Last Saturday, Matt Warman was among the hundreds of FC Cincinnati supporters in Seattle for the club’s inaugural MLS match.
“The whole day was fantastic,” Warman said. “It was an adventure. It was a game of a lifetime. There’s only one first game. Whether it’s home or road, I had to be there and I was there.”
On Wednesday night, he was at Taft’s Brewporium for the club’s annual Season Ticket Member Meet and Greet between players and fans. Wearing a flag as a cap and dressed in team colors from head to foot, Warman said he wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to meet the players he flew thousands of miles to see. He wanted autographs on the flag, too.
“They’re fantastic people,” he said of the team. “I got to see them right at the beginning (of the event.) Everyone’s nice; everyone’s friendly. They’re very approachable. Quite frankly, we don’t know them, so it’s nice to put a face to a name.”
The feeling was mutual.
When players were introduced to 550 season ticket members, each offered a message to their fans. To Corben Bone, who just entered his fourth season with the club, he said “I love you, guys.” Fans roared.
In a speech, President and General Manager Jeff Berding said fan-friendly events will continue. At matches, there will still be an “autograph wall” for fans to meet players and sign autographs.
“This is part of our soul,” Berding said. “In our hearts, we know we represent you.”
Center back Kendall Waston, who’s also the club’s first MLS captain, said the event was meaningful and significant.
“It’s always nice to meet the fans because having a face-to-face conversation is totally different than when you’re on the field,” Waston said. “You just hear them cheer and shout. But now having face-to-face is nice because you get to know them a little bit and you get a better sense of what the fans are like in Cincinnati.
“A lot of them told me they went to Seattle, so they showed their love and hopefully we can give them all the love back with many wins.”
