Auxilia One was born in April 2018 in Brooklyn, New York, with a vision to connect with Cincinnati transplants and supporters. Gatherings began in South Williamsburg at Banter Brooklyn until Aux One grew into an amorphous supporters' group, eventually holding larger pub watches, events, trips to matches in Greater New York City, and scarf releases. In 2019, Rosco the Rat was adopted as the official mascot and logo of the SG, giving the group the 'city rats' alias as an ode to New York's invasive and persistent rodent population. Today, Aux One is officially recognized by FC Cincinnati.
Ancient Rome's military primarily featured heavy infantrymen called legionaries, citizens that made up the bulk of the State's defenses. However, Rome was disadvantaged by its lack of cavalry and range fighters and frequently contracted mercenaries from other territories to make up for their militaristic discrepancies. Later, these units were designated under an official branch called the Auxilia. The Auxilia was made up of specialized non-citizen troops used to aid Rome in war. Most of the fighters were scrappy, ill-equipped volunteers, but eventually matched the prowess of the legionaries themselves. Auxilia One was named in honor of this history. As transplants operating outside of the seven hills of Cincinnati, we willfully defend our home through our support of club and city. The 'One' in our name represents the first remote SG.
Auxilia One does not have a formal membership process. If you show up, you're apart of the group. We do not expect anyone to buy anything, nor register their information with us. Memberships might work well for other SGs, but due to the revolving-door nature of living in a large metro, we like to keep things casual. In the same vein, there is no council nor president. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and involve consensus from active supporters.
We believe we are living in a tumultuous time where white supremacy and fascism are infesting our politics and livelihoods. The Capitol riots on January 6th, 2021 organized in an attempt to prevent the tabulation of electoral votes and install a false leader are indicative of festering extremism. Not only have we seen this ugliness from a national context, we have seen it in our own backyard. Notably, MLS and NYCFC stalled in condemning the white supremacists attending matches at Yankee Stadium while simultaneously banning symbols and phrases associated with civil rights and social justice at all league functions - including games. MLS commissioner Don Garber issued a statement about NYCFC's problematic supporters nearly a year later. Today, the league embraces initiatives like Black Lives Matter but it took a summer of civil unrest for it to relent on the ban. Unfortunately, Cincinnati has not been immune to controversy either. In 2019, FC Cincinnati's supporters targeted black players on social media after Ron Jans resignation, often blaming specific people for expressing discomfort in Jans' conduct as manager. For all of this, we believe it's important to simply speak up whenever necessary and reject the normalization of these events. Occasionally, we will donate portions of our merchandise sales to national and local organizations that share our view and advocate for minorities. These organizations will be listed on each item and under our 'Activism' module.