Paul Daugherty

pdaugherty@enquirer.com

So there he was on Saturday mornings at 8 or 9, wandering into Rhinehaus or Hap’s or Molly Malone’s, drinking beers with the rest of them, asking soccer fanatics irrationally loving Arsenal or Tottenham to consider sharing their irrational passion with his team, FC Cincinnati. “Like a politician,’’ says Jeff Berding, who was a politician and now is the president and general manager of Cincinnati’s latest professional soccer team.

“We took players. We took (coach) John Harkes,’’ Berding says. All in the name of getting an endorsement from “the supporters’’ as they are known in soccer circles. “We needed the credibility that we were worthy of their support.’’

They came aboard, bringing cred and Euro-ness to the local version of the beautiful game. They appeared Saturday night at Nippert Stadium, a few thousand strong in the north end zone, waving their flags and singing their songs and launching blue and orange-hued smoke bombs – FC Cincinnati colors – into the perfect evening.

We mention Berding’s ventures into the bellies of the local soccer beast because (1) It’s hilarious imagining a reserved and measured guy like the former Cincinnati councilman and Cincinnati Bengals sales and public relations director mixing with the scrum at a soccer bar and (2) it shows just how smart Berding is.

It’s not just the supporters he swayed. Berding claims to have met with at least 100 local groups, everyone from business commissions to the local Kiwanis. “We had already set up eight pub partners when we launched,’’ he says. “There was a real hunger for this. The appetite was there for something big.’’

If you have lived in a genuine cave the last 10 years – or in a man cave, it makes no difference – you might not yet realize soccer is kicking tail in the U.S. And this time, pro soccer might actually catch a serious wave of sporting affection.

This time is like no previous time. Jeff Berding says this, and it is worth believing:

“The changing demographics in the sports market are happening in our country and our city, whether (FC Cincinnati) is here or not.’’ He cites the polls and the research that show soccer is the third-most watched sport on TV now, among 18 to 49-year-old males, behind the NFL and college football, ahead of baseball and NBA.

ESPN’s most recent poll asking fans 12 years and older to name their favorite sports listed, in order, the NFL, baseball, college football and soccer.

Chances are, if you are 50- or 60-something, you scoff at this and turn on the Reds game. That’s OK with pro soccer fans. And more importantly, it’s just fine with the businesses and TV entities that support pro soccer. They don’t need you. I say this with all due deference because I am you.

Our generation kicked a few sports to the curb that previous generations enjoyed. Boxing. Horse racing. To a lesser extent, golf. We voted with our wallets and our wallets said give us the NFL.

The world is a more diverse place, more tolerant of new things. Millennials don’t rule, yet. But they do influence. And they like soccer. They play soccer. They watch soccer. And there’s nothing we old folks can do about it. Except, maybe, tolerate and possibly enjoy.

As Berding says, “There’s a big civic piece here. Soccer is on the rise. So is our city. People see soccer as part of the future. Particularly these millennials. If you’re Procter & Gamble and you’re recruiting millennials, this is a sport they embrace. It is one of the calling cards of a progressive city.’’

Nippert Stadium was progressing nicely Saturday night. Its lower bowl was almost full, souvenir lines were humming. Other requisites for any significant sporting event also were in abundance: An hour before the game, Taft Road and environs were jammed. Once inside, a can of beer cost $7.50.

I pulled into the garage right behind Domata Peko in his space-aged BMW driving machine.

Will FC Cincinnati work? Cynics would ask if you recall the Cincinnati Kids. Or the Kings and the Silverbacks and the Riverhawks and ...

The differences are huge and obvious: The Lindner family didn’t have a big stake in any of those teams. It had no stake at all. You don’t get rich backing longshots. The Lindners back FC Cincinnati. If you’re selling yourself as professional entertainment, act like it.

Plus, the new team has Berding, whose enviable mix of marketing and political savvy got this team a running start. Anyone who could sell Bengals tickets in the middle of the Lost Decade (and beyond) has earned his marketing stripes.

“As the generations pass, it becomes more embedded,’’ he says. In five-to-10 years, cities that have franchises are going to be happy they do.’’

Attendance Saturday was 20,497, a United Soccer League record. Scoff at your peril.

Record FC Cincy crowd sees Louisville City win, 3-2