About Us

This group aims to be directly affiliated with the Crew Supporters Union. While a few people have kicked around the idea of starting a Cincinnati, this site is proof of the group coming to fruition.

Since The Crew played their first season in Ohio Stadium in 1996, there has been a strong support in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area. In fact, many Crew season ticket holders are from the area. While minor league soccer has come and gone (Cheetahs, Silverbacks, Riverhawks, etc.), there continues to be a high-level of support for the Crew, and high level soccer in general. Thanks to the great work of the supporters groups and the Internet, Crew fans all over Ohio and beyond are uniting to form the strongest base the team has ever seen.

How will be represent?
One of our plans is to get a Local 513 flag. This flag will be a version of the City of Cincinnati flag, but in Crew colors. This flag will represent the members of Local 513 when they travel to the Nordecke and beyond. If there's enough interest, we can make up shirts with the Local 513 logo.

Why is it called the Nordecke?
(from wikipedia.org)

Before the 2008 season the Columbus Crew front office demolished the north stands where the most ardent of Crew supporters stood to build a stage that could provide additional revenue by facilitating concerts and other events. Prior to this, the team's three supporters groups (The Crew Supporters Union, The Hudson Street Hooligans, and La Turbina Amarilla) sat apart because of differences between the groups ranging from age to ethnicity. The demolition of the stage forced the groups to come together into the north corner of the stadium, forming one large block of vocal support. Putting their differences aside the three groups formed the Nordecke. The Nordecke (pronounced Nord-eck-uh) is German for "North Corner". The name "Nordecke" celebrates the city's German heritage, one of the major areas of the city of Columbus is the German Village.

History of the Crew Supporters Union
(from crewunion.com)

The supporters of the Columbus Crew have a long history that can seem somewhat bewildering. Much like the early Christian church, there have been divisions and separations, relocations and unifications. In order to avoid the cloud of confusion, the major history of the past and more detailed history of the recent days shall be recounted here.

When Columbus Crew Stadium opened in 1999, the ardent vocal (some may say "hardcore") supporters of the Columbus Crew found themselves a home in the north stands. Some went to the northwestern corner near the players' tunnel and others congregated in the middle, directly behind the goal. Sounds of drums, trumpets, vocal song and chant, praise and heckling, as well as cries of joy, sadness, and astonishment could all be heard coming from these supporters.

More recently, in 2006, a vast majority of the hardcore supporters had found their way to section 137 behind the goal. Due to a clash of styles and a desire for a new sightline, the group split in the 2006/2007 winter off-season. A new group formed in section 103, calling themselves Crew Supporters Union: Local 103. The group remaining in section 137 took upon themselves the name of Hudson Street Hooligans. Much unknown to these groups, a grassroots effort in the Columbus Latino community would bring about the unexpected formation of a third supporters group in the northeastern corner called Turbino Amarillo (translates to "Yellow Turbine").

The 2007 season was a good season for the supporters, as more and more people seemed to want to join in on the action of lending their vocal chords as best they could to supporting the Crew through a difficult season. Rumors, however, began to circulate like a snake in the brush during the season. A permanent concert stage was to be built behind the north goal, dismantling sections 136-138, and turn the Hudson Street Hooligans into refugees.

After talks between groups and the front office, a decision was made to populate the lower half of the northeaster corner of the stands. Because this would require a move, Local 103 would no longer reside in section 103. After much discussion and debate, it was decide to change the 103 designation to the main Columbus area code, of 614. Crew Supporters Union: Local 614 has now taken on a naming standard that will allow for fellow supporters in other cities to form additional union groups that will be affiliated with CSU: Local 614. See our list of brethren in cities outside Columbus who do their all for the Crew from long distance.

In 2008, when the gates open and the supporters come marching in with the Crew, they will be taking over the corner from the edge of the stage in section 139 to section 101. The three groups will provide a unified front from this corner and move the Crew on to victory. Come be a part of our new history in section 101 (where CSU: Local 614 will be located).

So what's up with the term "MASSIVE"?
(from massive317.com)

The usage of the term massive in association with the Columbus Crew or fans of the Columbus Crew began in the middle part of the decade during the Greg Andrulis tenure as coach of the Crew. It was originally a tongue-in-cheek expression used to cynically explain why certain things happened to the club or to the fans. The team wouldn't make a new signing or a big acquisition/trade during the offseason because the team was so massive, it didn't need that help (for example). The team was mired in disappointment and mediocrity, so it spread as a way of Crew fans to make it through tough times with graveyard humor. However, in 2008, when the Nordecke was formed, the supporters section grew wildly and exploded in its auratory and visual power to match the explosion of domination displayed by the team in defending their home turf. Massive turned from the words of a cynic to words of pride and honor. The local press (Columbus Dispatch) and even some of the national MLS coverage has converted to using the term massive when referring to things that happen with the Crew.

The term was more originally used in the British vernacular and was imported mostly through fans of European soccer to the Columbus soccer scene. For more about being massive and being a truly massive Crew supporter, look for further information on Big Soccer and the websites of the Hudson Street Hooligans and the Crew Union (see links section).