Crew supporters hailed as "hometown heroes" after selfless act saves another's life

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- There's nothing quite like Columbus Crew supporters, particularly the Nordecke community that gathers on gameday behind the north goal at Lower.com Field. And at a recent match, they cheered hard, not for a goal, but for a selfless act that saved a man's life.

"Fantastic. I feel so good. It feels like the best I've ever felt, I feel great," Crew fan Heithem El-Hodiri said.

To understand how El-Hodiri felt on a Saturday night in Columbus before a Crew match, you have to go back five years when he experienced kidney failure.

"I didn't know I had a kidney problem. I thought I had a heart problem or I had anemia. I didn't know that was related to kidney problems," El-Hodiri said. "They put me on dialysis. Things got a little better and then they stopped getting better and that's when I got on the transplant list."

But El-Hodiri had trouble finding a donor so he posted on Facebook about his situation. A friend shared it with the Crew community.

"She had the faith, she said someone in this family is going to take care of you and she was right," El-Hodiri said.

That's when Heidi Baxter stepped in. She's a Columbus school teacher and a longtime Crew supporter. "He put such a sincere post that he was in need of help. He was reaching out to his soccer family. Crew family. I just had to get involved and see if I could be a match," Baxter said.

Turns out she was the perfect match. El-Hodiri found out that Baxter would be his doner last summer. Six months later, when the Crew won its third MLS Cup title, the two were watching from their respective hospital beds in recovery.

"It was an amazing experience and we kinda joked that he's got a championship kidney," Baxter said.

Before the April 27 match against Montreal, the two were honored as "Hometown Heroes" by the Columbus Crew. "Being the hometown hero was a full circle moment. All I can think of is once you're one of us, you're always one of us," Baxter said.

While some sports fans say they'd give the shirt off their back for each other, Baxter's selfless act takes it to a whole new level. "Sports fans always say that it's more than a game. It's a family," El-Hodiri said. "Here you can see it's really true."

Baxter and El-Hodiri will be cheering for the Black & Gold once again on Saturday as the Crew face rivals FC Cincinnati in the "Hell is Real" derby match. Kick-off from Lower.com Field is set for 7:45 p.m.