CINCINNATI — Tickets for Saturday’s Hell is Real Rivalry between FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew sold out Friday morning. One fan shared his unique story of split loyalties and which team he hopes will win.
Cincinnati native Andrew Prentovic has been a soccer fan for as long as he can remember. It was his grandfather, semi-professional player, who sparked his interest in the sport at a young age.
“A lot of Cincinnati teams were minor league at the time,” said Prentovic. “There were the Cincinnati River Hawks, The Cincinnati Silver Back. We went to all those games, but when the Crew came around in 96, he took me to a few games up there.”
Nothing beat going to the Columbus Crew games with his grandfather. And he’ll never forget team’s inaugural game in their stadium in 1999 when he competed in the Brian McBride look a-like contest.
“As a 9- or 10-year-old, I won that so I got to lead the march in,” he said. “I got an autographed poster from the crew that still hangs in my basement today. But it was an awesome time as a kid.”
And while the crew will always hold a spot in his heart, it was FC Cincinnati that won him over when the team came to town in 2016.
“I was there when GB scored a header on them to advance in the open cup,” he said. “I don’t remember what year that was. But it just kind of developed from there.”
It didn’t take long before he became a die-hard FC Cincinnati fan. And although he enjoys watching the two play each other, he said last year’s tied game was heartbreaking.
“We thought we had the win in the bag,” he said. “Some unruly fans threw a beer on the field and their player grabbed it and chugged it right in front of us. So insult to injury on that one.”
This Saturday, the two Major League Soccer teams will go head to head for their rivalry match at TQL Stadium. This time he believes FC will take home the win.
“It is a rivalry,” he said. “Anything can happen. To say I’m not nervous would be a lie. So I’m looking forward to it. I’m very optimistic. I hope we get it done.”
This is the 14th time TQL stadium has sold out for a game since it opened in 2021.
