The evening of Saturday, April 9th, 2016 was a special one for sports fans in the city of Cincinnati. Yes, the hometown Reds had just completed their fourth win in five games over the division rival Pittsburgh Pirates earlier in the day. But possibly something even more special occurred that evening at Nippert Stadium on the University of Cincinnati’s campus. The new, upstart FC Cincinnati of the United Soccer League played their inaugural home match.
Cincinnati Gets a ‘Kick’ Out of FC Cincinnati
A crowd of nearly 15,000 (14,658 to be exact) braved very cold weather to watch, cheer and celebrate a historic night for FC Cincinnati & the USL. The crowd was the largest so far in the USL this season. While the event was short on frills, the excitement was electric as those in attendance cheered and chanted from first kick to the final whistle. Yes, there were the usual glitches for an inaugural event. Lines were long for tickets, merchandise and beer but for the most part everyone in attendance was in good spirits.
As is the case with most soccer clubs, FC Cincinnati has its rowdy cheering section. Located in one end of the stadium known as “The Bailey”, The Pride & Die Innenstadt brought flags, smoke bombs and chants (though both supporter groups may want to work on said chants for future games). While rowdy, the atmosphere in “The Bailey”, where I was able to witness the match was fun as well. No need to feel threatened if you should choose to sit there.
Many in attendance did seem puzzled by what they were watching even while being entertained. When whistles blew many asked “What was that?”, “What was that call for?” But those watching seemed more than willing to learn for future matches.
As far as the match itself, I saw no lack of talent or skill on the field even with the USL being considered the ‘third-tier’ of soccer leagues in the States. FC Cincinnati defeated the Charlotte Independence 2-1 in a very spirited contest with one of the goals for the home club going viral. Look at this scissor kick from Sean Okoli
Take a bow Sean Okoli. This is a terrific goal https://t.co/GBPH84AfBK
— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) April 9, 2016
The end game for FC Cincinnati though is not to be the ‘big fish’ in the USL. Major League Soccer is the hopeful final destination. Club President Jeff Berding told SoapBoxMedia.com earlier this year, “We’d love the opportunity to someday be invited into the MLS as the top league. We need to have strong attendance at our games, and if we get to 10,000 per game that will send a strong message. The MLS commissioner has stated that the MLS wants to continue to expand, and we believe Cincinnati is a great market and that we have every opportunity to be successful.”
FC Cincinnati may be off to a good start in its pursuit of becoming a MLS franchise. They are backed by titans of Cincinnati business including long-time Reds minority owner Carl Linder III. The matches are broadcast on over-the-air TV and Radio entities in the city. The roster itself is dotted with former MLS players and coached by US soccer legend John Harkes.
Based on the warm, enthusiastic reception by the Cincinnati sports community and its fans, it looks like they will be getting their ‘kicks’ out of FC Cincinnati for a long time to come.
