The Hell is Real derby is a bi-annual clash of Ohio clubs that is truly unique in Major League Soccer and always promises to be the most intense and entertaining matchup of any given match week.
It is, for everyone involved, a match you circle the calendar for at the beginning of the season and know when it's coming.
Sometimes the matchup is robbed of a little of its muster, or the hype that can be generated behind it, when there's a midweek match or a brutal string of games that precede it. Earlier this season, the first playing of the Hell is Real derby at Lower.Com Field, for example, took place on a Saturday night in Columbus. Still, both sides played international midweek matches, which forced them to manage an extra game in the build-up to the rivalry, making for a more subdued "week" of build-up to Hell is Real.
Both teams (at the time), fairly and rightly so, commented on the challenges of playing in the midweek ahead of a rivalry matchup, both from a physical standpoint and a mental one. Neither side could afford to overlook their midweek opponent, meaning they could not begin to truly focus on their Ohio rivals until after their Wednesday night matches. Meaning the marquee match of the weekend was to be played not at its peak potential. Both sides had the same circumstances, but the viewing audiences may have been robbed of something.
This time around, the runway is clear.
The return match of Hell is Real, this Saturday, July 12th night, at TQL Stadium, comes with an uninterrupted week of build to the game and allows for the full focus a Hell is Real matchup deserves. It also creates buzz around the locker room for FC Cincinnati players as they build up to this all-Ohio rivalry series.
"We know the big one's coming up on the weekend, and everyone has full focus on (the match)," FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano said Saturday night in a postgame interview after defeating Chicago Fire FC 2-1. "You'll start to feel the intensity pick up and guys start locking in so yeah they win this weekend."
"The most important one's the next one," Celentano added. "Obviously this one means a bit more for the fans and the club. I feel like the boys have had some time to work on things in training…and guys are stepping up and doing their jobs."
FC Cincinnati players and coaches have, over time, expressed a variety of ways they choose to approach a big game. Some try to take a more measured approach, others prefer, by nature, to use the additional stakes any rivalry game brings to ramp up the energy and use that to focus things. The thing is, regardless of approach, everyone admits that these kinds of games take extra effort to keep things' normal.'
That goes for newcomers to the rivalry as well as returning and familiar faces. The concept of rivalries or derbies is a universal language; they exist everywhere and hold meaning for every club, regardless of its geographic base or level. But even still, FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan has shared in the past that in an effort to best prepare their newcomers to Hell is Real they build a conversation off the meaning and importance level of the match into their weekly preparation so as to best equip their players as to how to handle the game.
Players also shared this week that even in the immediate moments after FC Cincinnati's last match, a 2-1 victory over Chicago Fire at TQL Stadium, the conversation quickly turned to Columbus and what the next week would bring.
"Just now in the locker room when we were together in the cold tub, we just started talking about next week," FC Cincinnati midfielder Pavel Bucha said in the mixed zone. "I think that says it. It's going to be big and everyone can feel it, and we know what we need to do."
The attention has turned to Hell is Real, but in general, the tenor of the team may be at the best it's been all season. Riding a four-game win streak, FC Cincinnati has seen not only an uptick in results, shooting to the top of the Supporters' Shield table with 14 matches to go, but they've also turned in performances they have been proud of.
Similarly, earning a win on Saturday at TQL Stadium seemed to give FCC another valuable lift to the psyche. It had been over a month since the last time FCC had won a match in front of their home fans. They had won games on the road, but now they were getting in front of the friendly confines that the FC Cincinnati faithful provide.
The combination of all these things has resulted in a confident group. A group that feels good about themselves and what they can do. However, that group has continued to preach stability and a commitment to the process as a means of achieving success.
"The locker room has been in good spirits, but we never get carried away," Alvas Powell said last Saturday. "It's been jokey. But when it's a serious time, everybody gets together.
"We know Columbus is a good team, and it's a rivalry game," Powell continued. "So we are always mindful of the next game. But the important thing now is to just do our recovery and make sure we're up and ready for that game."
"I feel good about myself and also about the team," Pavel Bucha also said ahead of the Hell is Real matchup. "I love the fact that we got a win tonight at home, that was so important for us because it's been almost a month since we last played here in our home stadium. So it was really important for us and also because of our fans, to get a win tonight. So I think it helps us for the coming matches."
"That's always a good factor when you're playing a good team in front of your home fans, and it's certainly a very meaningful game," Pat Noonan said after the victory Saturday, pointing to the value in confidence a winning streak can bring. "Coming off a win is nice, but tomorrow we forget about this and turn our focus to our next opponent, so hopefully, we can have a good week in preparation.
"I think what I'm most pleased about is this stretch of wins, we've had really good preparation and guys have done a lot of good things in training that has translated to help us get results," Noonan continued. "Is it always perfect? No. There are things we can get better with but forget about it. Take this good feeling that we have with results, but don't be content with where we're at. Be hungry to go do more good things with our performance."
Hell is Real is not only a game that ramps up the heat on the field, but off of it as well. FC Cincinnati is encouraging fans to wear orange to the match to create an “Orange Out” at TQL Stadium on Saturday night and will have specialty orange apparel for sale in the team store if you’re looking for something to add to your wardrobe. Prematch parties in Washington Park and outside the stadium will also ramp things up for Hell is Real, and photo opportunities will be set up on the Carl and Martha Lindner Plaza to celebrate the game.
For more information on Hell is Real, including tickets, click here.
