Area Bengals fans say the team’s 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in last season’s playoffs left them everything from sad, disappointed, and upset to crushed, devastated and heartbroken.
Fans say they are going into Sunday’s games thrilled by quarterback Joe Burrow signing a five-year, $275 million contract extension with the team on Thursday and ready to see them strive even harder to make it to the Super Bowl.
Steve and Jeff Nagel of Riverside — 56-year-old twin brothers who go by the nickname “Bengal Twins” — are 35-year season ticket holders and know many of the former players personally.
“We are huge Bengals fans because it started with our family,” Jeff said. “Our uncle had some of the first season tickets in 1968.”
Loving the Bengals is not just a family tradition, it’s an enduring passion, one that includes collecting everything from Bengals programs, photographs and bobbleheads to gloves, cleats and jerseys, Steve said.
“We dress alike for all games,” he said. “Orange and black.”
The brothers say they were upset at the Bengals’ loss to the Chiefs, but very proud of Cincinnati for making it to the conference championship game for two consecutive years. The only different expectation they have for the team this season is that when it wins the division and return to the playoffs, it will be “to bring home that trophy.”
“We expect them to play well,” Jeff said. “They’re a group of great guys and very good coaches.”
Sydney Cannada, 29, of Centerville said her father, who now lives in Georgia, grew up in Cincinnati and instilled a love for the Bengals when she was growing up in Iowa.
“We were just always taught the Bengals are our team and that’s who we’re going to cheer for,” she said. “My husband is military, so as soon as we found out we were coming to Dayton (in 2022), my dad immediately got season tickets and he was so happy.”
Cannada and her husband root for the team alongside friends and family members, including Cannada’s parents, who drive up from Georgia to watch each home game.
“We’re lucky to have season tickets and I’m there every home game screaming my head off,” she said. “I love how close this team is, how they persevere for the city of Cincy.”
Cannada, who will be stringing up Bengals banners ahead of having friends over for Sunday’s game, predicts the team will rack up an impressive 14-3 record.
“It’s a really good group of guys, really a diverse group but really cohesive and I think you can see that in practice in the off-season,” she said. ““I’m just excited. They know it’s the time and they’re hungry and we’ll see. One game at a time.”
Chris Masten, 63, of Miamisburg said he’s been a Bengals devotee since the team was founded in 1967.
“I love everything about them, and I buy a lot of Bengals merchandise to prove it: Jerseys, hats, football helmets, flags, those kind of things,” Masten said.
He said with the combination of a great receiving corps, Burrow, running back Joe Mixon, good back-up running backs, a beefed-up offensive line and “a defense that’s going to be as awesome as they usually are,” the team will have a great year and not only make it back to the playoffs, but also win the NFL title.
“They have all the right pieces in place,” Masten said.
Jacob Eifert, 27, of Springfield said he was born and raised in Cincinnati and grew up watching the team.
“I’ve been a Bengals fan pretty much all my life,” he said. “They mean so much to the city. The whole city can come together over their successes and failures.”
Eifert said he shows his support by watching games, wearing Bengals gear and talking about the team. He predicts the team will end up this season where he thought it would end up last year: competing for a Super Bowl victory.
“With a similar roster and more experience, the expectations are the same,” he said. “I believe they’ll be 13-4. I think that given that this team’s been to the AFC title game two years in a row and was in the Super Bowl (in 2022) that this team has the capability to win it all.
“The roster’s pretty similar ... and I think that they can do it.”
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