Queen City Bowl?

In Charlotte, we call our city the Queen City. But did you know that Cincinnati, Ohio also uses Queen City as a nickname? We were unaware ourselves until doing some research on the Carolina Panthers.

The two NFL teams play each other every four years apparently. In 2014, they dubbed the game the Queen City Bowl. That game actually ended up in a tie. The Carolina Panthers return to the field in 2018 to play the Cincinnati Bengals at Bank of America Stadium on September 23 for another round of the Queen City Bowl.

The respective soccer teams also play each other in what has been named the Queen City Cup. Charlotte actually holds that honor this year based on goal differential. Both FC Cincinnati and Charlotte Independence won a game this season.

Why do both Charlotte and Cincinnati claim the nickname Queen City?

Charlotte was named after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz who was the wife of King George III. People of “Charlotte Town” wanted to honor her and gain favor with King George III. Charlotte is named the Queen City after an actual queen, which gives it some major points we think. Charlotte later got another nickname from a British general during the Revolutionary War because it was “a hornet’s nest of rebellion.” We eventually named 2 NBA basketball teams after that nickname.

Cincinnati got the name because they were referred to as the “Queen of the West.” People were moving west at the time and loved the new city on the Ohio River.  That name was first written in a newspaper article from 1819. Then in 1854, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem called “Catawba Wine” that referred to Cincinnati again as the “Queen of the West.” That is what gave it some more weight.

We are obviously biased having some of our business in Charlotte, NC, but our vote goes to us. And hopefully our sports teams back that up when they play in each of the Queen City battles on the field. Settle this, Panthers!