There Are Very Few Things Better Than Seeing The City You Live In Develop A Major League Team

When you think of pro sports, you don’t typically think of expansion or relocation. You think of teams that have been in the same city/area for their existence. However, I’m currently witnessing Cincinnati – the city that I live in – develop a major league team and it’s absolutely awesome. No, I’m not talking about the Reds or Bengals, but rather FC Cincinnati.

Despite the US not making the World Cup, soccer continues to grow in the United States no matter what you think of the sport. The MLS is expanding and while it’s still trying to form an identity as a league they are building something through expansion and fan support. Selfishly for me, getting a team like FC Cincinnati into the area gives me something to cheer for as a transplant to the city. I’m not a Reds fan. I’m not a Bengals fan. It sucks living 10 minutes from stadiums and not going there to cheer for a team.

But, this isn’t about me, this is about watching a city develop a major league team. What makes the development of FC Cincinnati and a lot of other soccer teams getting the call up to the MLS is they are self-built. It’s not an expansion team like we saw with the Golden Knights, Marlins, Diamondbacks, Grizzlies, Raptors, Panthers, etc. In FCC’s case, they have been a USL team for the last 3 seasons building up a fanbase within the community. Games are typically sold out and they tend to outdraw MLS teams even.

Now I know a lot of major cities can’t relate to this. Cities like Chicago, Boston and New York have so many teams that it doesn’t matter when someone like NYCFC joins the MLS. But, here it does matter and it’s awesome to see. They are developing a new stadium for the team – a conversation for a different day.

Yes, it does help that FC Cincinnati has been successful in the USL the last 2+ seasons. But, seeing the fan support here as a team that everyone in the city can get behind is pretty cool, especially as an outsider in the city. Cincinnati is a unique city in the fact you have two major college hoops teams in the city that split the residents. You have Ohio State football fans in the city that takeaway from Cincinnati and even Kentucky in some parts. But in my 31 years on this here globe, seeing a city develop a major league team is pretty damn wild. If it happens around you I highly suggest staying attached because it’s a fun ride.