I live in North Carolina. I was in the Air Force for 26 years. Originally from Fort Wayne. When I was growing up there were no Indianapolis Colts. I had family near Cincinnati and went to Reds games when we visited them. Got hooked on the Bengals. Everyone in my family are Colts fans but me.

I have always worn Bengals gear, even during the 90s. Nobody ever seemed to pay any attention or thought "poor guy". I see so much Steelers crap around, I wanna puke. Never see Bengals stuff here.

Now everywhere I go people see me in my Bengals shirts or jackets, say "I was cheering for them Saturday" or "I hope they get to the Super Bowl" or "Those guys are really good". I'm not used to having this happen. Is that what is like to finally have a young exciting team that looks ready to make the playoffs for years to come? Man it is a great time to be a Bengals fan, especially for me outside the Cincinnati area.

(01-20-2022, 01:11 PM)FastEddie Wrote: I live in North Carolina. I was in the Air Force for 26 years. Originally from Fort Wayne. When I was growing up there were no Indianapolis Colts. I had family near Cincinnati and went to Reds games when we visited them. Got hooked on the Bengals. Everyone in my family are Colts fans but me.

I have always worn Bengals gear, even during the 90s. Nobody ever seemed to pay any attention or thought "poor guy". I see so much Steelers crap around, I wanna puke. Never see Bengals stuff here.

Now everywhere I go people see me in my Bengals shirts or jackets, say "I was cheering for them Saturday" or "I hope they get to the Super Bowl" or "Those guys are really good". I'm not used to having this happen. Is that what is like to finally have a young exciting team that looks ready to make the playoffs for years to come? Man it is a great time to be a Bengals fan, especially for me outside the Cincinnati area.

There are more than a few board members down here in NC. I became a Bengals fan because when I was a child, the closest teams were the Redskins and Falcons, and most in this area were Skins fans. I fell in love with Boomer and Icky and that crew and have been a fan since. Sometimes I feel guilty for not supporting the Panthers, but I was almost grown by the time they popped up. My allegiances we're already made. 

You're right, it's been fun having so many people come up to me and yell "Go Bengals!". Usually it's "Don't see many Bengals fans around here!". 

I've been getting kudos from people since last year (mainly due to Burrow), mainly from the casuals that don't have a team or are Bills fans (due to proximity).

This year, the kudos has been ramped up considerably, though I still haven't run across anyone since Saturday (I work in a big room by myself and don't leave it or my house, for the most-part, unless it's for grocery shopping).

During football season, all I wear outside is Bengals stuff, period; scarf, touque, hoodie (don't wear jackets, ever), so I stick out like a sore thumb, especially when they wear orange on gameday and I wear my orange hoodie that week lol

Paul Brown: "Winning makes believers of us all." But we will take all the bandwagoners we can get.

One of the great things about this message board is interacting with people from all over the world who bleed orange and black. Thanks for repping down in Carolina.

This is a likable team... Especially if you're a fan of a team we have no natural rivalry with... Oh and they're exciting. I like to watch other teams chuck long TDs too.

I've never had a single comment from anyone around here when I wear shirts/hats. I could understand when I went out after the Bengals beat the Broncos that people weren't excited, but I expected maybe SOME comment after we beat the Chiefs or from the win last weekend. Nothing. I'm sure it would be different if I was out at an establishment watching the game, but just being out and about on game day or the day after in gear and most people here seem pretty in their world. Maybe I should spend a little more time in Wyoming with the Logan fans and they'll care.

I do have a client who lives in VA and is a Ravens fan and we talked a little trash through the season and our head-to-head games, but he was pretty happy for the Bengals at the end of the year finally getting out of the drought and having some fun. This Bengals team is likeable. Very likeable. Not just an underdog story, but the players are having fun, there's no diva/selfish attitudes. If you didn't have a horse in the race at this point, I'd think it would be hard not to root for the Bengals, and that's about the reaction I get from my casual sports fan colleagues around the country.

Once we win the next 7 SB's straight, we're going to be despised worse than the Pats and their run.

I remember going to Lambeau a few years back with a bunch of guys from work who were Colts fan. GB vs Indy game. I was wearing a Bengals Jersey and kept getting a lot of laughs and "You're at the wrong game" Gotta represent no matter where you are.