Editor’s note: This is Superstition Week on The Athletic Soccer. We’ll be exploring the far-out rituals and beliefs that underpin the X’s and O’s, the hard work and dumb luck, of some of soccer’s most compelling teams and personalities. Check here for our full roster of stories and check back as we add more.



For 15 years, a tiny stadium in the Midwest became the refuge of the U.S. men’s national team, the place they went when they needed a win. Dubbed the “biggest small town in America” in the 1980s, Columbus, Ohio, became the spiritual home of the USMNT as they beat Mexico in World Cup Qualifying a stunning four times in a row, all by the same scoreline: two to zero. Dos a cero.



And then, just as suddenly as it began, it ended, and with the end of Dos a Cero came the end of a nearly three-decade record of qualifying for the World Cup. This was followed by a fresh blow, as the rich guy who owned the rights to...