FC Cincinnati is close to clinching the MLS Supporters Shield. What is the trophy?

After chasing the Supporters’ Shield trophy all season, it's nearly in FC Cincinnati’s grasp. Except the Supporters' Shield isn't like most trophies in sports, so if and when Cincinnati clinches it, they can hold it but they definitely won't be in total possession of it.

For months, FC Cincinnati's been pacing Major League Soccer and tracking toward winning the Supporters' Shield, which is one of the most storied prizes in MLS. It's awarded annually to the club with the best regular-season record based on the league’s points system (and related tiebreaking procedures).

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With a nine-point lead in the league-wide standings in the dwindling weeks of the regular-season, FC Cincinnati enters Saturday’s match against Toronto FC with a nearly insurmountable lead for the Supporters’ Shield. Win the match, and it officially belongs to them.

But after the celebrations and holding the Supporters' Shield aloft, whenever that happens, FC Cincinnati would have to give the Shield back to the fans charged with safeguarding it every single day and night.

That's right. The fans control the trophy. They call the shots.

The trophy is steeped in traditions, charitable aims and other quirks that diverge from sharply from others in North American sports. It is truly a trophy by supporters, and for supporters, and it's unlike any other a professional sports team in Cincinnati is ever likely to see.

David Sherman, president of FC Cincinnati independent supporters group Die Innenstadt, met up with The Enquirer to walk through all the machinations behind the Shield and its deep-rooted meaning to the most dedicated soccer fans across the U.S. and Canada.

“Why this trophy is so important is because it’s truly owned by the supporters. We decide how it’s handled and how it’s managed," Sherman said. "The players win it on the field and, through our support, we hope that we are driving them to that trophy, right? And I think that that’s really unique.”

'It's not as sexy or elegant as you think'

The Supporters Shield concept was conceived and executed by passionate fans in the early days of MLS. There is no postseason in many soccer-loving parts of the world, and the first-place finisher is the season's champion. But when MLS launched in 1996, the first-place team was simply the top seed entering the playoffs and nothing more.

The league's early fans wanted more from the burgeoning soccer tradition in the States. There were starts and stops on the road to attaching more meaning to finishing first in the MLS regular season (a more complete history of the Shield can be found here) but the Shield was eventually introduced a few seasons into the league's existence.

The first iteration was in the shape of a chevron but the Supporters Shield we know today is approximately 35 pounds of silver and steel fashioned in a disc shape.

Details on the face of Shield 2.0 reflect the history and shape of the original trophy. The names of each regular-season champion are engraved on the Shield, including the names of the handful of clubs to finish first in the standings before the first trophy was introduced.

Today's Shield could be roughly approximated to a oversized plate, but this is no dinner plate. It’s similar to the German Bundesliga’s “Meisterschale” trophy.

Should "FC Cincinnati" be engraved upon the face of the Shield in the near future, it would constitute a remarkable turnaround and the organization's greatest on-field achievement to-date. They don't get to keep it, though.

The Shield get passed on each time a different clubs finishes first but it's the supporters of the teams - not the clubs or league officials - that do the passing, along with housing the trophy. Should Cincinnati win it, the Shield would live in the homes of a small group of local handlers entrusted with the prize by an organization comprised of soccer fans from all over North America.

An organization called the Independent Supporters Council (ISC), and more specifically the ISC’s Supporters’ Shield Foundation board, manages and administers the awarding of the trophy, along with its well-being.

When it's time for the Shield to change hands, the trophy is mailed from one ISC-affiliated group to the next one. Including the case it is shipped in, the weight of the package (which is insured) is close to 80 pounds, Sherman said, and the local supporters’ groups that are ISC members would then become the guardians of the trophy.

Cincinnati boasts a diverse array of supporters’ groups. Those directly involved in safeguarding the Shield would be high-ranking members of Die Innenstadt, The Pride, and Dayton-based Hangar 937.

“It’s literally sent in the mail in a case and it weighs 80 pounds. It’s insured. It’s mailed to the winners, to the people that need to receive it. It’s not as sexy or as elegant you’d think,” Sherman said. “The ISC organizes all of it. There’s an actual board just for the Supporters’ Shield Foundation and by winning it, we would also get a seat on the board – to help administer it."

What’s a night out on the town look like for the Shield?

At this point, there are significant unknowns for Sherman and his peers regarding how to handle Shield-related appearances and activities. FC Cincinnati hasn’t officially won the trophy yet, so some things simply can't be known.

Sherman was also careful not to assume anything regarding clinching the Shield, nor did he take for granted FC Cincinnati's position in the standings.

But as a matter of practicality, and as FCC moved closer to within clinching distance in the Shield race, the club's supporters have had to weigh about Shield logistics. In many cases, they're taking cues from long-established rules and past practices.

Presidents of the three aforementioned supporters groups are the official, ISC-recognized handlers of the Shield locally, and each would likely designate a second-in-command to help with the responsibilities.

Those responsibilities are such that Sherman said he would need to take an insurance policy out on the Shield, which is said to be valued at more than $10,000.

Realistically, Sherman said, the Shield needs two handlers at a time due to its size. But at the very least, one of the handlers needs to always be present with the trophy.

The club’s other supporters groups have legitimate and equal rights to access the Shield. Those requests would essentially be fielded in the order they’re received.

The Shield would also be open for public access, most likely at home matches initially.

Oh, and how about FC Cincinnati itself? The players are the ones who won the thing after all. The coaches coached the players to it, ownership paid for all it happen, and so on. Well, the club can access the trophy, too – but they must ask and receive permission like any other entity. And as in every other instance, one of the handlers must be in the trophy’s vicinity.

Sherman said that if FC Cincinnati wanted to have the Shield present for a black-tie event, he’d need to find a tuxedo. He was only partially joking.

More than a trophy

The Shield is for the club that wins it, but it’s true intent is as a tool to recognize supporters for their contribution to the winning team’s campaign. That,and charity are the driving forces behind all the machinations that go into administering it.

“The sole purpose of it is to reward supporters and to drive charity,” Sherman said.

Funds that go toward charity are primarily raised through Shield-related merchandise fashioned by the victorious SG’s. Proceeds are split, with half the money going to charity.

ISC maintains image rights for the Shield, which is considered an important protection and buffer between supporters and the clubs. Winning clubs must also sign contractual agreements to obtain image rights in order to use its likeness.

“This trophy is something that the supporters of the other teams took very seriously and they said ‘this is something we want to do.’ Before my time. A decade or more ago,” Sherman said. “For supporters, it means a lot because without the supporters, this club isn’t where we are today. We were there from day one.

“It’s probably the more difficult trophy to win (in MLS). You don’t just win a couple series in the playoffs or a couple matches … This isn’t just a participation trophy. You were the best club over eight months and the supporters were there the whole way, good or bad. We were there for three ‘wooden spoons.’ If you think about the five-year swing and where we’ve come to, it’s just an incredible feat.

“What makes it so unique is this is all run by volunteers. The people on the board, they’re presidents of ‘SG’s’ that have won it, may never win it, etcetera. They put so much value into this that they’re willing to build that framework even if they never get to experience what we might get to experience.

“And that’s humbling to say the least … This is the supporters’ way around the league of saying ‘great job.’ ”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati's almost won the Supporters Shield. What is the trophy?