Too early for a statement?

We're only three games into the Crew's 2008 season, but I think tonight's game away to DC United is the perfect opportunity for the Crew to make a statement. A loss won't guarantee a fourth consecutive year of getting a head-start on fall chores just as a win won't guarantee a trip to MLS's rather inclusive post season. However, I believe a Crew victory would do a lot for the team, both in the standings and in its collective head.

The Crew's 2-0 start at Crew Stadium is the first time since hanging their shingle at the I-71 bend that the team has won its first two home games of the season. Sandwiched between the Crew's two victories is a 2-0 loss away to New York which, despite being disappointing, isn't panic-inducing when one considers that home teams are 13-4-4 so far in 2008. However, such a strong composite home record shouldn't give false hope. If the Crew are to make the playoffs, points on the road are key.

Organizations and franchises seem to fall into routines, both winning and losing. Losers continually find ways to lose. Sure, they might sneak up and win a title of some sort - like a division - or earn a postseason slot but given an opportunity they're likely to fall back into losing ways. The Cincinnati Bengals are a perfect example. Despite a rather bright future, the team appears to have slippled back into the Bungles mode. It's a difficult cycle and habit to break.

The Crew have an opportunity to make a statement tonight. Sure, it's only one game, the season's fourth at that. Yes, a loss won't automatically doom the Crew to an entire season of looking up from the bottom of the table. But now is the time. An away victory, in a stadium that's been far from a generous host to Columbus, on national television would do wonders for this team. It would help vault them in the standings, it would deprive DC of home points, and it might show the rest of the league that things could be changing in Columbus. Perhaps more important, however, is that it would show the TEAM that things are changing. And in the end, we could look back at this game as a turning point of sorts, a point where everything clicked and the 2008 Crew helped beat back the ghosts of 2005, 2006, and 2007, all without Jennifer Love Hewitt's help.