The history of USA vs. Mexico at MAPFRE (nee Crew) Stadium is well known by now. It’s evolved into legend how Columbus served as the first true American outpost of soccer for the U.S. National Team. A big win over the best team in the region, setting the stage for a decade of dominance will do that. But... it certainly wasn’t preordained that Columbus would be the spiritual home of what’s now known as DosACero as an article in the New York Times highlights.
In 2001, MAPFRE was the only major soccer specific stadium in America, built far from the coasts where the U.