Why Ethan Finlay is My Favorite Soccer Player

I was never much into sports other than ice hockey. In the '90s, I was a huge Detroit Red Wings fan, with Kris Draper and Sergei Fedorov being my favorite players. Life got busy, and I didn't have time to follow sports. Fast forward to 2008 when I moved to Columbus, Ohio for law school. There were two professional sports in Columbus: hockey and soccer.

I already had a hockey team (although I still go to Blue Jackets games every now and then). Interestingly, I didn't even know about the Crew in 2008, even though that's the year they won MLS Cup. Such was the state of the sport and how much priority the city placed on its soccer team.

When I found out about the team, I tried very hard to get people to go to a Crew game with me. Finally, in 2013, one of my co-workers was a big Crew fan, and a member of my young men's Bible study was a soccer fan. I went to three games that year. The Crew didn't win any of them... yet, I still had a blast.

I decided that I would go ahead and buy 1 season ticket for 2014. It turns out, people from my church sat exactly 5 rows ahead of me. We became fast friends and carpooled often. The summer of 2014 was a World Cup year. The Crew were going through a slump. I believe they won 1 in 16 or something like that. I went with my church friend to the U.S. Open Cup match against Indy Eleven at First Energy Stadium in Akron. This game was a blast! The intimate setting where you could hear everything the players were saying was exciting. That match goes down as one of my top 5 crew moments.

In that match, Bedell had been sent off (after Chris Penso as 4th official told the center ref to rescind a yellow and go with a straight red) and Paladini had received a red card for what looked like a punch. At midfield, Finlay was taken out pretty a horrible tackle. No call. Finlay comes running to the AR, who was literally 5-10 feet directly in front of where we were sitting in the second row. Finlay points his two fingers at his own eyes and says something to the effect of, "You have eyes! Use them! Are you watching the game?!" I was so impressed that somebody on the team was finally displaying passion, that I tweeted this:

 

Finlay was kind of unknown at this point, because he had only started 2 games. But I was excited about his speed and passion. We needed a lot more of that on the team, because it seemed like nobody cared.

For season ticket renewal for 2015, the Crew ran a promotion that you could take a picture with your favorite player. I am blessed to have worked with Matt Lampson on LampStrong. I already had a picture with him, so I chose the new and rising star, Mr. Finlay.

 




Now here's where I'm going to be misunderstood. Crew used to do "Autograph Alley" where 5 or so players would sign autographs after certain games. Finlay was at one of the games and when I got up to the line, he said "Hey Todd!" To reiterate, it's not that I feel entitled to be recognized, or that I desire to be recognized, it's who Ethan is as a person, and who many of the players on this team are and what the Crew are as a club, that makes it so exciting.

I asked him if he had any nicknames in college like roadrunner, and he responded, "No, but I like that."

Some talented fellow fans designed, traced, and helped me paint a sweet banner to commemorate that nickname.

So is Finlay having the best 2016 season? No. But he always gives 113%. He has drive and passion. And you can tell he cares. Will he right the ship? I'm believe that he will. I know that he definitely will never stop trying.

Sports players are human beings, too, not commodities. Sometimes we often forget this as we trash players.

Whether Ethan stays or goes on to Europe, he will always be a major part of why I am Columbus 'Til I Die. I'll be old and gray and he'll no longer be on this team.  He'll probably be broadcasting games! I'll hopefully have kids who will have favorite players that make them interested in soccer and the Crew! My church friends, my co-workers, and my family of fans keep me going to matches. The players on the field are also part of that. Columbus Crew is special. I love that I get to be a part of this small market team.  

So for all of the jokes I endure, for his play on the field and for who he is as a person, that's why Ethan Finlay is my favorite soccer player.