DOS A CERO!!!! (AGAIN)
by Corey Furlan

When the date and venue for this match were first announced, this was dubbed “La Guerra Fria 2″. February 11th, 7:00 PM in Columbus, OH? One would think that this had the makings of being 15 degrees and snowy. Well, this was hardly the case, but weather still played a part in a trip that we will always remember.

Imagine this, it is 7 o’clock on a brisk and clear Wednesday morning and you are about to pull into the parking lot at work only find your parking lot littered with sixty members of the Delaware Valley Infantry (DVI) dressed in red head to toe, drinking coffee, eating donuts, putting the finishing touches on banners and loading a charter bus. Well, that was the scene on February 11th.

We went through the final check-in and loaded the bus is full of food and fans. Soon enough we are off for an eight hour journey to Columbus, OH. The first hour of the trip is rather quiet as people are still finishing up their morning coffee but by the time we reach Lancaster County, the DVI starts singing some songs and telling some jokes. As we near the Ohio border, the energy picks up rapidly and for the last 50 miles of our journey this bus is ROCKIN! Chants of “U-S-A” and “Oh When the Yanks Go Marching in” begin to reverberate throughout the bus.

The skies became grey and drizzle begins to fall at the exit for Columbus Crew Stadium, a precursor of things to come. We unload the bus and set up our tailgate, complete with pizza delivered from The Flying Pie, an Ohio State institution. The parking lot is full of color and there are thousands of Mexican fans in front of Crew Stadium beating their drums and chanting with passion. So there we were, enjoying the rivalry and revelry before the match and hell breaks loose while the skies opened up. It was a storm of biblical proportions. Tornado warnings sound in Columbus. There were winds reaching up to 70 miles an hour, driving the downpour sideways and making the couple minutes of stinging hail more dangerous than normal. Our tailgate tents, anchored by the 150 people crammed underneath, were our only cover! After 30 unforgettable minutes, we were amazed to see the weather subside briefly.

We marched in with all of the US Supporters singing, chanting, and drumming the whole way. We found our seats on the north end of the stadium (which were temporary wooden bleachers) and watch the teams warm up. The rain had subsided, but the wind had really picked up; enough to blow over one of the dugouts before the match.

The match kicked off and we watched as the Mexicans came out firing, carrying play for the first 20 minutes of the match until the Yanks settled down and began to possess the ball quite nicely. They continued to press and test the Mexican defense until in the 44th minute, when Michael Bradley knocked in a rebound from a header by Oguchi Onyewu. What happened next was pure euphoria…supporters jumping for joy, hugging their neighbors, streamers flying, smoke billowing and flags waving. It was absolute, pure joy. One nil to the Yanks at the half.

To our excitement, the beginning of the second half picked up where the first had ended. With the US keeping possession and knocking the ball about to the Supporters screaming “OLE” with each completed pass, in honor of our opponent’s Mexican tradition. Our old foe, Rafael Marquez, then had a moment of pure insanity. He decided to come in studs up on Tim Howard and is shown a straight red card! This actually gave El Tri a little bost of energy as they began to press for the tying goal. Until stoppage time, when Jozy Altidore caught their defense on a counter attack who dished the ball to Landon Donovan just before he was mugged at midfield. Landon dribbled down the flank and played a ball to Michael Bradley at the top of the box. Bradley then drove one into the ol’ onion bag for a brace! DOS A CERO! The chant began to rain down onto the pitch like the downpour we had previously withstood earlier that day!

After the game, we packed up our tailgate and walked a mile and half in the reintensified storm to Ruby Tuesday. We hung out there and enjoyed drink specials and the company of other US fans until our bus driver woke from his mandatory layover, and drove to the bar to pick us up. From the torrential storm prior to the match to the proverbial storm inside the grounds! An amazing display by all supporters involved and by the DVI leadership in putting this trip together for us!

Looking forward to the next time we get to cheer on our Yanks!