Major League Soccer almost missed out on something special between the Columbus Crew SC and FC Cincinnati. What is now being referred to as the “Hell Is Real Derby”, due to the sign that is on I-71 in-between Columbus and Cincinnati, almost didn’t happen. In fact, Ohio was almost left without a single MLS team.
This time last year the expansion bid for FC Cincinnati seemed to be one of many dark horses and Columbus Crew SC seemed to be headed to the annals of defunct sports franchises. The unknowns surrounding the addition and subtraction of MLS franchises to the Buckeye state were unsettling. The state that had housed the first MLS franchise might be left with a failed attempt to add a team and a failed attempt to save one. Things were dark. Nashville had just been awarded a team, narrowing the remaining bids to Cincinnati, Detroit, and Sacramento. Cincinnati was the only bid that was located less than 2 hours away from an already existing MLS team and many were not sure the city would be a good fit for an MLS franchise. While some thought FC Cincinnati would replace Columbus in the Eastern conference and thereby not lose the state, others doubted Cincinnati’s viability as a soccer city despite the success at the USL level.
However, the seemingly least plausible scenario has taken place and Ohioans now have a rivalry to fuel their love of soccer. Instead of an empty stadium on the Ohio fairgrounds and memories of sell-out soccer crowds in a collegiate football stadium, Ohio will be getting two Eastern conference MLS teams and two new stadiums. In fact, the groundbreaking for FC Cincinnati’s new stadium happened last month shortly after a proposal for a new stadium in Columbus was published. While it may take some time for this rivalry to reach its full potential, the excitement around these two teams bodes well for the future meetings between old and new.
Below is a current picture of the MLS table with FC Cincinnati rounding out the 24 teams for the 2019 season.
