Tonight's match between USL club FC Cincinnati and the Crew has fans on both sides "buzzing," as 21,000 tickets had been sold as of yesterday afternoon for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match at Nippert Stadium, according to Patrick Brennan of the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER. That number would set a U.S. Open Cup fourth-round attendance record. Decorative tarps have "already been removed in anticipation of the record crowd." Fans on both sides have "eschewed the 'Ohio Derby' moniker the clubs have attempted to push on them." Instead, they have "dubbed the rivalry the 'Hell is real' derby in an ode to the famous signs on I-71." The 107 miles that separate Cincinnati and Columbus "seems to be a sticking point for the organizations." The Crew have maintained Cincinnati is part of their "marketplace while FC Cincinnati, as part of its pitch for MLS expansion, has argued there's room in the Buckeye State for both teams at the MLS level." The teams have "never played." There are "reasonable suggestions there shouldn't be a drop of bad blood between the teams, but that just doesn't seem to be the case." Brennan writes it all "sets up for a night of imagery that could paint FC Cincinnati's MLS expansion bid in a vibrant way that the spiral bound packets the club submitted to MLS executives never could" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 6/14).
