"Nonstop Flight: The Untold Story of FC Cincinnati" (2020 release; 90 min.) is a documentary about the improbable rise and rise (and rise) of FC Cincinnati into the MLS (before it all came crashing down). As the documentary opens, we hear from FC Cincinnati President Jeff Berding how he found himself becoming interested in the local and regional soccer culture (he coached his young son's soccer team) and how he eventually linked up with Carl Lindner III to develop what would become FC Cincinnati, starting out in minor league USL (United Soccer League) in 2016... At this point we are 10 min. into the documentary.
Couple of comments: for the sake of transparency, I should tell you that I am a big fan of FC Cincinnati (and a season ticket holder), but also a big fan of movies, including documentaries. However, this documentary isn't made by an outside independent documentary maker. This is an FCC in-house production that focuses on the origins of the club and its meteoric rise into MLS (Major Soccer league) in the span of just 3 years. President (and erstwhile GM) Jeff Berding is front and center in this, although obviously many others are interviewed as well. For FCC fans, there is nothing "new" or "untold" in here, as the club's story is well-known. The joy is (re)watching the highlights of the key soccer matches in the club's young history, none more so than it's improbable Lamar Open Cup run in 2017, in which it eliminated MLS clubs Columbus and Chicago before record crowds and on national TV. Those games surely solidified FCC's MLS bid and indeed in May, 2018 FCC was formally granted an MLS franchise. Hardly a negative word is mentioned anywhere (the fact that Berding was in way over his head as GM is conveniently unmentioned), and the documentary ends with the club's MLS home opener in March, 2019. "That was the end of the beginning", comments someone. Not mentioned is that FCC has vastly under-performed since joining MLS, including among many problems having gone through 4 head coaches in just over a year. I suppose that will be part of the story in the next "untold" documentary on FC Cincinnati?
This documentary premiered on Cincinnati's Channel 9 (WCPO) earlier this week, and is now available on various streaming services. I don't know that I can really recommend this to anyone other than die-hard FC Cincinnati fans, and even then, this is strictly a nostalgic walk in the park without any new or previously "untold" revelations. Of course I encourage you to check it out and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: for the sake of transparency, I should tell you that I am a big fan of FC Cincinnati (and a season ticket holder), but also a big fan of movies, including documentaries. However, this documentary isn't made by an outside independent documentary maker. This is an FCC in-house production that focuses on the origins of the club and its meteoric rise into MLS (Major Soccer league) in the span of just 3 years. President (and erstwhile GM) Jeff Berding is front and center in this, although obviously many others are interviewed as well. For FCC fans, there is nothing "new" or "untold" in here, as the club's story is well-known. The joy is (re)watching the highlights of the key soccer matches in the club's young history, none more so than it's improbable Lamar Open Cup run in 2017, in which it eliminated MLS clubs Columbus and Chicago before record crowds and on national TV. Those games surely solidified FCC's MLS bid and indeed in May, 2018 FCC was formally granted an MLS franchise. Hardly a negative word is mentioned anywhere (the fact that Berding was in way over his head as GM is conveniently unmentioned), and the documentary ends with the club's MLS home opener in March, 2019. "That was the end of the beginning", comments someone. Not mentioned is that FCC has vastly under-performed since joining MLS, including among many problems having gone through 4 head coaches in just over a year. I suppose that will be part of the story in the next "untold" documentary on FC Cincinnati?
This documentary premiered on Cincinnati's Channel 9 (WCPO) earlier this week, and is now available on various streaming services. I don't know that I can really recommend this to anyone other than die-hard FC Cincinnati fans, and even then, this is strictly a nostalgic walk in the park without any new or previously "untold" revelations. Of course I encourage you to check it out and draw your own conclusion.