The gargantuan dimensions of the proposed tifo initially presented the team with several logistical challenges. With the design in mind, Bell, Hughes and other soccer fans - working under the codename #tifosweat - began the arduous process of transferring the design onto a plane of fabric. “I didn’t really know what to do with it … but when it (be)came clear that we were going to have to do this big design, I decided to make that into the centerpiece of this banner,” Bell said. The result was an art deco-inspired eagle, which Bell intended to print on shirts or soccer scarves. The photograph inspired Bell to redraw the bird, adding aspects of soccer to the original design. One of the things that I found was this photo essay … of the U.S. “Back in March, I went to the Library of Congress website and searched for Columbus and eagles and the United States. “Being a graphic designer, I look at photographs a lot,” said Bell. There’s a history here,” Bell said.īell found the inspiration for the tifo design from a photograph. It’s the fact that this game has been played here in 2001, (2005), 2009 and now 2013. That was the working idea - that this is home. “I thought that we should say that this is ‘home’ for this game. It has to say something about our city,’” Bell said.īell decided to create a banner design that emphasized the importance of continuing to house this match in Columbus. “I started thinking, ‘We have to do something big. Justin Bell, an independent graphic designer who drew the original design for the banner, said he started thinking of ideas for the tifo around February or March. The tifo team began preparation following the announcement of Crew Stadium as the host site for the qualifying match in March. Organized cheering and other showcases of support from fans, known as tifo - taken from the Italian word “tifosi,” meaning fans or supporters - are a soccer-supporter tradition which originated in Europe and Latin America.įunded entirely by local soccer supporter groups, the 2013 tifo was an independent project undertaken by a group of soccer-loving volunteers. “Pure unprocessed energy (was) just pumping through me, combined with a lot of emotion and an immense sense of pride of what we did as people and as a community,” said Morgan Hughes, one of the organizers of the display. Mexico National Team World Cup Qualifer match Tuesday. The red banner, featuring a seal of an eagle in blue and the word “home” triumphantly placed at the bottom, was hoisted above the crowd as part of a pregame ritual at the United States Men’s National Team vs. The roar of the crowd in Columbus Crew Stadium reached a fever pitch - a massive sea of red, white and blue shirts jumping and shouting in unison - as the giant banner unfurled over the north end of the field. The tifo hangs at the Columbus Crew Stadium.

Paint the town red game banner