FC Cincinnati Recap 2018

FC Cincinnati may have completed only its third season, but it was by far its biggest year in the team's short existence. Attendance records were shattered, on field performances were fantastic, and a call up to Major League Soccer made 2018 an unforgettable year for the orange and blue. Here's a recap of the year 2018 for FC Cincinnati.

The year started immediately after the team pitched their bid to MLS just before Christmas of 2017. Nashville had already been awarded one of two coveted MLS expansion slots and Cincinnati, Sacramento, and Detroit were left to compete for the last one. The three remaining cities had an issue with their bid, and it seemed that whoever straightened things out first would be awarded with an MLS expansion team. For FC Cincinnati, it was the soccer specific stadium situation that was holding up things. Newport, Oakley, and the West End were all tagged as possible areas for a stadium, but no deals had been locked down and no plan had been officially put into motion. This sparked a massive saga that dragged out for months of where the stadium will be built and who would pay for it.

Meanwhile, FCC head coach Alan Koch was preparing for his second season as the team's leader and had been traveling around the world recruiting players. New faces such as Emmanuel Ledesma, Nazmi Albadawi, and Forrest Lasso were joining returning players from the 2017 team such as Justin Hoyte and Danni Konig as well as FCC OGs Jimmy McLaughlin, Kenny Walker, and Corben Bone.

The team definitely had a new look not only with the acquisition of its many new players, but it's uniforms as well. Gone were the blue, orange, and white uniforms that mimicked the look of the United States Men's National Team as the team unveiled new, sleeker kits that featured a striped look with diamonds. The new look of the team combined with the impending MLS bid made the 2018 FCC season the most hyped sporting story in Cincinnati, and the season hadn't even started yet.

Once the lads took to the pitch, they got off to a bit of a slow start as it took time for the combination of returning and new players to develop some on field chemistry. Once they began to gel, they dominated the United Soccer League and notched big wins over New York Red Bulls II and arch rival Louisville City FC. They continued to pack Nippert Stadium with soccer crazed fans as attendance records were continually set and broken seemingly week after week. The team also strung together a 23 match unbeaten streak in route to capturing the USL Regular Season Championship. They knocked off future MLS rival Nashville SC in the first round of the playoffs in a dramatic penalty kick thriller before ending their USL tenure with a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Red Bulls II.

With the team taking care of business on the field, Jeff Bearding and Carl Linder III were taking care of business off the field to secure the MLS bid. After a nauseating months long debate of where the stadium should be built, the West End was officially announced as the future soccer specific stadium site for FCC once a deal was reached between the team, the city, the West End, and Cincinnati Public Schools. It was the final piece of the puzzle that FCC needed to secure its place in MLS. On May 29, 2018, MLS officially announced that FCC would be joining the league as an expansion team and would being play in 2019. The city celebrated as thousands gathered at Fountain Square to participate in the most historic sports moment that Cincinnati has seen in quite some time.

In conclusion, FCC's third season was a massive success. Even though the team fell short of winning the USL Cup, they did win the USL Regular Season Championship, set numerous attendance records once again, and most importantly, secured its spot in the highest American professional soccer league. Individual USL honors were awarded to Forrest Lasso, Emmanuel Ledesma, and Alan Koch. Lasso won the USL Defender of the Year award, Ledesma won the USL Most Valuable Player award, and Koch won the USL Coach of the Year award. All three are returning to FCC as part of its MLS team in 2019. I thoroughly enjoyed FCC's 2018 campaign and cannot wait for them to step foot on an MLS pitch in 2019. If their MLS debut is anything like their 2018 USL swan song was, Cincinnati is going to be in for a fun ride.

Redsfest 2018 Recap

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone recaps Redsfest 2018. 

2018 Cincinnati Reds Bobbleheads Review

2018 featured some pretty cool Cincinnati Reds bobbleheads. The team continued its tradition of distributing bobbleheads to fans a few games a year as well as giving special ticket package bobbleheads that feature some sort of cross promotion. I did not get every bobblehead that the team handed out this season as some were of repeat players, others were of cross promotions that did not appeal to me, and most importantly because I have a budget (haha). In this post, I will review the bobbleheads I added to my collection that were distributed by the Reds.

The first bobblehead of given out by the Reds that I added to my collection was of Captain America. This was the second consecutive year that the Reds and Marvel teamed up to distribute a bobblehead via a special ticket package. I really like this bobblehead as it looks great and displays my fandom for both the Reds and super heroes.

The second bobblehead I received from the Reds was a standard stadium giveaway bobble of Scooter Gennett on a scooter. This bobble commemorated Scooter’s four home run game from 2017 and featured Gennett on the scooter that the team presented him with due to his outstanding performance. Scooter is my current favorite Reds player and having a bobblehead of him on a scooter is really cool. In my opinion, the Reds knocked this one out of the park.

Third on the list of bobbleheads I received from the Reds is a bobble of the team’s female mascot, Rosie Red. This is the first ever stadium giveaway bobblehead of Rosie the team has given to fans, and I love it. The team rarely distributes bobbleheads of its mascots so getting my hands on the first ever Rosie Red stadium giveaway bobblehead was a must.

The fourth and final 2018 bobblehead in my collection courtesy of the Reds is of Scott Schebler. The outfielder won the fan vote this year and had his very bobblehead game on August 18. Known for his slugging, the Reds had Schebler in a batting pose, and I think the bobblehead is an excellent way to cap off the 2018 Reds bobblehead season.

Those were all the bobbleheads I added to my collection by attending Cincinnati Reds games. Captain America was a special ticket package bobble and Scooter, Rosie, and Schebler were standard stadium giveaways. The Reds also distributed bobbleheads of Eugenio Suaerz and Tucker Barnhart as well as a variety of other special ticket package bobbles. I did not obtain those as I already have bobbleheads of Barnhart and Suarez and the other ticket package bobbleheads did not appeal to me that much. Overall, the 2018 lineup of Reds bobbleheads was a solid one, and the bobbles I picked up for my collection have made for great additions.

WWE TLC 2018 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE TLC 2018. 

A Brilliant Heel Turn

Without question, the October 22 episode of Monday Night Raw was one of the most emotional episodes that WWE has ever produced. Roman Reigns revealed he is battling leukemia and had to relinquish the Universal Championship. It was a very real segment that separated Joseph Anoa’i the man from Roman Reigns the character. I wish nothing but the best for Reigns and hope he is able to beat the cancer. The emotional announcement was capped off by an embrace from his Shield brothers Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins and a Hounds of Justice triple fist bump at the top of entrance ramp. 

After the announcement, it appeared that the Ambrose heel turn that has been hinted at for weeks was put on hold. He and Rollins were set to challenge Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler for the Raw Tag Team Championships later in the main event, and the two members of the Shield cut a promo before their match that pretty much stated they were fighting for Reigns. The match itself was very entertaining and worthy of being in the main event. In the end, Ambrose and Rollins emerged victorious and came away with the tag title belts. It seemed like a night that began with heart wrenching news would end on a brighter note. That was not the case.

The emotional victory celebration was cut short as Ambrose hit Rollins with a Dirty Deeds much to the shock of those in attendance as well as the world-wide audience watching on television. The beating continued. Ambrose unloaded a storm of punches on Rollins before tossing him out of the ring. The assault continued at ringside before a cranium cracking Dirty Deeds to Rollins on the exposed arena floor left the Lunatic Fringe satisfied with the damage he had done to his co-tag team champion. Boos and A$$hole chants were reverberating off the walls as Ambrose tore off his Shield vest and exited the arena through the crowd. 

In my opinion, it was one of the most brilliant heel turns WWE has ever had. The emotion was real throughout the night and to see Ambrose destroy what would have been a feel-good moment to close a show that had a somber beginning generated a massive amount of very real heat. It was the heel turn everybody saw coming at the moment nobody expected to see it, and that is why it will be remembered as one of the best in professional wrestling.

Redsfest 2018 Day 2

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone vlogs about day 2 of Redsfest 2018.

Too Much of a Good Thing

I love watching professional wrestling, mainly World Wrestling Entertainment. Ever since I was a kid I have been hooked on the battles that take place inside the squared circle. As a kid, pay-per-views were one of the main reasons to come back each week to see what unfolded on Raw and SmackDown. The events of those weekly television shows crafted the stories that culminated at pay-per-views. In today’s WWE, I feel like that is missing because there are so many pay-per-view events held throughout the year.

As I type this, Super Show-Down is set to broadcast live from Australia at 5 AM eastern time on October 6. After that is Evolution, the all women pay-per-view, on October 28. Following Evolution is Crown Jewel on November 2 and Survivor Series on November 18. That is four WWE pay-per-views in two months, essentially one every two weeks. In my opinion, you can’t build up a story effectively in such a short span. For the men, it is not as a big of a deal as they won’t be featured again on pay-per-view until Crown Jewel. It is more problematic for the women as they will be featured on all four pay-per-views.

Due to this packed schedule, the buildup for the matches will be rushed. Stories will have less meaning. Character arcs will be less developed. Twists might not have as big an impact. It is also annoying to see WWE promote multiple pay-per-view events at the same.

 In my opinion, less is more. I think WWE should go back to one pay-per-view a month to allow the storylines to progress naturally without feeling rushed. The road to WrestleMania usually features one pay-per-view a month, and that is generally seen as the time of year when WWE produces its best programming. Wrestling fans love pay-per-views, but having so many throughout the year is too much of a good thing.

Redsfest 2018 Day 1

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone vlogs about day 1 of Redsfest 2018.