1 Stadium. 2 Teams. 2 Very Different Outcomes.

Ask a Bearcat fan how their weekend was today and you're likely to hear the normal blah, blah, blah, BUT the Bearcats lost which sucked.

Ask an FC Cincinnati fan how their weekend was and you're likely to hear the normal blah, blah, blah, BUT I went to the FC Cincinnati game on Sunday. They lost a close match on two freak goals but it was a lot of fun and I can't wait for next year!

OK, so maybe they don't respond just like that (although, the die-hard Bearcat fan is likely to tell you that Saturday night ruined their weekend).

I attended every moment of both games and the differences were striking:

Now, if you're saying to yourself, "but Joe, they both lost, why does it matter?," I'll tell you why.

You don't have to look any further than the fan bases of these two programs to see the the polarizing difference.

One one hand, you have FC Cincinnati. 30,187 fans last night proved that a team with strong leadership, a chip on their shoulder, and a desire to do something they love (well). In their first year FCC set single game attendance records, season attendance records, had the USL's leading scorer, attracted attention from the MLS, and captivated a city and a fan-base in a fun engaging way. In one season, FCC was able to take professional soccer and integrate it into the water-cooler conversation of Cincinnatians that couldn't tell you the number of MLS teams playing today (20, for those of you reading this that don't know).

On the other hand, you have UC Football. 33,108 fans bought tickets to attend the game on Saturday night. I'm guessing that actual attendance was 5,000 less than that, with MAYBE 10,000 people left at the start of the fourth quarter. The sense of apathy within the fan base, in and outside of Nippert Stadium, is telling. I don't think anyone believes that the Bearcats are better today than we were 4 years ago.

I believe that FC Cincinnati has uniquely positioned itself in the Cincinnati community and is poised to build on their first season successes with an ever better second season. I went to 5 home games this year. Next year I'll probably buy season tickets (and more than one branded shirt). I didn't hear a single thing about the program, the players, the coaches, or the venue the entire year. The FC Cincinnati team did a phenomenal job putting together an impossibly perfect inaugural season. Here's to many more!

UC Football has a ways to go at this point, but in an effort to focus on the good that FC Cincinnati has done, I'll share those thoughts separately.