# Hell Is Real derby

Hell Is Real is a rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in Ohio: the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati. Under current MLS regular season scheduling, the series occurs twice per season as both teams are members of the Eastern Conference. The teams first met in 2017 in the U.S. Open Cup before Cincinnati joined MLS in 2019.
Hell Is Real takes its name from a Christian highway billboard located on Interstate 71 between Columbus and Cincinnati. The two team's MLS Next Pro affiliates, the Columbus Crew 2 and FC Cincinnati 2, parody Hell Is Real for their matches and use the name Heck is Plausible.

## Background

FC Cincinnati was founded in 2015 as a United Soccer League club. After three seasons in the second-division league, Cincinnati moved to MLS in 2019 and joined the Columbus Crew, who had been a league member since their inaugural season in 1996. The Ohio clubs met for the first time with lower-league Cincinnati winning 1–0 in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup fourth round.
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. Precourt's proposed relocation sparked outrage in the American soccer community, creating the #SaveTheCrew movement. After a year of support by fans, rival teams, 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.

## History

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.
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. Columbus earned their first win of the series in that season's reverse fixture with a 3–1 victory. 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.
The first MLS Cup Playoffs match between the two teams took place in the Eastern Conference Final on December 2, 2023. The match was hosted by FC Cincinnati and resulted in a 3–2 victory for the Columbus Crew after FC Cincinnati led 2–0 in the first half but conceded two goals in the second half. The Crew went on to score the winning goal in the 25th minute of extra time, enabling them to win the MLS Cup the following week.

## Name

The rivalry'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" located on Interstate 71, the highway that connects Columbus and Cincinnati–a distance of 110 miles (180 km). 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.
The rivalry has an alternate name, Heck is Plausible, between both club's MLS Next Pro teams, Columbus Crew 2 and FC Cincinnati 2.

## Statistics
### Match

    As of September 14, 2024
| Competitions | Matches | CLB wins | CLB goals | Draws | CIN wins | CIN goals |
| Major League Soccer | 14 | 6 | 28 | 5 | 3 | 16 |
| U.S. Open Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| MLS Cup Playoffs | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 16 | 7 | 31 | 5 | 4 | 19 |

### Honors

    As of August 27, 2024
| Honor | Columbus Crew | FC Cincinnati | Total |
| MLS Cup | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Supporters' Shield | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| U.S. Open Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Campeones Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Leagues Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Overall | 9 | 1 | 10 |

## Match results

Columbus Crew win  FC Cincinnati win  Draw
| Season | Date | Competition | Stadium | Home team | Result | Away team | Attendance | Series (W–L–T) |
| 2017 | June 14 | U.S. Open Cup | Nippert Stadium | FC Cincinnati | 1–0 | Columbus Crew SC | 30,160 | CIN 1–0–0 |
| 2019 | August 10 | MLS | Mapfre Stadium | Columbus Crew SC | 2–2 | FC Cincinnati | 20,865 | CIN 1–0–1 |
| 2019 | August 25 | MLS | Nippert Stadium | FC Cincinnati | 1–3 | Columbus Crew SC | 30,611 | Tied 1–1–1 |
| 2020 | July 11 | MLS is Back‡ | ESPN Sports Complex | FC Cincinnati | 0–4 | Columbus Crew SC | 0† | CLB 2–1–1 |
| 2020 | August 29 | MLS | Nippert Stadium | FC Cincinnati | 0–0 | Columbus Crew SC | 0† | CLB 2–1–2 |
| 2020 | September 6 | MLS | Mapfre Stadium | Columbus Crew SC | 3–0 | FC Cincinnati | 1,500† | CLB 3–1–2 |
| 2020 | October 14 | MLS | Nippert Stadium | FC Cincinnati | 2–1 | Columbus Crew SC | 0† | CLB 3–2–2 |
| 2021 | July 9 | MLS | TQL Stadium | FC Cincinnati | 2–2 | Columbus Crew | 25,701 | CLB 3–2–3 |
| 2021 | August 27 | MLS | Lower.com Field | Columbus Crew | 3–2 | FC Cincinnati | 19,949 | CLB 4–2–3 |
| 2022 | July 17 | MLS | Lower.com Field | Columbus Crew | 2–0 | FC Cincinnati | 20,741 | CLB 5–2–3 |
| 2022 | August 27 | MLS | TQL Stadium | FC Cincinnati | 2–2 | Columbus Crew | 25,037 | CLB 5–2–4 |
| 2023 | May 20 | MLS | TQL Stadium | FC Cincinnati | 3–2 | Columbus Crew | 25,513 | CLB 5–3–4 |
| 2023 | August 20 | MLS | Lower.com Field | Columbus Crew | 3–0 | FC Cincinnati | 20,730 | CLB 6–3–4 |
| 2023 | December 2 | MLS Cup Playoffs | TQL Stadium | FC Cincinnati | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Columbus Crew | 25,513 | CLB 7–3–4 |
| 2024 | May 11 | MLS | Lower.com Field | Columbus Crew | 1–2 | FC Cincinnati | 20,900 | CLB 7–4–4 |
| 2024 | September 14 | MLS | TQL Stadium | FC Cincinnati | 0–0 | Columbus Crew | 25,513 | CLB 7–4–5 |
| 2025 | May 17 | MLS | Lower.com Field | Columbus Crew | | FC Cincinnati | | CLB W–L–T |
| 2025 | July 12 | MLS | TQL Stadium | FC Cincinnati | | Columbus Crew | | CLB W–L–T |
† 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.

## Eastern Conference standings finishes

Columbus Crew  FC Cincinnati
| P. | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| 1 | | | | | 1 | |
| 2 | | | | | | 2 |
| 3 | | 3 | | | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | | | | | | |
| 5 | | | | 5 | | |
| 6 | | | | | | |
| 7 | | | | | | |
| 8 | | | | 8 | | |
| 9 | | | 9 | | | |
| 10 | 10 | | | | | |
| 11 | | | | | | |
| 12 | 12 | | | | | |
| 13 | | | | | | |
| 14 | | 14 | 14 | | | |
| 15 | | | | | | |
* Total: Columbus with 4 higher finishes, FC Cincinnati with 2.

## Top goalscorers

    As of September 14, 2024
| Pos. | Name | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Gyasi Zardes | Columbus Crew | 7 |
| 2 | Luciano Acosta | FC Cincinnati | 5 |
| 2 | Lucas Zelarayán | Columbus Crew | 5 |
| 4 | Miguel Berry | Columbus Crew | 3 |
| 4 | Pedro Santos | Columbus Crew | 3 |
| 6 | Cucho Hernández | Columbus Crew | 2 |
| 6 | Brandon Vazquez | FC Cincinnati | 2 |
| 8 | Malte Amundsen | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| 8 | Maximilian Arfsten | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| 8 | Luis Díaz | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| 8 | Derrick Etienne | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| 8 | Youness Mokhtar | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| 8 | Steven Moreira | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| 8 | Aidan Morris | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| 8 | Christian Ramirez | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| 8 | Jacen Russell-Rowe | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| 8 | Diego Rossi | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| 8 | Isaac Atanga | FC Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Edgar Castillo | FC Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Djiby Fall | FC Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Nick Hagglund | FC Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Kevin Kelsy | FC Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Yuya Kubo | FC Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Emmanuel Ledesma | FC Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Kekuta Manneh | FC Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Rónald Matarrita | FC Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Darren Mattocks | FC Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Matt Miazga | FC Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Júnior Moreno | FC Cincinnati | 1 |

### Own goals

* Alvas Powell (December 2, 2023)

## Players who played for both clubs

    As of December 10, 2023
| Player | Columbus career | Columbus career | Columbus career | Cincinnati career | Cincinnati career | Cincinnati career |
| Player | Span | Apps | Goals | Span | Apps | Goals |
| Cristian Martínez | 2016–2018 | 31 | 3 | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| Kekuta Manneh | 2017 | 19 | 4 | 2019–2020 | 29 | 4 |
| Derrick Etienne | 2020–2022 | 83 | 11 | 2019 | 5 | 0 |
| Fanendo Adi | 2020 | 12 | 0 | 2018–2019 | 25 | 5 |
| Fatai Alashe | 2020 | 9 | 1 | 2018–2020 | 21 | 2 |
| Saad Abdul-Salaam | 2021 | 19 | 0 | 2020 | 8 | 0 |
| Gustavo Vallecilla | 2023 | 16 | 0 | 2021–2022 | 25 | 2 |
* 1 2 3 Played for FC Cincinnati in the United Soccer League, before they joined MLS.