise history—and the highest attended non-NFL event at Huntington Bank Field's history.
