Pride Paint
Pride Paint
Stephen Starkey
Over the past 3+ seasons, Pride members have put in countless hours designing, planning, tracing, and painting many of the Tifos and banners that you see in Nippert Stadium on matchday. In the first of what will be an ongoing series, we are striving to highlight that process; and more importantly, the great team of people that we have that help make them a reality.
Alongside a rebranding for The Pride, that meant producing all new banners to go with it! With the jump up to MLS, it was high time that we also stepped up our game in terms of visual presence. An emphasis was put on having a strong (and larger) visual presence both at home and on the road; because as we all know, The Pride travels! That included producing a large Pride crest, a traveling Pride banner, multiple flags, as well as a joint banner that now showcases ALL of our wonderful chapters front and center in the Bailey.
One of the things that has always set our matchday experience apart is clearly the march to Nippert. From the smoke to the chants, it is something that we all take pride in (some pun intended). As part of that, starting in 2018, we have produced a march banner for each season that we can all rally behind. Most importantly, it’s a chance to get our youngest fans involved in the process as well! Gotta start em’ young!
Everyone has already seen the final product on opening day at Nippert, but there is plenty of praise to still go around for just how extraordinary our inaugural MLS Tifo really was. You can read all about the finer details and watch the video on how this all came together here, but a special thank you goes out to the designer (our own Andrew Springsteen) and the countless members of all supporter groups that helped make it a reality. If you still haven’t had a chance to order one of our commemorative posters of the design, you can do so here. $3 of every purchase will be donated towards ArtWorks Cincinnnati, with the remaining funds going to a joint fund to make more of these kinds of displays a reality in the future!
One of the highlights of the matchday experience has become our tradition of creating player banners and displays that pay tribute to our boys on the pitch. From Waston’s infamous SLAP celebration to Spencer Richey’s controversial takes on cereal, to Darren Mattocks with a Jamaican music tribute, these are but a few of the many displays that you can see around the stadium.
It really does take a village to make all of these displays a reality. If you are a member of the Pride (or have been thinking about joining) and would like to get involved in the process, please reach out to The Pride’s Creative Director Stephen Starkey (Stephen@thepridecincy.com) and we will be happy to help you do just that.Whether you want to help with design, or just want to come out to help paint, members of all skill levels have a way to get involved. As always, we strive to provide a platform for all of our members to be able to express their creativity and passion for the beautiful game!
#LongMaySheReign