Hell Is Real derby: Difference between revisions

| first contested = June 14, 2017<br />[[2017 U.S. Open Cup|U.S. Open Cup]]<br />CIN 1–0 CLB

| most wins = [[Columbus Crew]] (7)

| largestvictory = CIN 0–4 CLB<br />[[MLS is Back Tournament]]<br />(July 11, 2020)

| stadiums = [[Lower.com Field]], Columbus<br />[[TQL Stadium]], Cincinnati

| map_location = USA Ohio

'''Hell Is Real''' is a [[local derby|rivalry]] between the two [[Major League Soccer]] (MLS) clubs based in [[Ohio]]: the [[Columbus Crew]] and [[FC Cincinnati]]. Under current MLS regular season scheduling, the series occurs twice per season as both teams are members of the [[Eastern Conference (MLS)|Eastern Conference]]. The teams first met in 2017 in the [[2017 U.S. Open Cup|U.S. Open Cup]] before Cincinnati joined MLS in 2019.

 

 

==Background==

 

 

In October 2017, Columbus owner [[Anthony Precourt]] threatened to move the team to [[Austin, Texas]], putting the prospect of an MLS rivalry between the two Ohio teams in jeopardy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/10/16/columbus-crew-austin-texas-anthony-precourt-stadium|title=Columbus Crew Angling Toward Relocation to Austin in 2019|work=SI.com|date=October 16, 2017 |access-date=July 15, 2019|archive-date=April 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407105811/https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/10/16/columbus-crew-austin-texas-anthony-precourt-stadium|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/fc-cincinnati-on-the-verge-of-losing-its-biggest-mls-rival-columbus-crew-sc|title=FC Cincinnati on the verge of losing its biggest MLS rival, Columbus Crew SC|work=WCPO.com|date=August 15, 2018|access-date=July 15, 2019|archive-date=July 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715230451/https://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/fc-cincinnati-on-the-verge-of-losing-its-biggest-mls-rival-columbus-crew-sc|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cincinnatisoccertalk.com/2018/07/26/hell-is-real-saving-the-budding-fc-cincinnati-columbus-crew-rivalry-is-a-must/|title=Hell is Real: Saving the Budding FC Cincinnati – Columbus Crew Rivalry is a Must|work=cincinnatisoccertalk.com|date=July 26, 2018|access-date=July 17, 2019|archive-date=July 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717030223/https://cincinnatisoccertalk.com/2018/07/26/hell-is-real-saving-the-budding-fc-cincinnati-columbus-crew-rivalry-is-a-must/|url-status=live}}</ref> Precourt's proposed relocation sparked outrage in the American soccer community, creating the ''#SaveTheCrew'' movement. After a year of support by fans, rival teams,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/fc-cincinnati-fans-heading-to-columbus-to-save-the-crew|title=FC Cincinnati fans heading to Columbus to Save the Crew|work=abc6onyourside.com|date=June 9, 2018|access-date=July 17, 2019|archive-date=July 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717030218/https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/fc-cincinnati-fans-heading-to-columbus-to-save-the-crew|url-status=live}}</ref> local businesses, and politicians, the Crew committed to staying in Columbus in November 2018, when the [[Jimmy Haslam|Haslam]] family (owners of the [[National Football League|NFL's]] [[Cleveland Browns]], which had been the subject of a [[Cleveland Browns relocation controversy|controversial relocation]] in the 1990s) purchased the club.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2018/11/13/18085660/save-the-crew-columbus-anthony-precourt|title=Save The Crew stopped a bad sports owner from relocating their team, and so can you|work=SBNation.com|date=November 13, 2018|access-date=July 15, 2019|archive-date=July 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715230448/https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2018/11/13/18085660/save-the-crew-columbus-anthony-precourt|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

==Name==

The rivalry's name was created by fans of both teams in 2017, prior to the first competitive meeting in the U.S. Open Cup. It is derived from a religious sign that reads "HELL IS REAL" located on [[Interstate 71]], the highway that connects Columbus and Cincinnati–a distance of {{convert|110|mi}}.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bengel |first1=Chris |title=Ranking the best rivalry names in Major League Soccer ahead of Rivalry Week 2019 |url=https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/ranking-the-best-rivalry-names-in-major-league-soccer-ahead-of-rivalry-week-2019/ |website=CBSSports.com |date=August 23, 2019 |access-date=23 August 2019 |archive-date=August 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823191210/https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/ranking-the-best-rivalry-names-in-major-league-soccer-ahead-of-rivalry-week-2019/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The sign was installed in 2004 on a local farm in [[Chenoweth, Ohio|Chenoweth]] by a Kentucky developer who had installed similar religious signs in other states.<ref>{{cite news |last=Myers |first=Jacob |date=August 9, 2019 |title=How the 'Hell Is Real' rivalry between Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati got its name |url=https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190809/how-hell-is-real-rivalry-between-columbus-crew-and-fc-cincinnati-got-its-name |work=The Columbus Dispatch |access-date=August 9, 2019 |archive-date=August 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810044101/https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190809/how-hell-is-real-rivalry-between-columbus-crew-and-fc-cincinnati-got-its-name |url-status=dead }}</ref>

 

== Statistics ==

===Match===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

! Competitions

|-

| [[Major League Soccer]]

|-

| [[U.S. Open Cup]]

|-

! Total

|}

 

===Honors===

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

!1

|-

!1

!9

|}

 

|Lower.com Field

|Columbus Crew

|FC Cincinnati

|-

|September 14

|TQL Stadium

|FC Cincinnati

|Columbus Crew

|}

 

[[File:Cincy vs. Crew (35692224781) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Alex Crognale]] of Columbus and [[Baye Djiby Fall]] of Cincinnati battle for a header in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup.]]

<!-- Official matches only. -->

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Pos.!!Name!!Team!!Goals

|7

|-

|align="left"|{{flagicon|ARM}} [[Lucas Zelarayán]]

|Columbus Crew

|-

|rowspan="2"|4

|FC Cincinnati

|-

|align="left"|{{flagicon|DEN}} [[Malte Amundsen]]

|-

|align="left"|{{flagicon|CRC}} [[Luis Díaz Espinoza|Luis Díaz]]

|-

|-

|align="left"|{{flagicon|MAR}} [[Youness Mokhtar]]

|-

|align="left"|{{flagicon|GHA}} [[Isaac Atanga]]

|-

|align="left"|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Edgar Castillo]]

|-

|align="left"|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Nick Hagglund]]

|-

|align="left"|{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Yuya Kubo (footballer)|Yuya Kubo]]

|4

|-

|2020–2022

|83