After saving the Crew, one fan is saving jerseys

Flashback: Crew fans might remember Hughes as a founder and regular spokesperson of the #SavetheCrew movement.

• The effort helped keep the team in Columbus and two championship trophies have followed.

State of play: Since the Crew's saving, Hughes and three fellow Crew fans launched Supporters Supply Co. as an affordable alternative to the skyrocketing prices of licensed gear.

• That experience led Hughes to realize that with a little ingenuity, he could either source outdated logos and fonts or simply fashion them himself.

As a sustainability bonus, Hughes is happy to avoid the fast-fashion nature of soccer jerseys, which are made of polyester that he knows "doesn't exactly break down easily."

What they're saying: "We're talking about history; we're talking about a connection to your past," Hughes tells Axios Columbus.

• "When that thing is physical, it can wear out and wear down. But if you can salvage that thing for someone and continue, fix and mend that connection to their past? I can't think of any higher calling.

• Especially, he says, "when the alternative is them getting rid of something they love and buying something new that's prohibitively expensive and, I would argue, price gouging."

Got a jersey in need of TLC? Mail it with a return address to Supporter Supply Co., ATTN: Morgan, 867 W. Town St., Columbus, OH 43222.

The last word: "I care about this community and I care about these people. Helping them is just kind of a default setting for me."