Hell is Real: Columbus Crew proving they're the 'best team in Ohio' is top priority
Every year when the Crew and FC Cincinnati kick off their first Hell is Real match of the season, a new battle begins. At stake: the claim to being the best team in Ohio.
The 2023 edition of the rivalry was deadlocked after the regular season with each club winning at their respective home field.
Then, in the MLS Eastern Conference championship game, the inner-state foes met for the first time in the postseason. Cincinnati took a 2-0 lead in the first half at TQL Stadium, but the Crew made a comeback, sending the game into overtime, where a Christian Ramirez goal ensured Columbus would be Ohio's last team standing in the playoffs. In fact, they went on to win the MLS Cup, the third in club history.
The grudge match will be renewed Saturday at Lower.com Field, and Crew coach Wilfried Nancy trusts his players realize what's coming.
"They know that they are going to try to destroy us," Nancy said. "This is the way it is, with the final, with what happened last year, and it’s normal. It’s competition and we embrace that."
Columbus embraces the importance of games against Cincinnati no matter the circumstances.
This year, for instance, it would be easy to allow success in the CONCACAF Champions Cup to overshadow Saturday's game. The Crew are currently preparing to face Liga MX's CF Pachuca in the tournament's final less than a month from now, but players insist that has failed to diminish the significance of the Cincinnati match.
"The emotion has been building ever since I stepped foot in Columbus," said Crew forward Jacen Russell-Rowe, who joined the club in 2022. "You could definitely feel it, the atmosphere throughout the city, leading up throughout the week. And it's very competitive for us. We're going to go out there, and we always want to win. We want to show we're the best team in Ohio."
The Crew holds the 7-2-4 advantage in the series overall, but there are other arguments to be made for Columbus' status as Ohio's team.
"Not only because a lot of players that we have are from Ohio, but I think it's just Crew has been around longer," said Crew captain Darlington Nagbe. "So, it might take a while for Cincy to get to the level that the Crew has been at."
What happened in the Last Hell is Real match at Lower.com Field
The Crew would be hard pressed to find a more explosive way to welcome new players to the club than a Hell is Real match at Lower.com Field. Last season, it is how Rudy Camacho and Diego Rossi were introduced to Columbus in mid-August.
"The atmosphere in the stadium with the fans was crazy," Camacho said. "It was very loud. The stadium was on fire."
The Crew rode that energy to a dominant 3-0 victory, and the newly acquired Rossi scored.
"I hope it's going to be the same on Saturday," Camacho said of the fans' energy.
Saturday will be Nancy's first Hell is Real home match on the sidelines. Nancy, who is in his second season with Columbus, was serving a two-game suspension from a red card violation during the 2023 game but was at the stadium to watch.
"I am going to enjoy the game close to my players," Nancy said. "This is huge for everyone, but for me, this is more about controlling the emotion. Play with emotion, but control also the emotion."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew vs FC Cincinnati, first Hell is Real match of 2024
