CHAPTER 1 A Perfect NIGHT It was early on a brisk mid-March evening in 2019 when Kendall Waston made his perfectly timed sprint Waston was the first captain of FC Cincinnati often referred to as FCC in the team’s brief history He got himself behind a defender at the exact moment the ball arrived from about 35 yards 32 m away It was set in flight by a skillful free kick by teammate Leonardo Bertone I just got on a run Waston explained afterward and put my big head there Waston laughed His leaping lunging header during the 15th minute gave FC Cincinnati a lead in its first-ever home game The goal set off a joyous explosion of cheers and celebration at Nippert Stadium Kendall Waston’s header put FC Cincinnati on the scoreboard against Portland 4
Waston center is mobbed by his teammates after his historic goal Cincinnati at last was home to Major League Soccer MLS The city’s soccer fans had been looking forward to this game for a long time It finally came on March 17 2019 against the defending MLS Western Conference champion Portland Timbers The sellout crowd had been waving orange and blue flags and banners They chanted and sang Many began standing 6
long before kickoff and remained HAPPY DANCE on their feet all the way through the first 15 minutes of action MAKING HISTORY Before Waston scored the team’s first goal at home as part of MLS it was hard to imagine the stadium getting any louder But as soon as the ball skipped past a diving Portland goalkeeper crossed the goal line and settled into the left corner of the net it did The FC Cincinnati players swarmed together for a group hug The night before the team’s MLS home opener the four-year-old son of FC Cincinnati’s captain made up his own goal celebration Little Keysaack Waston made his father promise he would use it So when Kendall Waston scored the next day he kept that promise Waston lay down on his side and kicked his legs quickly spinning himself around In the joy of the moment teammates copied Waston and performed the fun and oddball celebration too Midfielder Roland Lamah turned to face the screaming fans Lamah spread his arms out wide with his palms up pumping them to the sky It was his way of asking the crowd for even more noise Happy fans in the supporters section known as the Bailey seemed to wave their rally towels even harder A cloud of orange and blue powder covered them It had been sprayed into the air around them as part of the celebration 7
