CHESTER, Pa. − Before the FC Cincinnati soccer players took the field for the Eastern Conference semifinal game on Thursday night, seven FC Cincinnati die-hard fans piled in a van at 1 a.m. that same morning to drive roughly 600 miles to see their favorite team play in Philadelphia.
For them, it was a duty.
"It’s the MLS playoffs, and we’re here to cheer the boys to victory,” said 35-year-old Jamie Amis from Union Township, Ohio, one of the seven in the van. "We'll do our part. They'll do their part," his carmate Alex Bernard, a 30-year-old from Bellevue, Kentucky, added. "We'll all be happy."
The seven road-trippers were a few members from the FCC supporters group called Queen City Mafia, a group, nay family, of fans dedicated to screaming their lungs out to root on the Orange and Blue. About 14 of their crew – women and men, parents and their kids, ranging in age from their twenties to their late fifties − came out to the historic game.
They were one of many groups who came to (just outside) the city of Brotherly Love in hopes of cheering FC Cincinnati to victory. They were one of many who boarded planes or drove for nine hours and hundreds of miles to see fifth-seed Cincinnati take on first-seed Philadelphia Union for the chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Final and, then if all worked accordingly, the MLS Cup.
There were some fans who have been deeply involved in the fanbase, like Steve Casper of Erlanger, Kentucky, who was in Philadelphia with his wife, Meg Casper. Casper had previously served on the team's fan council. Others like Rosie and Bill Sei, a couple from St. Louis, Missouri, were newer to the fanbase. Lacking jerseys, they had to stop at Walmart as they drove to the game to pick up bright, orange T-shirts that would loudly show their support for the team.
No matter who the fans were or where they were coming from, they were ready to show up for the Cincinnati team.
Before the game kicked off, the members of Queen City Mafia headed to Subaru stadium from a pre-game celebration at a nearby brewery, where other Cincinnati fans were getting ready for what they hoped would be a major win.
Like the large gaggle of fans that eventually swarmed the FC Cincinnati fan section inside, the Mafia were decked out in blue and orange jerseys, hats with "Cincinnati" printed across them in big letters and the signature soccer scarves. They carried a huge banner with their group's motto: "Family, City, Club" and a sign with a larger-than-life photo of FCC player Obinna Nwobodo. There was no doubt who they were here for.
They were rowdy – teasing each other, chanting FCC cheers, laughing. And make no mistake, they were having fun.
Why wouldn't they be? They'd been FC Cincinnati fans since day one. Many of them met in the Bailey at Nippert Stadium and have stayed together in the Bailey at TQL Stadium. And they finally saw FC Cincinnati make it to playoffs and earn a historic first-round win against the New York Red Bulls last Saturday.
The work of FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan, general manager Chris Albright and the whole front office "has been nothing short of a miracle," said Amis. "You know if you'd have asked any fan at the beginning of the season, they would have just asked to not be last place. To be in the playoffs, to get that victory in (New Jersey), that is the icing on the cake."
As the game started, Cincinnati's fan section was rocking and rolling, buzzing with excitement at the chance to see their team continue in the playoffs.
There was drumming. Chanting. Gesturing. Screaming. Cussing.
Queen City Mafia members and the rest of the Cincinnati fans were confident their favorite team would win. But the time ticked on with neither teams scoring. Then, more than halfway through the game, Philadelphia Union made a goal. Breaths caught. It was 1-0.
But cheers continued. The fans wouldn't give up rooting (and screaming, and cussing) their team to victory. As the clock marked the 83-minute mark, the realization set in that this might be the end of the road for FC Cincinnati.
"We might be done," said West Bernard, a 59-year-old resident of Campbell County, Kentucky, and Alex's dad, "but we'll come back. We're a resilient team."
As the game came to a close, so did FC Cincinnati's season. They were indeed done.
Hearts were broken. But these fans bounced back quickly.
"We can't just stand here like a bunch of sore losers," said Elizabeth Wagner, a 48-year-old of Pleasant Ridge, Ohio, who was rooting in the FCC fan section, "We (expletive) made it to the playoffs."
Yes they did.
And there was one thing that these fans knew – they'd be back.
Source link
