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To honor and recognize the Columbus Crew on winning the 2008 Major League Soccer Cup Championship.
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WHEREAS, Major League Soccer began in Columbus with the Columbus Crew in 1996 as one of the original ten Major League Soccer teams and this year celebrated their tenth anniversary in Crew Stadium, the first major-league stadium built specifically for soccer in the US; and
WHEREAS, Columbus Crew players and coaches have represented the City of Columbus well both nationally and internationally by exhibiting a high level of skill, determination, confidence, and character; and
WHEREAS, the Columbus Crew completed an impressive 30 game season with 17 wins, including a nine game winning streak, and finished off the season with an incredible 3-1 MLS Cup Championship victory over the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, November 23 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California; and
WHEREAS, the Columbus Crew also received the Supporters' Shield as the team with the best regular-season record and became the first team in six years to earn both the MLS Championship Cup and the Supporters' Shield in the same year; and
WHEREAS, in addition to bringing national acclaim to Columbus as the number one Major League Soccer team, the Columbus Crew and its charitable arm, the Crew Soccer Foundation, have contributed immensely to our community through public soccer clinics and the Kicks for Kids program as well as their partnerships with programs such as Soccer Aid, ColumbusReads, Keep Columbus Beautiful, and Youth to Youth International's Just Say No March & Rally, a month-long fund-raiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; and
WHEREAS, the Columbus Crew began their quest for the 2008 MLS Cup with the March 29 season opener, securing a 2-0 win against Toronto FC at Crew Stadium, and will start the 2009 season on the road against the Houston Dynamo on March 21, 2009 with their first home game at Crew Stadium the following week, on March 28, 2009 once again taking on Toronto FC; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Council congratulates the Columbus Crew on their 2008 MLS Cup Championship and looks forward to many more successful seasons of Major League Soccer in the City of Columbus.