Hell Is Real derby

On June 15, 1994, MLS announced that Columbus would be home to one of the ten founding members of the new top-flight North American professional soccer league. Columbus Crew began play in the inaugural 1996 MLS season. Cincinnati's FC Cincinnati was founded on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer League club. After three seasons in the second-division league, Cincinnati moved to MLS in 2019, thus creating the first top-flight derby in Ohio.[1] Two weeks after the Cincinnati expansion announcement, the clubs met for the first time with lower-league Cincinnati winning 1–0 in the U.S. Open Cup.[2]

In October 2017, Columbus owner Anthony Precourt threatened to move the team to Austin, Texas, putting the prospect of an MLS rivalry between the two Ohio teams in jeopardy.[3][4][5] Precourt's proposed relocation sparked outrage in the American soccer community, creating the #SaveTheCrew movement. After a year of support by fans, rival teams,[6] local businesses, and politicians, the Crew committed to staying in Columbus in November 2018, when the Haslam family (owners of the NFL's Cleveland Browns, which had been the subject of a controversial relocation in the 1990s) purchased the club.[7]

The two teams met for the first time in the fourth round of the 2017 U.S. Open Cup, while FC Cincinnati was still a member of the United Soccer League. Cincinnati won the match 1–0 on a goal from Djiby, knocking Columbus out of the tournament and advancing to the quarterfinals.[8][9]

On August 10, 2019, the two sides played against each other in MLS league play for the first time, ending in a 2–2 draw at Mapfre Stadium.[10] Columbus earned their first win of the series in that season's reverse fixture with a 3–1 victory.[11] The highest-scoring match came in 2021, when the Crew pulled off a late comeback at their new Lower.com Field; holding a 2–1 lead in the 75th minute, FC Cincinnati surrendered two late goals to lose 3–2.[12]

The derby's name was inspired by a sign erected along the section of Interstate 71 that connects Columbus and Cincinnati.

The derby's name was created by fans of both teams in 2017, prior to the first competitive meeting in the U.S. Open Cup. It is derived from a religious sign that reads "Hell is Real" and is located on Interstate 71, which connects Columbus and Cincinnati–a distance of 110 miles (180 km).[13] The sign was installed in 2004 on a local farm in Chenoweth by a Kentucky developer who had installed similar religious signs in other states.[14]

As of August 27, 2022

  Columbus Crew win   FC Cincinnati win   Draw

† Matches played behind closed doors or reduced capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

‡ Although the match was part of the MLS is Back Tournament, group stage matches count toward regular season MLS statistics.

Alex Crognale of Columbus and Baye Djiby Fall of Cincinnati battle for a header in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup.

As of July 17, 2022

Pos.	Name	Team	Goals
1	Gyasi Zardes	Columbus Crew	7
2	Lucas Zelarayán	Columbus Crew	4
3	Miguel Berry	Columbus Crew	3
	Pedro Santos
5	Luis Díaz	Columbus Crew	1
	Derrick Etienne
	Youness Mokhtar
	Steven Moreira
	Cucho Hernández
	Luciano Acosta	FC Cincinnati
	Isaac Atanga
	Edgar Castillo
	Djiby Fall
	Nick Hagglund
	Yuya Kubo
	Emmanuel Ledesma
	Kekuta Manneh
	Rónald Matarrita
	Darren Mattocks
	Matt Miazga
	Brandon Vazquez

As of August 27, 2022

Player	Columbus career			Cincinnati career
	Span	Apps	Goals	Span	Apps	Goals
Cristian Martínez[lower-alpha 1]	2016–2018	31	3	2017	1	0
Kekuta Manneh	2017	19	4	2019–2020	29	4
Derrick Etienne	2020–present	82	9	2019	5	0
Fanendo Adi[lower-alpha 1]	2020	12	0	2018–2019	25	5
Fatai Alashe[lower-alpha 1]	2020	9	1	2018–2020	21	2
Saad Abdul-Salaam	2021	19	0	2020	8	0

• MLS rivalry cups
• Bengals–Browns rivalry, American football rivalry between the NFL's two Ohio franchises
• Ohio Cup, baseball rivalry between the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians of MLB