Captain America Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds bobblehead of Captain America.

A Friendly Celebration

Saturday July 28, 2018, will be a big day for FC Cincinnati and its fans. The team will host RCD Espanyol of La Liga for its annual international friendly and will also celebrate its entry into Major League Soccer. La Liga is the top professional Spanish soccer league and MLS is the top professional soccer league in America. 

This is the third international friendly that FCC has hosted. In 2016, the team played host to Crystal Palace FC of the English Premier League in front of a crowd over 35,000. The 2017 friendly was in front of a crowd of over 24,000 and featured Valencia Club de Futbol of La Liga. 

In terms of the MLS celebration, FCC has a few things planned. At halftime, there will be a special video presentation with guest speakers. The team will also give away an MLS poster to fans in attendance.

In conclusion, the match should be a memorable one as FCC plays host to RCD Espanyol and celebrates its MLS bid. Tickets start at $15 and prepaid parking passes are available for $10. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend heading to Nippert Stadium for the match.  

A World Class Training Facility

A major league team needs a major league training facility, and Major League Soccer's newest franchise appears to have settled on a location. On Tuesday June 26, 2018, FC Cincinnati officially announced plans to construct a training facility in Milford, Ohio. As of now, the agreement is pending between FCC and local government entities of both Clermont County and Milford. 

The training complex will be built on the site of the former Expressway Park. Rumors were swirling that FCC bought the park when the former owners released a notification that the season's softball leagues would be cancelled. FCC's training facility is scheduled to be operational by July of next year with all site work finished by the end of 2019. The team plans to relocate to the complex in January and will use temporary facilities until the work is complete. 

Costing $30 million to construct, the complex will sprawl across about 23 acres of land and will host a variety of soccer related events such as FCC academy matches and local soccer tournaments. There are plans for three full sized and fully lighted soccer fields as well as a designated area for goalies. There are also plans for a 30,000 square foot multilevel building for the MLS team and a 6,500 square foot center for the academy teams.

In conclusion, this sounds like a state of the art training facility for Cincinnati's newest major league team. I have seen a few pictures online of what the complex might look like, and I've liked what I've seen so far. This process also seemed to be much smoother than the stadium saga, and I am beyond thankful for that. 

There is still a lot of work to be done before the start of next year's MLS season. I believe the team is still working with the University of Cincinnati to finalize the necessary upgrades to make Nippert Stadium ready for the 2019 season while FCC's soccer specific stadium is being built. They are also in the process of assembling an MLS roster while focusing on the current United Soccer League season. If you thought the journey to get into MLS was chaotic, I have a feeling that the trek to the start of the MLS season will be a wilder rider. Regardless, I cannot wait for FCC to finally step foot onto an MLS pitch.

Extreme Rules 2018 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on Extreme Rules 2018.

Johnny Vander Meer Double Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum double bobblehead of Johnny Vander Meer.

D.C. Bound

With my beloved Cincinnati Reds playing some better baseball as the first half of the season comes to a close, three members of the team have been selected as National League All-Stars. Scooter Gennett, Eugenio Suarez, and Joey Votto will represent the Redlegs in Washington D.C. during the 2018 Major League Ball All-Star Game. They have been by far the best players on the team this year and are very much deserving of this honor.

Scooter has become a fan favorite in Cincinnati ever since he signed with the team in 2017. He is a solid second baseman and has been crushing it at the plate. He is currently batting .329 and is one of the best offensive players in the National League. Suarez has become an excellent third baseman and is arguably the best overall player on the team. As of now, he has 66 RBIs and is batting .312. Votto is continuing to craft his hall of fame worthy resume and is further cementing himself as the best hitter in franchise history. Known for having a keen eye at the plate, he currently has an OBP of .428 is batting .296.

As I said earlier, Scooter, Suarez, and Votto are all deserving of being named to the NL All-Star team. They are big threats at the plate and are quality defensive players as well. Having one player represent your team in the All-Star game is great but having three is fantastic. This is the first time since 2014 that the Reds will be sending three players to the midsummer classic. I’m sure they will make Cincinnati proud.

Go Redlegs!

FC Cincinnati Pennant Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes an FC Cincinnati pennant.

No Magic This Year

In 2017, FC Cincinnati's run in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup took the city by storm. They upset two Major League Soccer teams before falling to a third in extra time in the semi finals. Crowds of over 30,000 people packed Nippert Stadium to watch the United Soccer League franchise face off against some of the top soccer teams in the country. The electricity surrounding those matches put Cincinnati on the world soccer map and helped the franchise land its MLS expansion slot a few weeks ago. A week after the MLS announcement, FCC played host to Minnesota United FC of MLS. Instead of feeling like a must see sporting event, it felt like a friendly with not much on the line. 

I think that can be attributed to FCC finally being awarded a spot in MLS. Last year's Open Cup run was viewed by the city as a chance to show MLS that we belong in the league. As a result Nippert Stadium was the place to be when an MLS team came to town for the Open Cup. It also helped that FCC played some of the more well known teams from the league. Columbus Crew SC is an instate rival from about two two hours north of the city. The Chicago Fire was one of the hottest teams in the league at the time and won the MLS Cup in their first year of existence in 1998. The New York Red Bulls, like the Crew, were one of MLS' inaugural teams. While Minnesota United is an MLS team, they are pretty new and have not really established themselves in MLS yet which could attribute to why interest in his match was down when compared to last year's matches. I believe only a little over 15,000 showed up for the match which is well low of last year's Open Cup attendance numbers and FCC's regular season attendance average. With FCC now going to play MLS teams every week starting in 2019, the interest in playing an MLS team in the Open Cup and the fact that it was a less established franchise contributed to the lack of hype surrounding the match.

I also think that the team is focusing their efforts on winning the USL Cup. I feel like this was evident by the fact that their backup goalie, Spencer Richey, was in the game and their two leading scorers in Danni Konig and Emmanuel Ledesma did not even dress for the match. This was probably done to let them rest for their league game. I say that because this is their last season in USL before they make the jump to the big leagues next year meaning it is their last chance to win the USL's top prize. As an MLS team, FCC will still play in the Open Cup and will have all the advantages that come with being a part of MLS such as starting the tournament during a later round. There would also be no greater USL swan song for FCC than to win the championship before they take the MLS pitch in 2019.  

In conclusion, even though FCC's Open Cup run may have been shorter than last year's and lacked the spark that set the soccer world on fire, they will still have many more chances to win an Open Cup Championship. For the USL Cup, it's now or never. Hopefully FCC can give the city of Cincinnati a USL Championship before making a run for the MLS Cup. 

Edinson Volquez Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds bobblehead of Edinson Volquez.

An Exclusive Bobblehead

The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame is not only a great place to learn about the history of Redlegs, but it is also a great place to pick up some bobbleheads for your collection. Usually the Reds Hall of Fame will give a bobblehead away with the price of admission on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the baseball season with a different bobblehead being featured every month. This year there will be a bobblehead given exclusively to Reds Hall of Fame members that features Chuck Harmon.

The bobblehead will be given out with every membership tier meaning you can still get it if you purchase the cheapest membership for $60. The membership itself is a great deal and automatically includes at least the first two bobbleheads the Reds hall of Fame distributes during the season. The more expensive the membership, the more bobbleheads you are guaranteed in addition to the Harmon bobblehead. Some of the other benefits include Redsfest passes, discounts on Reds merchandise, and use of the Reds Hall of Fame batting cage.

With the Harmon bobblehead being given away only to Reds Hall of Fame members, I decided to get a membership for the first time. I usually paid the $10 admission fee once a month to get the featured bobblehead for the month. After learning that Harmon would be a member exclusive bobblehead and discovering all the benefits that came with a membership, it turned out to be a great deal. If you are a Reds fan who collects bobbleheads, I suggest becoming a Reds Hall of Fame and Museum member. The benefits are incredible and the first ever Reds bobblehead of Chuck Harmon is a must have for bobblehead collectors.

The More the Merrier

A few weeks ago, Major League Soccer awarded FC Cincinnati an MLS franchise officially making the Queen City a three sport city. The Cincinnati Reds are part of Major League Baseball, the Cincinnati Bengals play in the National Football League, and FCC will take to the MLS pitch in 2019. I’m a fan of all three and will always cheer for all three of Cincinnati’s professional sports franchises. I just have one question. Why stop at three?

Having three of the big five professional sports leagues in Cincinnati is nothing short of awesome, but why can’t the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League call Cincinnati home? The NBA actually did at one point. From 1957 to 1972, the Cincinnati Royals were the Queen City’s NBA representatives. They migrated over from Rochester and featured star players Jerry Lucas and Oscar Robertson before leaving for Kansas City and eventually Sacramento where the team still plays as the Kings.

The closest Cincinnati was to having an NHL team came in the form of the Cincinnati Stingers. They made their debut in 1975 as part of the World Hockey Association. The original incarnation of the team only lasted until 1979 when the WHA and the NHL merged. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, the Stingers were not selected to join NHL as part of the merge and were paid to disband. They redebuted as a minor league in the Central Hockey League during the 1979-80 season.

The Queen City had a taste of the NBA and flirted with the NHL. Unfortunately, the NBA left town and the NHL dream was never realized. As a result, Cincinnati was a two-sport city for over 40 years. People said that three sports franchises could not exist in Cincinnati. FCC proved that idea wrong. In less then three years, they went from minor league phenomenon to MLS expansion team. In a city that is known as a “Baseball Town” during the summer and as “the Jungle” during football season, FCC showed the world that Cincinnati can also be a “Soccer City.” I honestly believe it can be a basketball and a hockey town as well.

Cincinnati is a sports town. We live and die by how well our teams perform. When they lose, we are devastated. When they win, we celebrate as if we had won with them. Sports require passionate fans and Cincinnati is a city full of them. I will be more than happy to extend my love for Cincinnati’s three major league sports franchises to an NBA and an NHL team. Cincinnati can be a five-sport city. Hey NBA and NHL, we’re waiting!

Money in the Bank 2018 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Money in the Bank 2018. 

Ernie Lombardi Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum bobblehead of Ernie Lombardi. 

A New Network

SmackDown is once again on the move. WWE's blue brand will reportedly be broadcast on Fox starting in October of 2019. For the past year and a half, SmackDown has been airing live on USA on Tuesdays. It made sense for WWE as the company's flagship program, Raw, airs live on Monday nights on USA. With SmackDown once again moving to another network, how will it affect the current WWE landscape?

I think the biggest change will be the official end of the brand split as wrestlers will now appear on both shows. Fox is not a cable network. It broadcasts over the air for free meaning there are more eyes on it than USA. With more people watching SmackDown, I would think that WWE would want to showcase their top stars on a weekly basis and the only way to do that is to merge both Raw and SmackDown once again. The brand split's end seems imminent as pay-per-views now feature both brands. The move to Fox could prove to be the final factor that reunites the Raw and SmackDown rosters.

Another possible change is that SmackDown could go on tape delay again. Aside from a few special episodes, SmackDown was taped on Tuesdays and aired on Thursdays and for a few years on Fridays. When it moved from SyFy to USA, the decision was made to have it air live on a weekly basis like Raw. Will the move to Fox change that? I think there is a strong possibility as the last three over-the-air broadcast networks to air SmackDown all aired it in a taped format. UPN, the CW, and My Network TV all broadcasted the blue brand on tape delay. Fox is a bigger network though and is grouped together with CBS, ABC, and NBC as one of the "Big Four" networks. With ratings being king on television, the only way to ensure good SmackDown ratings every week on Fox is to have it air live to avoid spoilers being leaked on the internet.

The last factor I'll talk about in this post is the day and time SmackDown could air on Fox. As of now, the blue brand airs from 8-10 PM on Tuesday nights. Will Fox change that or possibly change it to a three hour show like Raw? I doubt that SmackDown will be expanded as Raw faces criticism for its three hour length. As for the night, SmackDown will most likely end up on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Fox will air some Thursday Night Football games this season and there is absolutely no way WWE will allow it to air on Monday directly against Raw. I also do not see Friday night as a potential slot as ratings could fall.

Those are some of the factors that could change both SmackDown and the WWE landscape. A new network could lead to an end in the brand split, a new night for SmackDown on television, and the possibility that the show could go back to a tape delay format. If I were in charge, I'd have SmackDown air live on Tuesdays and keep it as a two hour show. Hopefully it will also reunite the rosters and bring about a quality that has been missing from the blue brand for quite some time.

Chris Sabo Rookie of the Year Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Chris Sabo Rookie of the Year bobblehead. 

Three Bobbles in Two Days

This is a good weekend for Cincinnati Reds bobblehead fans. If you play your cards right, you can head to Great American Ballpark on Friday and Saturday and come away with three bobbleheads. You may be asking yourself how you can capitalize on the opportunity to attain three bobbles this weekend. Have no fear. I have you covered.

On Friday, June 8, the Reds will be giving away a bobblehead of Captain America as part of Marvel Super Hero Night. This bobblehead is only available to fans that buy a special ticket package to the Friday night game against the St. Louis Cardinals. There are three different ticket packages available for fans to purchase. View level seats are $25, field box seats are $59, and infield box seats are $85.

The team will also be hosting Scooter Gennett bobblehead day on June 9. This will be a standard stadium giveaway bobblehead free to the first 20,000 fans through the gates. The bobblehead features Scooter riding the scooter he was awarded by the team following his four-homerun game against the Cardinals last year.

The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is also giving away a bobblehead this weekend. Johnny Vander Meer will have his back-to-back no hitter showcased as a dual bobblehead in order to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the amazing accomplishment. This bobble is free to everybody who buys a general admission ticket while supplies last.

I have the Captain America tickets for Friday’s game, and I also have tickets for the Scooter bobblehead game. I also plan on heading to the Reds Hall of Fame before one of those games to pick up the double bobble of Vander Meer. Three bobbleheads in two days is always a good deal. Combine that with free fireworks on Friday night and the fact that you will get to see the Redlegs in action against a division rival twice, and you have the makings of a fantastic weekend. The only thing that could make it better is a pair of Redlegs wins.

Go Redlegs!

FC Cincinnati is in MLS!

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone celebrates FC Cincinnati joining Major League Soccer!

Who Dey Draft 2018

The 2018 NFL Draft has come and gone, and it was a chance for my beloved Cincinnati Bengals to address some of the issues that plagued this team the past two seasons. The biggest of these problems was the offensive line. For the last two years, Andy Dalton was seemingly running for his life every other play. That is why many NFL Draft experts predicted that the Bengals would select an offensive lineman in the first round.

Despite rumors that the Bengals would take quarterback Lamar Jackson out of the University of Louisville, the franchise selected center Billy Price out of Ohio State University. Price replaces center Russell Bodine who signed with the Buffalo Bills in free agency. Hopefully he can prove to be a better center than Bodine and provide adequate blocking for Dalton.

In the second round, the Bengals selected safety Jessie Bates III out of Wake Forest. The Bengals are hoping he can help cover slots and and allow them to stay in base defense. In the third round, the team took defensive end Sam Hubbard out of Ohio State. Hopefully he can help strengthen the pass rush. They also selected Malik Jefferson. He is a linebacker out of Texas. With Vontaze Burfict facing a suspension to start the season as well as his injury history, I feel like the Jefferson’s selection is self explanatory.

The Bengals had one selection in the fourth round, and the chose Miami Hurricane running back Mark Walton. With Jeremy Hill joing former Bengals running back Rex Burkhead in New England, the Bengals were down to Joe Mixon and Gio Bernard. Walton will probably be the new third string back as well as contribute on special teams.

In the fifth round, the Bengals had three picks. First they selected cornerback Davontae Harris out of Illinois State. With Adam Jones currently a free agent, Harris adds some depth to the cornerback position. The Bengals then selected Andrew Brown. The former Virginia Cavalier defensive tackle will most likely see some time on the field behind Geno Atkins. Their final fifth round pick was Darius Phillips out Western Michigan. He is a cornerback who could also be used as a returner.

The Bengals had no six round picks, but did make three selections in the seventh round. First was Toledo Rockets quarterback Logan Woodside. He will most likely be competing for a backup role or might even be the practice squad quarterback. Next was Rod Taylor, an offensive lineman out of the University of Mississippi. The Bengals have stated that they believe he can play either guard or tackle, and they are hoping his versatility can help bolster the offensive line. The final draft pick made by the Bengals in 2018 was wide receiver Auden Tate from Florida State University. He will compete for one of the receiver spots on the team as the Bengals have stated that they believe he can be a major target for Dalton.

Those are all of the 2018 draft picks of the Bengals. They addressed some of their offensive line needs, strengthened the defense, and hopefully picked up a few players that can help them win a Super Bowl Championship. On paper, I’d say that they had a good draft. Of course, we won’t really know how the draft picks pan out until the season starts.

Who Dey!

Chuck Harmon Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum member exclusive bobblehead of Chuck Harmon. 

Face or Heel?

Dean Ambrose has been out with an injury since December. He was in the midst of a storyline in which and he his Shield brother Seth Rollins were battling the Bar for the Raw Tag Team Championship. The injury brought an abrupt end to what had been an abbreviated Shield reunion and has left Raw without one of its biggest stars and storylines. Rumors were swirling that Ambrose was going to turn heel and betray Rollins in a rivalry that would lead to a Wrestlemania match between the former tag team champs. I was hoping the rumors turned out to be true. A heel Ambrose vs. a face Rollins could have been the rivalry of the year. When Ambrose does return, should he be face or heel?

Aside from the early days of the Shield, Ambrose has been a face during his time on the main roster. When the Shield broke up, Ambrose became the breakout face of the group. Reigns garnered boos despite being positioned as the main good guy of the Shield while Ambrose consistently revived great crowd reactions. The Lunatic Fringe gimmick worked as he tweaked it to become more goofy than unpredictable and it worked for the most part. The act did get stale though and Ambrose was in need of a character change. That change came in the form of the Shield reunion. The goofy aspect of The Lunatic Fringe was dropped as Ambrose embraced his unpredictable side once again. His promos were more intense and he regained the "mox" that made him a fan favorite on the Indy wrestling circuit. 

But what if Ambrose took that attitude and unpredictability to the next level? As a heel, I believe that he can. The Lunatic Fringe could morph into Jon Moxley. He could blend the CZW style of violence with WWE wrestling and run roughshod over the WWE roster. The promos he could cut as a heel would be some of the best in the business. Ambrose has always been one of the best promo cutters in WWE and as a full fledged heel, he could be one of the best promo cutters on wrestling history. He has an ability to demand your attention and make you hang on every word when he has a mic in his hand. As a he, his promos would be even better as he wouldn't have to suck up the crowd or try and make people laugh. He could be serious, intense, and real.

So should Ambrose return as a face or a heel? In my opinion, Ambrose should come back as a full force heel. WWE has a lot of face wrestlers at the moment and is in need of a true top heel. Ambrose can fill that role. The Lunatic Fringe character could thrive as a heel and make WWE much more interesting.