Fire and former Crew striker Brian McBride, 36, again found himself on the familiar side of defeat. After scoring nine playoff goals for Columbus in his eight seasons with the team, but without picking up a Conference title, he scored for the defeated Fire Thursday to cries of "Traitor!" from a section of his former fans. At the same time he was nursing a sense of his own diminishing chances of lifting the MLS Cup.
"I feel this is a missed opportunity," said McBride. "I think the core group is young, but for me, obviously I have limited time." The striker has been around long enough to be unfazed by the fan taunts. "Fans will be fans," he said. "The fans have a right to react how they want to react. That doesn't change the fact I enjoyed my time here [in Columbus]."
Another former Crew player, goalkeeper Jon Busch, "was seen being restrained from Crew coach Sigi Schmid after the game," reports Luis Arroyave. Busch, who felt badly treated by Schmid and the Crew when he was traded to the Fire last year, called the incident "nothing." He also acknowledged that Columbus "waited a long time for this. They had three miserable years. I'm happy for them to some degree. But I would rather it be us."
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