After playing their 2017-2018 home games at Northern Kentucky University’s BB&T Arena, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats basketball team returned to its own campus to play at Fifth Third Arena after an extensive renovation project. The upgrades have been so impressive, every time a new TV announcer comes in to broadcast a UC home game, they can’t help but gush. Bringing Fifth Third into the 21st century, the new-look arena — which took 20 months and $87 million (“privately funded,” the school’s website stresses) to complete — features a wider and larger lower bowl, better views and padded-back seating throughout (no more wooden benches!), more club seats and luxury suites, new concessions (including local favorites like Frisch’s, Skyline and Taste of Belgium) and hospitality areas, new LED stat boards, several giant HD video boards (including one outside of the arena) and much more. Fifth Third Arena, 2700 O’Varsity Way, University Heights, 53arena.gobearcats.com.
Shakespearean drama. Gravity-defying acrobatics. Unitards. You don’t have to break the bank to enjoy the spectacle of pro wrestling. The Northern Wrestling Federation offers WWE-sized thrills in the cozier confines of Fairfield’s UAW Hall. Over the past two decades, the indie promotion has garnered a cult following of die-hard wrestling fans and curious locals. Eight dollars scores you a seat closer to the action than any arena will provide, leaving you enough leftover cash to buy a hot dog and enough proximity to feel the rumble of the mat after a leap from the top rope. Though aerial feats and suplexes are never in short supply, NWF’s real draw is its eclectic cast of characters, which includes a D-list actor with a Napoleon complex, a guy who sports a Roman Gladiator mask at all times and a Floridian beach bum. It’s part gymnastics, part improv comedy and part reality TV — all performed live. Northern Wrestling Federation, nwfwrestling.squarespace.com.
It was a shocker when we found out last year that the holiest of all holy days in Cincinnati — Opening Day for Reds baseball — would be effectively split in two in 2018. The Findlay Market Opening Day Parade was held four days after the Reds’ home opener against the Washington Nationals, thanks to MLB scheduling changes that moved the season’s start date up a week. “The Reds Opening Day, which has historically fallen on a Monday, is now moved to the Thursday of the preceding week,” Findlay Market said in a statement at the time. “In 2018, this causes a conflict for Findlay Market because the opening week of the baseball season coincides with the Easter holidays. And, in order to operate the parade, Findlay Market needs to be closed.” Contrary to popular belief, the separation of the two events was not a harbinger of the apocalypse and the parade and Opening Day still occurred without incident. Thankfully, there is no such conflict in 2019, and thus, Reds fans will be spared the intense level of angst last year’s decision engendered. The Reds’ first game and the city’s vaunted Findlay Market Opening Day Parade will once again fall on the same day. The Reds will play their first game of the 2019 season against the Pittsburgh Pirates March 28 after the 100th-annual parade and the Reds Community Block Party. Expect the parade’s 100th anniversary and the Reds’ 150th anniversary — and the reunion of the two — to mark this procession as one to remember. Findlay Market, 1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, findlaymarketparade.com.
Fifty West Brewing Company has turned a stretch of Wooster Pike into a veritable outdoor recreation corridor. Across the street from the flagship brewpub sits Fifty West Canoe & Kayak, Fifty West Cycling and Fifty West Production Works (home to six sand volleyball courts). All are geared toward building community through shared experiences, which include drinking craft beer and going outside: it’s all about an active lifestyle, according to brewery co-owner Bobby Slattery. “Our mission, from a company standpoint is, basically, if you’re on the barstool, we want to get you off the barstool and figure out a way to add value to your life,” he says. “And if you’re not on the barstool and you’re out there being active, we want to educate you on craft beer and get you to sit on the barstool every once and a while.” Fifty West’s proximity to the Little Miami River and Loveland Bike Trail — arguably the city’s most popular thoroughfares for canoeing, kayaking, running and biking — also added a spark. Most activities are seasonal: running groups, co-ed volleyball leagues and group bike rides take place March through November, and then canoe and kayak rentals start around April or May and run through the fall. Fifty West’s bike shop is open year-round, however, for sales and fittings. They’ve also added a family-friendly Roadside Grill to their seasonal offerings. While the brewpub offers chef-driven, sit-down dining, the Roadside Grill is a place to grab snacks, sandwiches and salads to eat before a bike ride or jog along the trail. Also check the website for official training groups to help you meet your full or half-marathon goals. Fifty West Brewing Company, 7668 Wooster Pike, Columbia Township, fiftywestbrew.com.
Winton Woods standout turned soon-to-be NFL linebacker David Long Jr. put on a show at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine, placing inside the Top 5 in the 40-yard dash (4.45) and vertical jump (39.5). And his former rival, Mount Healthy’s David Montgomery, did much of the same at the much-anticipated Indianapolis event. Long — a former Iowa State running back — made Cincy proud, running an impressive 4.63-second 40-yard dash and putting up 15 reps of 225 on the bench. Montgomery and Long represented the Queen City well and should reap the benefits from draft day in April.
This was a close race. The Cincinnati Rollergirls’ roster is chock full of talented skaters with impressive names, including Hot Slice, MIRDERHER, Sailor Scary and FireBolt. But it’s Pistolwhippin’ Wendy, who made her CRG debut in 2009 and plays pivot, jammer and blocker for the team, that takes the cake. Catch Wendy and the gang in 2019 at their newish home at Xavier University’s Schmidt Memorial Fieldhouse. First rolled out in 2006, the CRG are the Queen City’s first all-female, amateur, flat-track roller derby team, and for those interested in trading in their mainstream fandom for something more unique, these girls have you covered. All members of the team — including the coaches, referees and skaters -— are volunteers, and the team is primarily owned by the skaters themselves as the girls double as roller derby athletes and #girlbosses. Check the schedule for home games, which all include themes like Superhero Night, Star Wars Night and Pride Night. Cincinnati Rollergirls, cincinnatirollergirls.com.
2. Joe Stephenson (Notre Dame Academy Softball)
3. Noel Rash (Beechwood High School Football)
Thanks to its seemingly endless stream of coaches who have gone on to bigger things, Miami University earned the nickname “The Cradle of Coaches.” But in the past few decades, it seems almost a given that when an NCAA basketball program needs a new coach, they’re not headed to Oxford — they’re going to come sniffing around Xavier University’s campus. From the ’80s through 2001, Pete Gillen and Skip Prosser had good and fairly lengthy runs at X, but Gillen would eventually jump to Providence, then Virginia, while Prosser was poached by Wake Forest. Then Thad Matta did so well at Xavier, he was lured to Ohio State after three years. His successor, Sean Miller (who, like Matta, came out of that Cradle of Coaches), likewise earned a lot of interest from other teams, ultimately leaving for Arizona after five years. Xavier fans fell quickly in love with Chris Mack, the Cincinnati native and X grad who took over in 2009 and led the team to five Sweet 16 appearances. But after helping X get the first No. 1 tournament seed in school history, Louisville found itself without a head coach after firing school legend Rick Pitino; they opened up their checkbook and hired Mack last March. Fans are hoping new coach Travis Steele will be great… just maybe not too great too soon, so he sticks around and maybe has a career like Mack’s. Xavier University, goxavier.com.
Good news for people who love throwing axes: There are now multiple places in Cincinnati where you can toss sharpened projectiles at a wooden target. And most even sell booze. The axe-throwing craze hacked its way into the Tri-State last March with the opening of Cincinnati Axe Throwing in West Chester. The first in the region, it introduced the concept of letting random people walk into a room and chuck 1.5-pound hatchets at wooden bullseyes. After that came Flying Axes in Covington, the local extension of a Louisville-based chain, and then Urban Axes in OTR, which opened in January of this year and has locations in Baltimore, Boston, Philly, Austin and Durham, North Carolina. The axe-throwing “game” is based on a Canadian pioneering tradition and while local axe outlets have varying age requirements ranging from 13 to 15 to 21-and-up, all have “axeperts” on hand to teach newbies safety and skill basics before they let you loose with a deadly weapon. Prices, times, tournament styles and group rates also vary at each different company. But, for those looking to double down on danger and increase your competitive edge, both Flying Axes and Urban Axes sell alcohol. And if you get really into it, all three spots have axe-throwing leagues. Cincinnati Axe Throwing, 4814 Peter Place B, West Chester, cincinnatiaxe.com; Flying Axes, 100 W. Sixth St., Covington, flyingaxes.com/covington; Urban Axes, 2010 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, urbanaxes.com/cincinnati.
Hockey games can be overwhelming for just about anyone — strobe lights, smoke machines, fog horns, toppling towers of dollar beer cans. In October, the Cincinnati Cyclones turned things down a notch for an inclusive sensory-friendly game for those with autism, PTSD and other sensitivities and their friends to enjoy a night out on the ice. Presented in collaboration with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the decreased stimulation tactics included no goal horns, strobe lights or pyrotechnics; decreased microphone and music volume; and the lights remained on. They also asked fans to leave their cowbells and noisemakers at home. In addition to providing sensory kits stuffed with things like antiglare sunglasses, an ID wristband, noise-reducing ear covers, a fidget toy, sanitizing wipes and a venue map, they offered a downloadable social narrative to walk people through what they would see, hear and experience before watching the game. The kits are now a constant and available on a first come, first served basis for fans with visual and auditory sensitivities. “U.S. Bank Arena and the Cincinnati Cyclones are the first venue and sports team in Cincinnati to take the initiative to ensure that athletic events such as hockey games are accessible to everyone including individuals with developmental disabilities and their families,” said Jen Smith, director of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, in a press release. “Our kids and families want and deserve the same opportunities to enjoy sports and other community events.” Now they can. Cincinnati Cyclones, U.S. Bank Arena, 100 Broadway St., Downtown, cycloneshockey.com.
Cincinnati weather can make it difficult to keep up a hobby of mountain biking — one day of rain can keep some bike trails closed for many days after because of a lack of maintenance or a lack of effort. But Mitchell Memorial Forest in Cleves has got it together with their handmade and challenging but safe trails, created and maintained to the standards of the Cincinnati Off Road Alliance. Mitchell Memorial is also vigilant about openings and closings: They have an active Facebook page that alerts followers to when trails are closed and when they re-open after bad weather. This is especially impressive because this park has one of the longest mountain biking trail system around Cincinnati, coming in at eight full miles. They even have open events for volunteers to help with trail maintenance. No other park in the Queen City puts this much effort in to make sure that if you crash, it definitely isn’t the trail’s fault. Mitchell Memorial Forest, 5401 Zion Road, Cleves, greatparks.org.
After months of waiting, political wrangling, angst over the location of a stadium that wasn’t for sure going to happen and a few false starts, the news came last year on May 29, when Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber stood with FC Cincinnati leadership and Mayor John Cranley in the cavernous Over-the-Rhine taproom of Rhinegeist, officially welcoming the team into the MLS. FCC beat out larger cities for the distinction, in large part due to its rabid fan base (and their record-breaking appetite for tickets). The fevered, overjoyed atmosphere in Rhinegeist that day belied the long, arduous process that led up to that moment, including a tumultuous debate about where the team’s stadium should go. Would it be Oakley? The West End? Would FC Cincinnati betray its name and go to a location in Newport? In the end, however, the team, in line with preferences of the league, chose a spot near the urban core — just a block from bustling OTR and right where Cincinnati Public Schools’ Stargel Stadium resided. On the day FCC’s major league hopes were confirmed, Garber revealed that FC Cincinnati’s chosen location for their coming stadium in the West End was the league’s favorite site. “Many years from now, after your club has been launched and playing many years, after many thrills and victories and agonies and defeats, you’re going to remember this day as a truly historic event for the Queen City,” he said. “You should be incredibly proud of your meteoric rise as one of our continent’s major soccer cities.” The announcement marked a high point in the team’s breakneck three-year rise. After playing in the United Soccer League since the team’s founding, FC Cincinnati won one of four expansion franchises from among a dozen cities vying for a spot in MLS. Cincinnati beat out Detroit and Sacramento for its spot. The team began MLS play this March, and will get a new, MLS-approved stadium in two years. There were plenty of complications along the way, of course: negotiations with CPS. Negotiations with Cincinnati City Council. A decisive “no” vote from the West End’s Community Council, followed by efforts from the council’s executive board to put a deal back together, leading to the eventual signing of a community benefits agreement between the team and a few neighborhood representatives. The stadium’s long-term impact has yet to reveal itself, but as hundreds of shovels dug into the ground during a December groundbreaking ceremony, this much was clear: Major League Soccer is coming to Cincinnati this year, and in 2021, a brand-new soccer facility will stand in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods. FC Cincinnati, fccincinnati.com.
As FC Cincinnati launches headlong into a new league during its first MLS season, the team has also committed to a new mascot. He is orange. He is feline. He is plush. His mane, nose and wingtips (yes, he has wings) are blue — we’re not sure if that’s natural or a dye job. None of our business, really. And oh yeah, his name is Gary. Why Gary? Apparently, FC Cincinnati fans saw that name spelled out in the stylized lion on the team’s crest. And so they spoke it, or really, tweeted it into existence. Not that Gary was born in a day. No, it took five months to call forth this friendly, blue-haired soccer beast. Chicago-based AMAZING!! Mascots designed him with help from FC Cincinnati Vice President of Community Relations Kate Solomon. “We’re thrilled to welcome Gary to the FC Cincinnati family,” Solomon said in a statement. “He is a bright, cheery force of nature that is a perfect reflection of our fans’ presence in the Queen City. Further, with our club pillar of being active and visible in the community, Gary provides us another way to further our connection to our fans — especially children and younger fans.” Other fans were less than thrilled with Gary’s appearance… and name, calling “Gary” a middle-aged dad, lame and the name of a “sleazy dude who drives a free candy van.” Regardless, the cerulean-maned lion will be out and about on the concourse level of Nippert Stadium during home games, and in the Kid’s Zone on Sheakley Field prior to game time. FC Cincinnati, fccincinnati.com.
Thanks in large part to the Cleveland Indians baseball team’s “Chief Wahoo” logo, Ohio has forever been a part of the controversy over Native American sports mascots. And as the culture has gradually shifted away from using mascots some find offensive and racist, high schools have increasingly been dealing with the issue, particularly in Ohio, which reportedly has more high schools with Native American mascots than any other state in the country. Early last year, Cleveland announced it would remove the Chief Wahoo logo from uniforms beginning with the 2019 season and last fall, the Talawanda Schools board in Oxford, Ohio narrowly voted to change its mascot name from the Braves to Brave (Oxford’s Miami University switched from the Miami Redskins to the RedHawks in the mid-’90s). Meanwhile, after a lengthy and contentious meeting over the summer, Cincinnati’s Anderson High School decided that, at least for now, it would keep its “Redskin” name and mascot; in fact, the official Twitter account for the high school remains @AndersonRedskin.
Last October, the Chiefs slaughtered the Bengals in their game in Kansas City. Final score: 45-10. After doing what they do so well and giving a tiny bit of hope with a respectable 4-2 record to start the year, the team ate it and continued a streak that would include only two more wins by season’s end. The game did have one spectacular moment for non-Chief fans. During NBC’s Sunday night broadcast (oh yeah — it was another brutal prime-time game), cameras zeroed in on a sad Bengals fan in the crowd, sporting a yellow tiger mask. As soon as the camera cut to the fan, he raised his orange tiger-striped-begloved middle finger. The fan — Victor Valentino (a veteran local musician who currently sings with the band Bummers Eve) — encapsulated long-suffering Bengals followers’ disgust so perfectly, the moment was picked up by sports sites like Fansided and included in coverage on ESPN and in The Enquirer, and Cincinnati print shop We Have Become Vikings put Valentino’s masked face and finger on a “Number 1 Fan” T-shirt, donating proceeds to a charity of his choice.
Although sports and sports coverage are among the top things people like to argue and complain about most in this crazy world, Cincinnati is actually quite lucky when it comes to those who’ve chosen to write about and cover our local teams professionally. Some of that talent got expertly consolidated by The Athletic, a subscription-based sports journalism website that features nearly 50 city-specific sub-sites that cover hometown teams across North America. Adding a Cincinnati hub in 2018, The Athletic enlisted an all-star team of local sports writers that includes Justin Williams (covering UC sports), Shannon Russell (longtime Xavier basketball beat writer), utility man Mo Egger and C. Trent Rosecrans, who left The Enquirer to bring his fantastic Reds coverage to the site. The Athletic’s mix of news, analysis and long-form journalism was created with the belief that if the coverage was great, people would be willing to pay for the content. With the Cincinnati’s site’s stellar lineup and consistently engaging coverage, if the business model doesn’t work here, it probably won’t work anywhere. The Athletic, theathletic.com/cincinnati.
After another disappointing season, the Bengals finally decided maybe it wasn’t a sign of great leadership to have never won a playoff game after 16 years and fired head coach Marvin Lewis. Zac Taylor was named his replacement, but the team had to wait until Taylor’s previous job ended; he was the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams, whose quarterback scored no points in a losing Super Bowl effort. It was at least an inauspicious way to come into being introduced as the Bengals’ new head coach, if not a fitting one for a team known far and wide as “The Bungles” for a reason. Given the organization’s reputation, the “Welcome to the Jungle” tagline used in the advertising welcoming Taylor to the team had some ominous connotations. But for Bengals fans wanting a fresh start, Taylor is, at the very least, just that. Many see Taylor’s signing as part of a “youth movement” trend in the NFL that has resulted from 33-year-old Rams head coach Sean McVay’s success. Taylor is 35 years old, just four years older than Bengals starting QB Andy Dalton, and he has minimal coaching experience. Still, the Rams had a phenomenal 2018 season, and Jared Goff — and, presumably, Taylor — were a big part of that. If he can accomplish what Lewis did in his first year (i.e. just get to the playoffs), fans will be deliriously hopeful; if Taylor helps the team to another 10-loss season, well, fans will just carry on as they have for decades. Bengals, Paul Brown Stadium, 1 Paul Brown Stadium, Downtown, bengals.com.
Last year during NCAA basketball’s March Madness, it seemed as if the top hometown teams — the Xavier Musketeers (a No. 1 seed) and the UC Bearcats (a No. 2 seed) — were both on the verge of impressive runs. Then, on March 18, each team suffered such heartbreaking, freakish losses some were calling it the worst night in Cincinnati sports history. The Bearcats had a 22-point lead in the second half of their game against Nevada, but then suffered the second-worst collapse in tournament history when the Wolf Pack took the lead with nine seconds left and the ’Cats turned it over on their final possession. Xavier’s loss later that night wasn’t quite as bad —9-seeded Florida only had to overcome a 12-point deficit — but the weirdly similar meltdowns immensely bolstered the funny feeling that Cincinnati sports, as a whole, are cursed.
The lure and lore of hitting the open road, of Route 66 and road trips, highways and cross-country adventures is ingrained in the American ethos like Manifest Destiny and Jack Kerouac novels. And part of that idealization is conjured up in wholesome those-were-the-days nostalgia — all-night diners, neon signs and rolled-down windows. Local company Route Fifty Campers captures that feeling with their line of one-of-a-kind refurbished vintage rental trailers. We’re talking a full-blown 1950s Airstream, wood-paneled Winnebago and an adorable teal 1985 Scamp, among others. Rental starts at $80-$185 per night and Route Fifty can deliver a trailer to a campground or RV park (for a fee) or you can tow and go yourself, if you have the right equipment. Different campers have different capacities — all have sinks and stoves, some have toilets — but they’ve all been outfitted with a retro vibe and Midcentury-meets-contemporary décor: lots of teal, yellow and avocado green. Route Fifty also curates experience packages, like the Olive Branch Camping and Zip Line Adventure, which includes camper delivery to Olive Branch Campground in Oregonia for three nights, plus passes to Ozone Zipline Adventure. Route Fifty Campers, routefiftycampers.com.
After an eminently forgettable 2018, the Cincinnati Reds are looking like they are serious about making a run for the playoffs in the coming season, even offering fans hope that the team might just be the one to end decades of bad luck for local pro (and college) sports and win a championship. Though they could have probably coasted through one more “rebuilding” year and distract fans with celebrations around the team’s 150th anniversary and legendary announcer Marty Brennaman’s final season, the Reds anted up. Last fall the team hired popular former player David Bell to be the manager, but it was a late-in-the-year trade that turned fans’ (and division opponents’) heads. Right before Christmas, the Reds did a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers that netted the team productive veteran Matt Kemp and superstar Yasiel Puig. In return, the Reds sent much-maligned (and expensive) starting pitcher Homer Bailey and a couple of young prospects to L.A. The Reds got the better of the trade… by a long shot. Also part of the deal: the hometown squad added left-handed starter Alex Wood to its rotation and received “cash considerations,” which turned out to be $7 million. Reds, Great American Ball Park, 100 Joe Nuxhall Way, Downtown reds.com.