HOSTILE TERRITORY: TQL Stadium

For the second consecutive weekend, I found myself venturing into hostile territory, this time to see a much less popular sport here in America: Soccer. I took a short 1.5 hour drive from Columbus down to Cincinnati for a visit to TQL Stadium, where FC Cincinnati played host to the Philadelphia Union last Saturday. You can read on below for more pictures and info about the experience, and check out the podcast here:

As per my preferred routine, I arrived early for the match. I especially like doing this when I'm visiting a new stadium so I can soak in as much of the experience as possible. I parked a few blocks away in the Over-The-Rhine neighborhood and walked over to the stadium from there, hoping to grab a beer at The Pitch across the street:

It's a nice enough place, but as you can see from the second picture above, the lines were already quite long by the time I'd arrived. Considering that there weren't any other bars nearby (but there were a few by where I parked - d'oh!) AND considering the price of a beer was only a couple bucks cheaper than it would be at the stadium, I decided to head across the street where crowds were most certainly lower:

Side note: I mentioned on the podcast that I thought the stadium seated about 10,000 people. It actually seats 26,000. That's quite impressive, IMO.

Beer options inside were plentiful, including Sam Adams and Rhinegeist booths (both brew their beer just a few blocks from the stadium). I decided to go for something a little more off the radar and a little more humourous:

It's named after the "Hell is Real" sign you can see on Interstate 71 between Columbus and Cincinnati, which is also the namesake of the rivalry between FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew SC. This is just one of the many great local beers available throughout the stadium, and if you know me, you know how much I appreciate supporting local beer.

I enjoyed most of that beer at the bar overlooking the stadium from the northwest corner:

To the right, you can see the supporters section, called "The Bailey."

As for food, vegetarian options were limited from what I could find, but even though this isn't the greatest pic of this mac & cheese, it was quite tasty:

I'll also give props for this sweet cream cheese filled soft pretzel, something I've only seen before at Wawa (if you know, you know):

For the omnivores out there, options are a little more plentiful. Even though I didn't eat it, I appreciated that this BBQ vendor added a special item just for Saturday's match:

And of course, there's local favourite Skyline Chili. It wasn't my thing even when I used to eat meat, but if you like cinnamon & nutmeg in your chili on your spaghetti, have at it:

There was a great moment during the pre-game where FCC midfielder Haris Medunjanin was presented with a frankenjersey featuring both the Union and FCC, as he is returning to Bosnia soon. He had played for both teams during his MLS career:

He drew into the lineup later in the match when it was out of reach, nearly scoring a goal as well:

As for the match itself, it didn't go the way I'd hoped, but I'm pleased with my decision to make the trip down regardless. Thanks to the two season ticket holders to my right for posting the ticket on StubHub and for being very hospitable despite our differing allegiances. There's truly not a bad seat in the house that I could see, and FCC has a truly passionate fanbase that absolutely brought it:

The stadium looks even more visually appealing at night when it's illuminated in various colours:

And...there are appropriately themed bike racks:

While waiting out traffic, it seemed like a perfect time to head back over to The Pitch to enjoy a nice cool beverage outside on a gorgeous late Summer evening, complete with more views of the stadium in the background:

If you're ever in the Cincinnati area, I'd definitely recommend taking in a match at TQL Stadium as part of your plans. Unless something comes up, I'll be back the next time the Union are in town for sure.