COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Crew honor their U.S. Open Cup title in 2002 with a sign on the facing of one of the suites on the northeast side of Crew Stadium.
As for its Supporters' Shield in 2004? Good luck finding any mention of the fact Columbus had the best record in MLS that season because the Crew ingloriously lost in the first round of the playoffs. No postseason championship, no banner.
Coach Sigi Schmid would like to see that changed after the Crew secured their second Supporters' Shield on Sunday by tying at Chicago while Houston drew with D.C. United. With two weeks left in the regular season, no one can catch the Crew's 54 points and Schmid said the accomplishment needs to be proudly displayed inside the stadium for years to come.
"I think the Supporters' Shield goes up every time," he said. "I don't know what D.C. United or some of the other teams do. In LA we won the Supporters' Shield when I was there as well and I don't know if any team puts anything up for the Supporters' Shield.
"Obviously, the Supporters' Shield means something now, too, with qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League. But I really believe teams should banner the Supporters' Shield."
It's been argued that winning the Supporters' Shield is insignificant except to the team that wins it each season. If that's the case, the Crew will gladly accept the honor.
"We've shown over the course of a 30-game season that we're the best team. That should be worth something," goalkeeper Will Hesmer said. "Around the world that means something. Here, we still have to prove ourselves all over again. This is just the first step."
The Crew have a 16-6-6 record and pulled away from the pack with its current 7-0-2 mark since losing at Houston on Aug. 2.
"Everywhere else in the world you're the champion of the league if you're the best over the full length of the season and get the most points," Schmid said. "To accomplish that means a lot to me as coach and should mean a lot to our team, and it does. It means we've been the best over 30 games and we've been the most consistent team. That's something we're proud of."
Winning the Supporters' Shield is validation for the restoration project undertaken when Schmid became coach after the 2005 season. The Crew had missed the playoffs every year since 2004 and just three players remain from that squad.
Only one of them, defender Chad Marshall, was on the field Sunday. Defender Frankie Hejduk is with the U.S. for World Cup qualifying and midfielder Duncan Oughton was a reserve but did not play against the Fire.
What the trio emphasized as the Crew got closer to clinching the Supporters' Shield is that this season will ultimately be judged by what happens in the postseason. The Crew have never played in the MLS Cup Final.
Of course, winning the Supporters' Shield is no guarantee of success. Schmid's Los Angeles Galaxy in 2002 was the last Shield winner to also capture the MLS Cup. Chicago in 2003 was the most recent Shield recipient to make the final but the Fire lost the MLS Cup to San Jose.
There have been only three other times when the team with the best regular-season record also won the MLS Cup: D.C. United in 1997 and '99 and Kansas City in 2000.
With the chase for the Supporters' Shield over with two games remaining, the Crew can look further ahead.
"We've wrapped up all we can wrap up. Now it's a matter of making sure we stay sharp and healthy for the playoffs," Schmid said.
The first order is to correct the mistakes from the game at Chicago. The two goals allowed were the most in the past nine games. Both were scored by Brian McBride on set pieces.
"It was one of those games where we had to fight and show team grit," midfielder Eddie Gaven said. "We can play much better but it was good to come out of here with a point."
McBride put the Fire ahead in the 13th minute but the Crew once again rallied when Gaven scored on a sizzling strike in the 59th and Robbie Rogers found Guillermo Barros Schelotto at the far post for a header two minutes later. However, McBride got the equalizer in the 79th to give the Crew 4-6-5 mark when allowing the first goal.
"We never give up. We had the lead and we were really unfortunately we didn't add more," Rogers said. "We had some chances. In the end we got one point, which is good but we left them off the hook. I felt like we definitely should have won the game. We were on the road. We came back, so I can't be too despondent. Even though this game didn't mean as much to us as it did them we still battled and had all those chances so that's a really good sign."
Another positive was getting 80 minutes out of Schelotto. He played 61 against LA on Oct. 4 in his first game back after missing three because of a hamstring injury. The MVP candidate has seven goals and 18 assists but whether his minutes will be extended are not known because the Crew will play on the artificial turf of Giants Stadium against the Red Bulls on Saturday before closing the season at home Oct. 26 vs. D.C. United.
Schmid will also have to decide how handle to three other players at New York. Hejduk and Rogers will be in Trinidad and Tobago for a qualifier Wednesday while forward Alejandro Moreno (Venezuela) will face Ecuador the same day.
"Frankie didn't play in the last game (Saturday vs. Cuba)," Schmid said. "It depends on how much he plays Wednesday, how much Robbie would play on Wednesday. It depends on how much Alejandro plays. We'll play it by ear."
The luxury of resting key personnel and recharging the bodies after a long season might prove to be more significant to the Crew than any banner they might display for winning the Supporters' Shield.
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