Belonging, Ownership and Pride: FC Cincinnati supporters in the AAPI community celebrate their club as the club celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Night at TQL Stadium
The FC Cincinnati supporter base is as diverse as it is passionate. That is, in part, the nature of the world’s game coming to and growing in Cincinnati. While the North American soccer audience is still budding – and the bloom is looking more full every year – the world has been on soccer as their game for generations and that passion (for some) feels more ingrained in their DNA than it does as choice of what they do to spend their time and money.
For others though it is not as much their connection to soccer that helped them come to FC Cincinnati. For some it is as simple as their civic pride for their home. And while the Reds and Bengals and the local universities are undoubtedly staples in the community, many feel that the history they have been there to help build, and be a part of, makes for an experience they more closely relate to. One they feel they have more ownership of, compared to the historic ties other teams in the community bring to the city.
For the first time, FC Cincinnati will celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Night at TQL Stadium this Saturday night when they take on Austin FC. The day will feature pre-match festivities in Washington Park (including Asian food vendors, information tables and dance performances) and in-match activations will include a halftime performance by “Âu Lạc lân Lion Dance,” a rally towel giveaway presented by Mercy Health, and a custom poster for the match created by local artist “Chunk of China” available at the TQL Stadium Team Store. The Bibigo concession stand by section 103 will also be giving away free freezer bags and seaweed snacks to the first 100 patrons to the stand.
The game will celebrate the AAPI community in a tangible way, but for those in the community, they have been celebrating their heritage in tandem with FC Cincinnati in impactful ways beyond this one match.
To celebrate the cultural heritage match, I spoke with several members of the FCC fan base who also have ties to the AAPI community on a wide range of topics. Some of these fans are current day Season Ticket Members, and have been for many years. Others have seen the team grow with them as they enter new phases of life.
The people who sat down with me are civil servants and former service members, they’re community members in OTR and they’re small business owners in the far reaching suburbs of the city. But the resounding theme of all of these conversations, and the conversations that these fans told me are happening, is that FCC and its supporter culture are places they feel safe and welcome to be part of something bigger than themselves, while being themselves in every way.
“I am as Cincinnati as they come, and I grew up in the city, I live in Hamilton, and I didn’t really understand the world game significance of soccer until I was older. But now, I feel much more at ease at FC Cincinnati as an Asian American,” Billy Guinigundo said in a Zoom call from his office.
Billy, along with his brother Mike, have been Season Ticket Members with FC Cincinnati dating back to the early days of the club and both attended the opening home match at Nippert Stadium. Billy, an attorney, and Mike, a Certified Public Accountant, are of Filipino descent. Both have been active in the Asian American community and FCC supporter group scene as leaders in the Asianati organization and as members of Die Innenstadt SG.
