When FC Cincinnati started its first season in the USL in the 2016 season, fans from all over the area showed up in overwhelming support. Some fans were previous soccer players, soccer fans from MLS, some were fans from international teams, and some were never soccer fans before learning this game of soccer. Fans showed up to support this new soccer team that had seen previous teams come and go over the years. These teams were the Cincinnati Riverhawks, Cincinnati Kings and my personal favorite the Cincinnati Silverbacks.

Learning curve

Fans showed up in record attendances for the newest Cincinnati soccer franchise and were quick to embrace the sport. Fans were quick to learn players’ names, teams that were a part of the USL league and rules that not everyone always understands: offside. Cincinnati fans do not like to be ignorant when it comes to the rules, rivalries and nuances that can come along with soccer.

Cincinnati fans, in particular, the Bailey, were quick to embrace smoke bombs being used to signal the start of the game and used every time FC Cincinnati scored a goal. The fans were quick to create a chant like “F-C-C” in unison with clapping, marching into the stadium showing support for the orange and blue and showing support for the whole 90 minutes of the game by standing.

Now after three years of showing up to games and breaking attendance records left and right, then rumors that turned into confirmed reports came out that FC Cincinnati was looking to make the leap into Major League Soccer. Major League Soccer put Cincinnati as one of the top front-runners to be granted one of Major League Soccer’s expansion bids in the coming years. Nashville quickly claimed one of these expansion bids and then months went by until Cincinnati got the exciting news they were entering Major League Soccer in the 2019 season.

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My name is Derek Bell and I am the Soccer Manager. I contribute articles covering FC Cincinnati in particular. I have been an avid sports fan since I was little, with my favorite teams being FC Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cincinnati Reds. When football season is around you will more than likely hear me talking about fantasy football.

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