Saturday was supposed to be the quarter-mile mark in the 2020 MLS regular season. Instead, it’s a reminder that we haven’t seen an FC Cincinnati game at Nippert Stadium in seven months.
Plenty of questions remain about the league’s eventual restart and how the schedule will be rearranged. (Maybe we’ll even have questions about position battles and depth charts soon, too!)
But thank you for all the Down The Hatch questions, and I hope they’re a sense of normalcy as we reevaluate what normal means. As a reminder, questions can be submitted here or by tweeting at me on Twitter.
Jake: If Liga MX and MLS eventually merge, how do you envision the league format to be?
I love this idea and think it’s great that there are so many different formats. First, I think the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup would never be more significant – which would be fantastic.
With so many teams, you’d probably only play an opponent once, which grows the stakes of rivalry matches. Would conferences continue? Maybe, but there’d have to be a restructuring – the most-eastern point of Mexico is practically where the MLS Western Conference begins with Nashville SC. As for postseason plans, I have no idea.
That said, this is great for cultural diversity and appreciation (and TV ratings). I’m all for it. Imagine FCC playing Club América in Azteca!?! Yes, please.
Sam: Which FCC kit is your favorite?
I ranked FC Cincinnati’s jerseys in December, but I think I’d revise my rankings. The 2018 home jerseys ooze class and are colorful, which is underrated at a time when MLS and adidas design jerseys tend to have similar looks and can also crossover as streetwear in addition to on-field looks.
The 2016-17 road shirts were cooler than people think, and I actually really like the Parley jersey last year. I know every MLS team wore them – to the point they seemed bland – but FCC look really good in navy.
Also, when in doubt, just add orange shorts. Seriously.
Jpmitsch_24: Where do away teams practice when they visit Cincinnati?
Good question (!), and the locations vary. This is more of a team-by-team preference because most teams don’t practice when they travel because of various logistics. For example: FCC didn’t train at FC Dallas when I was with the team last August, but they did before playing Saint Louis FC in the Open Cup two months earlier.
Mercy Health Training Center in Milford has been used by a handful of teams, but they also use other facilities in the area.
Krehbrew: Why can’t I watch FCC on ESPN+?
If you live in the FloFC market, that’s how you can watch older FC Cincinnati matches that haven’t been used in the FCC Classics campaign. Here’s a graphic of that FloFC area. If you live outside this, you should be able to watch ESPN+.
Connor: Who is the one player you miss the most?
There’s no right answer, honestly. I’ve been really appreciative of how great FCC players have been to work with, so there’s not one player who sticks out. It’ll be nice to see all the current players again.
As for previous ones, it was great chatting with Michael Lahoud earlier this week for the Orange and Blue Review. I forgot how much I missed speaking with Richie Ryan until I saw him in Tucson when FCC played the El Paso Locomotive.
Landon: Will you guys have a noise ‘o meter at your new stadium?
To my knowledge, no, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. I think the West End Stadium will be loud with the roof, and the atmosphere should be incredible.
Side note: I loved the noise meter growing up going to UC basketball games at Fifth Third Arena.
