Valentine’s Day has come and gone and if you’re like me, it was just another Wednesday… but I digress.

During this holiday it’s not uncommon to see people show affection by gifting small tokens of appreciation to one another. Fans of the Black & Gold did just that with the help of Save The Crew business ally Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream.

Between Jan. 26th and Feb. 11th fans had an opportunity to send valentines to their favorite Columbus Crew SC players. The valentines were delivered to the players and the response was overwhelming. They took to social media to express their appreciation.

Having a blast reading through all the Valentine’s Day cards from our @ColumbusCrewSC family! All the boys were feeling the love today, HUGE thanks to all the fans. ❤️ #HappyValentinesDay #bestfans pic.twitter.com/jvBk02Ctxt — Alex Crognale (@alexcrognale) February 15, 2018

Enjoyed readying these today. Thanks for all those that made and gave these Valentine’s Day cards. The support and love for this team is amazing ??❤️#CrewSC pic.twitter.com/lmTjSwtfi6 — William Trapp (@wil_trapp) February 15, 2018

Thank you to all the @ColumbusCrewSC fans for the wonderful Valentine’s Day cards! Since my arrival you’ve made me feel special and loved! Thank you once again! #CrewSC #Behappy pic.twitter.com/3KJwEjk2TV — Edward Opoku (Eddie) (@edward_opoku) February 15, 2018

Players and coaches spend many days on the road away from friends and family. A little “home cooking” is never a bad thing. The Black & Gold are headed to Charleston, SC, where it will compete in the Charleston Challenge Cup. Crew SC joins Atlanta United, Minnesota United, and the USL’s Charleston Battery in this preseason tournament.

The Black & Gold begin its Challenge Cup defense against Atlanta United on Saturday Feb. 17th at 5pm. This will be the first time both teams meet since the epic penalty shootout in October. The game will be broadcast on BeIn Sports of Verizon’s Go90 app.