Are the Columbus Crew the best team in Major League Soccer since 2002?

The Columbus Crew have won the MLS Supporters Shield three times in
eight years. (Photo/Matthew Bernhardt)

Which MLS team has won the most trophies since 2002? If the Columbus Crew are not your first thought, that is understandable. The team endured three miserable seasons from 2005-07, winning only 28 games out of 94 played (28-42-24), failing to make the playoffs each time. In 2006, the team finished dead last. Bracketing that forgettable three year stretch, however, the team also took home five domestic trophies - more than any other team (DC United and the LA Galaxy each won four).

Each year there are three trophies up for grabs in American soccer. The most well known is MLS Cup, given to the playoff champion. The other two awards are the Supporters Shield and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Columbus finally made their first appearance in MLS Cup last season, where they defeated New York 3-1 on the strength of midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto's three assists. 11 different teams have played in the league's showcase contest, with eight emerging victorious. Only Chivas USA, FC Dallas, Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders have not made an appearance, while Colorado, New England, and New York lost their only appearances (New England has appeared four times, including three straight from 2005-07).

The Supporters Shield is awarded each year to the team with the best record during the regular season, and is thus similar to the President's Trophy in the National Hockey League. The Crew has won this trophy three times, second only to DC United's four triumphs. Six other teams have won the Shield, none more than twice.

The award's name is an honest one, having been organized by Kansas City Wizards fan Sam Pierron during the 1998 season. He commissioned a simple trophy from a local artist, and solicited donations from fams around the country to fund the work.

The US Open Cup does not enjoy the visibility of the other two tournaments, but does boast a much longer lineage. First contested in 1914, it is truly an "open" tournament, with amateur clubs able to advance to the tournament proper via a play-in process. This was the first trophy that the Crew lifted, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 in 2002 courtesy of a Freddy Garcia goal. Since MLS begain in 1996, 13 teams have appeared in an Open Cup Final, with nine victors. Two teams from outside MLS have made it to the Final, with the Rocester Rhinos winning it in 1999 (the Charleston Battery lost to DC United in 2008).

Across these three tournaments and eight years, the Crew's success has been clouded by the dark three year period of futility that ended with the 2008 triumph. In fact, the Crew are one of only five teams in MLS to have won all three awards (along with Chicago, DC, Kansas City and Los Angeles). Their five trophies are behind only DC (ten), Chicago and Los Angeles (six each) since the league's inception.

Whatever the fate of the current team as Coach Robert Warzycha retools for a challenging 2010 season, the team's history should provide Crew fans a sense of accomplishment and pride.

What do you think of this summary? Surprised that the Crew have won more trophies than any other team since the league contracted in 2002? Or was the three year dark period too bad to make this argument plausible?