Know Thy Enemy: Revolution at Crew Hard Hat Guys Heritage Edition
The Revs and Crew are going to party like it's 1996...or at least one of them is.
The Revolution are on the road in Ohio to face off against the Columbus Crew tonight at Lower.com Field (730 PM EDT, MLS Season Pass).
The Crew will be adorned in their throwback jersey, which very much reminds me of I think their 2012 away shirt, complete with all time logo legends - The Hard Hat Guys.
It’s been really cool to see MLS during throwback week, San Jose repping the Clash, the Colorado Rapids retiring Marcelo Balboa’s jersey in their old green shirts, and the Dallas Burn and Seattle Sounder Orcas shirts are really neat.
Then we have the curious case of the New England Revolution ‘96 throwback. A very modern upgrade to one of the first Revs kits with a primary red top, signature white slash across the upper chest, and blue upper top with little red and white pencil or crayon esque striations to mimic the old sunlight effect coming off the old Reebok logo. It’s actually a really good shirt and I can’t wait to pick one up on discount in like 12 months, not because I’m frugal, but because someone forgot the most important thing on the shirt…
WHERE THE HELL IS THE CRAYON FLAG?!?!?!
Apparently there’s no room for anywhere as its normal place on the shirt is replaced by some 90s appropriate jersey numbers. It clearly can’t be put anywhere in the blue section, with all the appropriate little crayon marks, because it would make it asymmetrical with the adidas and look silly so we’re just going to not include the longest tenured original MLS logo for the “Archive Collection” or whatever the league is calling it.
There was a chance, however small because I am a frugal old man and this soccer team does not currently deserve anyone’s money, that a Crayon Flag adorned '96 jersey would have been purchased at full price because I would have loved it that much. I might have even made such a purchase in person as soon as next week…because the Revs would not do something as foolish as losing to the state that stole my hockey team with me in attendance.
I don’t understand the Revs insistence on not doing any Crayon Flag merch, not because that one mid Fanatics branded hat has literally four left as a type this, but because I guess the Revs don’t like to make money by filling a need in the merchandise section. Now I’m assuming there’s far more people than just me who want to buy “retro” Revs merch and there just isn’t any...and the one item you have is practically sold out.
How do you do a 1996 throwback shirt and not but the old logo on it? Or put the Crayon Flag on the blue and white hat with the red and white crayon lines on it? You could’ve sold that hat with both logos on velcro patches so fans could change the patch based on the home jersey the team is wearing, you know, something original and not cookie cutter basic generic merch.
For a team that has very little permanent recognition at Gillette Stadium (outside of the glorious 2008 SuperLiga banner) and two decades of SSS failures, there’s a lot of fond memories in this fanbase over the last thirty years. Most of that occurred under the Crayon Flag and we have decades of alumni that showed up in force to prove it, though it’d be nice to retire Twellman’s number officially already cause if we wait for the SSS none of us will be there to see it.
We all know my position on the new logo, I don’t hate the rebrand but I did hate the launch. Using the last home game of a Shield campaign to bump up a rebrand that was launched at best haphazardly and at worst something my defunct Bridgeport Bluefish could have done better. Yet again the Revs prove they’re a step behind on and off the field…but who knows, maybe they’ll give 6th place Columbus who has only lost twice at home this year a good game.
As always we are joined by our good friend Tyler Fisher of Massive Report to answer questions on all things happening in Hard Hat Land. Be sure to head on over to their site for their game coverage as well.
TBM: Wessam Abou Ali has a pretty impressive tenure with Egyptian giants Al-Ahly, with 28 goals in 35 league games across two seasons. What excites you the most about this signing and was striker the biggest need for the Crew in this window?
TF: I think the thing that has me excited is that the Crew finally has a proven finisher. Don't get me wrong, Jacen Russell-Rowe and Diego Rossi can score, but Wessam Abou Ali has the finishing touch that they lack. He can score every which way, and that's something the Crew have been lacking since the departure of Cucho Hernandez. Finally, yes. The striker was the biggest need for the Black & Gold, in my opinion. I could argue that the defense needed a look or two because Rudy Camacho has yet to see the field in 2025. But a goal scorer was the top priority for Wilfried Nancy and his side.
TBM: The Crew were one of two teams eliminated from the MLS table on seven points, a shootout loss to Toluca being the extra point they needed to advance into the quarterfinals...with MLS advancing in all four games, does Columbus view that as a missed opportunity?
TF: I don't think so. In a way, yes, because they wanted to defend their title, but what's more important? A silly tournament, or points in the league standings? I think it would have been nice to be in the final four or the final, if possible, but the eyes are on the bigger prize, and that is the MLS Cup.
TBM: Columbus recovered from a pretty rough stretch around May going winless in six games before rattling off five wins in seven. What was the biggest change during those two stretches and what's the most important thing the Crew need to improve down the stretch - scoring, road results, etc? Can the Crew get to Top 4 in the East and host a first round series?
TF: Truth be told I couldn't tell ya. Remembering back that far is such a blur to me. However, if memory does serve me right, that began our Wed/Sat/Wed/Sat stretch, so fatigue may have set in, before returning to our Sat/Sat/Sun stretch. The most important thing the Crew need to improve on down the road is making sure their score goes higher than 1 or 2, and the opponents score stays below theirs or at 0. With a little bit of help, yes, the Crew can clinch a Top 4 spot in the Eastern Conference, but as i said before, they're going to need help.
Lineup
Schulte; Amundsen--Cheberko--Moreira (c); Arfsten--Zawadzki--Chambost--Herrera; Rossi--Gazag--Russell-Rowe;
Injuries
Rudy Camacho and Mohamed Farsi are out. Darlington Nagbe is listed as questionable.