It’s feeling real in Cincinnati
CINCINNATI — Crew SC supporter Tony Galiffo would not abide lame.
He would not allow some corporate shill attaching a sanitized or obvious nickname to a potential U.S. Open Cup meeting between his Crew and upstart FC Cincinnati. No “Ohio Derby” or “Battle of I-71.”
His mind kept returning to the “Hell Is Real” sign between the cities on southbound Interstate 71. So a year ago, the 29-year-old Columbus resident put “Hell Is Real” on black-and-gold supporters’ scarves and sold about $1,100 worth of them, Galiffo said, waiting for the Open Cup match to become a reality. It finally did Wednesday night at Nippert Stadium.
“The idea is we are coming and we’re bringing hell with us,” Galiffo said 20 minutes
The NBA and the Stanley Cup finals are like great-great grandparents. You know the end is coming but, man, when it comes, it’s sudden. Next day, you pick up your remote and there’s nothing on TV.
I surfed over to the latest "30 for 30" documentary, this one about the Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers rivalry, and was transported to another era. Remember thinking how we’d never again see anything like Bird and Magic? Then, there was Michael Jordan. Now, as of Tuesday, the sports-radio
did Wednesday night at Nippert Stadium.
“The idea is we are coming and we’re bringing hell with us,” Galiffo said 20 minutes before kickoff. “They are the new kids on the block and we are old guard in Ohio soccer.”
The good news for Galiffo is supporters from both clubs embraced the inaugural “Hell Is Real” Derby. The slogan was spotted on T-shirts, banners and scarves of black-andgold and FC Cincinnati orange-and-blue. The bad news for Galiffo and fellow Crew fans is they were the ones who left the stadium in soccer purgatory.
FC Cincinnati, which began play a year ago in the second-tier United Soccer League, stunned the Crew 1-0 before 30,160 fans.
The largest crowd to ever witness a fourthround Open Cup match and the third-largest gathering to attend an FC Cincinnati match chanted “FCC, FCC, FCC” as the referee blew the final whistle. Approximately 1,000 Crew fans made the trip and a few angry ones exchanged words with midfielder Justin Meram and coach Gregg Berhalter.
Meanwhile, many home fans stuck around to celebrate the historic win.“This is just surreal,” said Brandon Scott Perry, an FC Cincinnati supporter, who also serves as the team’s deejay before and after the game. “We’re inside a Division I football stadium and it’s packed for a soccer game. It used to be we’d have to go to Columbus to see a big match. This town was so ready for this.”
FC Cincinnati made headlines last season for big gates, averaging more than 17,000 fans, but missed a chance to face the Crew when it lost a third-round Open Cup match. Cincinnati is one of 12 clubs vying for inclusion in the latest Major League Soccer expansion process.
Supporters viewed this week as its “MLS audition” with an Open Cup game that followed Monday’s unveiling of designs for a proposed $200 million stadium. Upsetting their MLS neighbors who played seven regulars will only fuel hopes and spur a rivalry between the fan bases.
Crew SC ambassador Frankie Hejduk, a former team player, was impressed with the atmosphere. In keeping with tradition, hundreds of Cincinnati supporters marched together into the stadium, bass drums beating, minutes before kickoff.
Crew fans sat about 50 yards from Cincinnati’s version of the Nordecke — The Bailey. The 1,700-seat section, situated behind the north-side goal, teemed with the side’s most rowdy supporters, ones who set off orange and blue smoke bombs after Djiby Fall scored the game’s only goal in the 64th minute.
“For a weekday night, look at this (crowd),” Hejduk said. “I love the passion and a stadium full of color. They are still doing a lot of minor-league things here with the ticket prices and giveaways to build the fan base, but you can tell they are loving the game.”