I have a 1990s bomber jacket that reads 'Cincinnati,' a certified relic of it's time when the Reds were busy sweeping the A's to win the World Series. I have a variety of baseball caps dawning old logos of several teams including the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. I have 5 FC Cincinnati kits that I've collected since the team's inception in 2015, not including the "Hell is Real" derby shirt when the Orange and Blue shocked Columbus at Nippert Stadium last summer. These items alone represent half of my wardrobe. I just can't get enough of the place I used to call home.

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   Yet, here I am living in Brooklyn the last two years, sporting shirts from my town while living in a place that gives credence to Yankee pinstripes. My roommate has the consistent pleasure of pointing out the contradiction: "How can you be so obsessed with Cincinnati and live in New York?"

 

   When you live in a place long enough, you start to idealize the moments you've spent there, remembering the way the town looked in the summer, the voices and smells of the people you were with while driving your car, the glow of distant towers and passing planes. There's always a certain sentimentality assigned to a city, a memory you can choose to embrace or dismiss. Nowadays, there's so much pride for Cincinnati diffused in the form of bumper stickers, shirts, caps, mugs, and magnets. From the outside looking in, it seems petty - a token of brilliant merchandising sold by local players like Rhinegeist, Cincy Shirts, and Homage. Still, the trend is anything but superficial. The people talking so much about Cincinnati are trying to say something to the rest of the world: this place is home.

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   The adoration for Cincinnati is a phenomenon not unlike a relationship, where expats and residents bare their vulnerability, their person, carrying the place with them like old photos on a phone. Their enthusiasm is telling of how much they've allowed the city to be apart of their individual selves and suggests the inexplicable presence of our little metro on the river. FC Cincinnati is part of this equation. As supporters, we know It's not just pride-in-city, it's also pride-in-self. Auxilia One is the first remote FC Cincinnati supporters' group formed to bring New York's Cincinnatians together.

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   Aux One is dedicated to those who are far from Cincinnati. This is a supporters' group for the Orange and Blue, made up of individuals who find themselves missing the camaraderie that soccer brings and longing for matches at Nippert. No matter why you're in New York, join us for matchday and a little slice of home.

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