Melissa and Stefan Dorn started going to “pretty much every game we could get tickets to” during the 2017 FC Cincinnati season. Usually that meant sitting wherever they could around Nippert Stadium.
But when The Bailey was available, they always made sure to get tickets in the rowdiest section.
Three years later, they’re Season Ticket Members in The Bailey, and await their third full season in the section. For Stefan, who grew up loving soccer after his dad emigrated from Germany, and Melissa, who’s played “since the time I could walk,” their first-hand experience with FC Cincinnati has been surreal.
“The energy from the time you show up (at Nippert Stadium), to watching the march come, to sitting in The Bailey, the energy is just incredible,” Melissa said. “The energy’s the same, whether we’re winning or losing. It’s incredible.”
The married couple were among the 500 attendees at Wednesday night’s 2020 Season Kickoff Event at the Woodward Theater in Over-The-Rhine.
The event had a similar energy as a matchday. Fans, clad in blue and orange, poured into the event after pregaming earlier at surrounding bars. Inside, they played FIFA 20, took pictures and met six FCC players, interim coach Yoann Damet and GM Gerard Nijkamp.
It provided early-season up-close encounter with the players these fans will watch and support at every home game until late September … exclusively for Season Ticket Members.
For Stefan, who wore a Heritage Kit Link with “Locadia” blazoned on the back, Wednesday was a chance to meet the club’s newest Designated Player. Melissa wore the BOLD jersey and saw other members of The Bailey she’ll start seeing more often at Nippert Stadium.
“We have a Bailey family and a group of people we sit together with,” Stefan said. “It was people we just met from getting invited into the Bailey during the Open Cup year (in 2017).”
Wednesday was a reminder of how much the Orange and Blue have grown – and how connected fans have become with their club. This time five seasons ago, FCC hadn’t even begun their inaugural season. Next Saturday will begin the club’s fifth and final season at Nippert Stadium
For a club that thrives on sentimentalism and community, Wednesday night reiterated how strong the bonds have become.
“We are so lucky,” Melissa said.
