Bright Dike, first round draft pick for the Columbus Crew,
is excited to start preseason training
(photo by Matt Bernhardt)
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The Columbus Crew's newest forward, Bright Dike, joins the two-time defending Shield winners after a four-year career at Notre Dame. He scored 27 goals for the Fighting Irish in 86 games, and was a starter his last two years on the team. He grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma, a city notable in soccer circles a a one-time expansion candidate for Major League Soccer.
Dike took a few minutes after today's practice to talk about his style of play, his voracious soccer appetite, and his arrival in Columbus.
So, welcome to Columbus...
Thank you.
Are you happy to be staying here in the Midwest?
Oh, yeah, it's fine. I'm used to it, you know? Notre Dame is in a similar city, the weather is about the same, even though it is kind of cold. I'm used to it, so its really not too much of a change weather-wise and lifestyle. It's good.
Growing up, have you always been a forward?
I've always been a forward, yeah.
Have you paid attention to MLS?
Oh yeah, sure. I'd watch everything. Playing soccer, I don't care what league it is. I'll watch soccer 24/7. I watch everything, pretty much.
Was there a team you wanted to end up with?
Nah, honestly I just wanted anywhere I have the opportunity to learn and grow as a player. And luckily for me, Columbus is one of the best team in MLS. If not the best team in MLS. They were unfortunate to not get into the final, they're a really good team.
What type of forward would you describe yourself as?
I would say my style is sort of Drogba-ish. I'm a power forward, I will post up maybe, run by the defenders, maybe score with my head, you know. A little athletic style.
So you're not necessarily a mazy, dribbling forward...
I can dribble too, but that's...its just like Drogba, he's not known for his dribbling. He'll get around you still, but that's not what he's known for.
What did you think of the first practice?
It's good. I was so excited. I was having a good time just beinkg out here, finally getting to play with some of the guys. I've followed these guys on TV and stuff, so it was great to play with quality players, definitely.
Have you been to MLS games as a fan?
I've been to only one or two, because I'm in Oklahoma. They had Kansas City versus FC Dallas in Oklahoma in an exhibition game. It was 2 minutes from my house. I was defintely going to that. They were trying to get, to maybe bring an MLS team to Oklahoma, and so I was really hoping they would because that would be really cool. It was definitely good to see.
Was this practice run differently than the Notre Dame practices were?
It's different, but soccer is soccer. There are parts of it, you're supposed to not always do the same thing. It is good to do new stuff, to learn different stuff.
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