When it comes to professional sports in Cincinnati, the
Cincinnati Reds and the Cincinnati Bengals have total ownership of the loyalty
of sports fans in the queen city. The Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL also have
a loyal fan base although it is not quite as big or vocal as the members of
Reds Country or Who Dey Nation. A new fan base has sprung up in Cincinnati as a
new professional team made its home debut on Saturday April 9, 2016, at Nippert
Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. That team is FC
Cincinnati. I was at their inaugural home opener this past Saturday, and I can
honestly say that I had a blast and am a fan of this team for life.
For those of you who are unaware of FC Cincinnati, allow me
to explain. FC Cincinnati is a professional soccer team that competes in the
Untied Soccer League. According to the United States Soccer Federation, the USL
is classified as a Division III Professional League. FC Cincinnati hopes to
some day move up from the USL to Major League Soccer, the top division in
American professional soccer according to the United States Soccer Federation.
2016 is FC Cincinnati’s inaugural season. I was at their
very first home opener, and I had a great time. When my girlfriend and I
arrived at the stadium, we checked out everything that was happening outside of
Nippert. They had free soccer lessons for kids, giveaways, and a cool game that
combined soccer and volleyball. Some of the things they were giving away that I
picked up were an FC Cincinnati sticker, magnet, and rally rag.
The gates to the stadium opened soon after, and once we made
our way in, we headed over to the merchandise stand. In terms of merchandise,
the team has pretty good variety of apparel for FC Cincinnati fans to choose
from such as shirts, hoodies, scarves, and jerseys. I bought an inaugural
season shirt for a pretty good deal of $15. I do wish they had more stuff to
choose from though such as bobbleheads and hopefully they have more merchandise
options in the future.
After the merchandise stand, we went to the “Bailey,” which
is essentially an open seating section of the stadium located behind one of the
goals. The “Bailey” is also where the “Pride,” the official support group of FC
Cincinnati, is located. Since it was open seating, my girlfriend and I sat in
the front row and had a great view of the action. The fans were fired up, the
“Pride” beat their drums, waved their flags, and set off smoke flares, and the
action on the field was incredible. The game was very competitive, and there
was no shortage of action. In the end, FC Cincinnati defeated Charlotte
Independence 2-1 to cap off a great night. As we left the stadium, FC
Cincinnati employees handed out oversized commemorative tickets of the
inaugural home opener.
In conclusion, I had a great time and will definitely be
going to more FC Cincinnati matches in the future. The atmosphere was great,
the team looked very good, and the overall experience was one of the best in
sports that I have ever had. I highly recommend going to a match. You will have
a phenomenal time.
FC! “clap” “clap” Cincy!
No comments:
Post a Comment