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Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio – The Bockfest is an annual event held in Cincinnati’s historic Brewery District, celebrating the city’s German cultural heritage with one of its favorite drinks: bock beer. The strong, dark beer synonymous with German celebrations is often accompanied by goat imagery; the Bockfest is no different. In its first rendition, the first barrel of beer to be drunk was “transported by goat cart from the oldest bar in town to the oldest church,” according to the Fest’s website. Now, the humble cart has evolved into a “trojan goat” which transports the malty liquid to its thirsty patrons, many of whom are dressed in goat costumes (Picture courtesy of Cincinnati Magazine).
Since 2016, however, the mighty goat isn’t the only iconic Cincinnati imagery present. Now, some festival-goers sport orange and blue with St. Mark’s Lion or the Tyler Davidson Fountain – they are members of the Die Innenstadt supporter group, one of the 8 FC Cincinnati supporter groups in the city. Die Innenstadt (“the inner city” in German) were founded in 2016 as a Cincinnati urban core focused supporters’ group for the local soccer team (at that point not yet in MLS). The group connected FC Cincinnati fans who loved the history of their city and wanted to honor its German roots. And, evidently, drink beer together.
Early on, the group took inspiration from Bundesliga team FC Koln, which of course famously uses the goat as its symbol. But the focus was always on glorifying their own city, according to DI leader David:
“We’re here to show the world that Cincinnati is a really cool place, but also full of good people… We see the city as the foundation of our fandom. The team, in theory, could be picked up and moved anywhere. But we support our city.”
Non-American readers might not understand the gravity of that sentiment. The American franchise sports model inherently leaves open the possibility for the team to be moved to a completely different city, often for cynical reasons such as billionaires not paying for their own [redacted] stadiums. In the rest of the world, the local team is a permanent fixture in the city; the team moving somewhere else does not even enter the collective psyche of the fan base. Americans inherently must deal with even the most beloved local teams being threatened with relocation, so the fact that Die Innenstadt so strongly roots for its city over the team that happens to play there is something special.
Speaking of potentially relocated teams, FC Cincinnati’s in-state rivals just 100 miles northeast on Interstate-71, the Columbus Crew, were threatened with relocation to Austin in 2018 (Austin, of course, got its team anyway). Thankfully, the Crew were saved by new owners who vowed to keep them in the great state of Ohio, and one of the MLS’ fiercest inter-state derbies was born. It’s called the “Hell Is Real” derby, owing its name to the iconic (disturbing?) billboard halfway between Columbus and Cincinnati reminding Ohio drivers that hell is, in fact, real.
Derbies make soccer special, after all, and Hell Is Real is no different. The teams’ first meeting came in 2017, when mighty Columbus from the MLS visited (at the time) USL minnows FC Cincinnati at the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium. Incredibly, Djiby Fall scored the only goal of the game to knock out the Crew and propel Cincinnati to an historic upset. For David, this was a core moment in his FC Cincinnati fanhood: “One of the best sporting moments of my life.” He reminisced about Fall’s return to Cincinnati years later, when the Open Cup hero participated in the tradition of pulling a sword out in front of The Bailey, FC Cincinnati’s supporter section.
The I-71 rivals first faced off in MLS in 2019, for which Die Innenstadt and dozens of fellow FCC supporters piled into a bus and drove the hour and a half to Crew Stadium in Columbus. That drive was likely not an uncommon one among FCC supporters, as David mentioned to us: many match-going FCC fans in the early days had season tickets to the Crew as well. They’ve since fully converted to Cincinnati fans, but there is no denying the complex relationship these two fan bases have. To combat any potential vitriol between the new rival fanbases, the Cincinnati fans were escorted by mounted police through the streets of Columbus making (David claims) more noise than the far more numerous Columbus fans. The adult beverages certainly played a part: “From the first beer we cracked open to the end of the game, it was a complete zoo… Those away days are some of the best experiences we have as a supporter group.” The Cincinnati fans certainly played a part: the MLS newcomers jumped out to a shocking 2-0 first half lead before Columbus equalized in the second half for the match to end 2-2.
In 2023, FC Cincinnati are more than the new kids on the block. They just clinched the MLS Supporters Shield as the top team in the league and don’t look like stopping. That momentum has energized support for the local team and the US National Team alike. The atmosphere, if you haven’t been yet (you should!), is “Incredible. It is top class in terms of soccer specific stadiums. It’s at least better than Columbus’, there’s not a doubt in my mind,” according to David. This declaration might come as a surprise to outside observers and as blasphemy to fans from the state capital; Columbus has long been one of the country’s “soccer capitals” due to the long-time presence of the Crew, the first soccer-specific stadium in the U.S., and a tradition of the USMNT playing there. Can Cincinnati stake its claim as the U.S. soccer capital? David thinks it can:
The spiritual home of US soccer is St. Louis; it’s not debatable. 120 years of US soccer history is in St. Louis. But the people you see supporting FCC, they are there for the national team too. [The US Soccer Capital] can be Cinci; I don’t think we’re there yet, but we’ve pulled neck and neck with Columbus. No matter what, whenever you come to Cinci, you’re going to see an incredible soccer atmosphere, whether it is for the men’s or women’s national team, or FC Cincinnati, you’re going to have an incredible experience, a beautiful stadium, in a beautiful part of the city–the West End.
The group leverages that passion and enthusiasm from its fans for its charity work and inclusiveness of fans from all walks of life. “This is what makes it so attractive,” said David. Everyone sees the game day atmosphere DI helps to create – banging drums, burning flares, and singing songs for 90 minutes – but it’s their activities out of the stadium that makes it special. Die Innenstadt works with a local soccer charity called ‘It Starts With The Shoes’ which helps provide socio-economically disadvantaged students, especially refugees, play soccer by providing them with equipment and gear. They have been creative in their fundraising efforts too: in the past few years they’ve hosted an Uno tournament to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and worked with local brewery Rhinehaus to offer $1 for every beer to go to charity. Now that is a charity everyone can make sure never goes unfunded!
All links to the mentioned charities can be found below:
It Starts With The Shoes: https://itstartswiththeshoes.org/
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: https://afsp.org/
All photos provided by Die Innenstadt unless otherwise noted.
Check out Die Innenstadt’s website for more information on their history, current events, membership, and merch! http://dieinnenstadt.com/
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