If you go to UC or live in the Cincinnati area, one sports team seems to be getting everyone's attention: FC Cincinnati, the new Cincinnati USL (United Soccer League) soccer team. It was iffy on how well the soccer team would do in Cincinnati just because we had always focused on Reds Baseball, Bengals Football and even the Cincinnati Cyclones get a good reputation. But, with the Reds losing the hearts of Cincinnatians this season because of their own losses, FC Cincinnati chose a good year to start.

With the inaugural home match, FC Cincinnati held the record for largest USL attendance at 20,497. They repeatedly surprised everyone by bringing in more and more people to watch the game. In May, they brought in 23,375 attendees. This was a better attendance than all but one of the MLS (Major Soccer League) teams that had games that weekend, which was Toronto with 24,748. FC Cincinnati brings in regular fans and have won 11 games so far this year. They have only lost two times and are playing Louisville City FC on the 25th, a team they lost to back in April. The game is to be broadcasted on national TV, which should bring some eyes onto FC Cincinnati, even if people haven't seen them play before.

FC Cincinnati is bringing in good revenue and attention to Cincinnati as well as UC. They are selling spirit wear not just in their own stores, but at local stores around the city. The Columbus Crew's saying of "Steve Says No" has carried over to FC Cincinnati's "Mitch Says No" for goalie Mitch Hildebrant. There are various chants for the team that all can be heard from "the Pride," a section of fans at the games that sit in the Bailey. FC Cincinnati has an average of about 17,500 fans per game, which is higher than five MLS teams' averages in 2015.

On July 16, FC Cincinnati will be playing Crystal Palace of the Barclays Premier League in an international friendly match at Nippert Stadium. Tickets will be starting at $10, and season ticket holders already have a ticket. Ten dollars is a good deal to see a match like this. It is a great opportunity for FC Cincinnati to play against a high level team with history, especially in its first year. This should bring more attendance to the teams games and show the rest of the U.S. just how good the team is and how supportive Cincinnati is of a new team.

With the idea of more fans and bigger attendances for FC Cincinnati, deals with UC have been made to make even bigger changes to Nippert Stadium. During the fall and spring semesters, changes were made to accompany the soccer team by taking out the football goal posts on the field and removing the turf and replacing it with unlined turf for the soccer games. FC Cincinnati most recently made the deal to permanently remove a "minimum number of rows and lower level seats" in Nippert Stadium.

This will widen the field, giving the team the proper field and playing regulations for the MLS. With this, UC can also host popular U.S. national team qualifying matches. With these renovations, it shows the progress that FC Cincinnati is making and reveals that Cincinnati does hold interest in becoming a top soccer city in the U.S. This renovation will take place in between UC's football season and FC Cincinnati's next season.

With the game in Louisville on the 25th, it has also been said that Louisville hoped to join the MLS, but because of FC Cincinnati's fame growing strong within the first year, FC Cincinnati may beat them to it. Since Cincinnati has a higher population and a bigger market, we are more appealing to the MLS, even though Louisville beat us the first time around. Because of the competition to join the MLS and the nearly 100 miles on I-71 that separate Cincinnati and Louisville, this has sparked the rivalry between the two teams – a rivalry that will stay until one of the teams joins the MLS.

Cincinnati has always taken pride in its sports, and even when the going gets tough with a team, we stick with them and support them as best we can. Right now, FC Cincinnati is doing well and will continue to have full support of all soccer lovers in Cincinnati. I know I'll be at the games to come in the future, will you?