Cincinnati Bengals fans are excited about their team’s Super Bowl appearance. The Bengals have never won a Super Bowl. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES – Cincinnati Bengals fans have waited 31 years to taste a playoff victory. The last win occurred before quarterback Joe Burrow, 25, was even born. Fast forward to present day and the Bengals are on the sport’s biggest stage preparing to play the Rams in the 2022 Super Bowl.
“It’s been a long time coming, The fans have been waiting for so long they just want to be there and celebrate with the team,” said Daniel Goodman, a Bengals fan who is attending Sunday’s Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Cincinnati secured its first playoff win on January 15 against the Las Vegas Raiders in a wild card game. It would go on to beat the No. 1 seed Tennessee Titans and heavily favored Kansas City Chiefs. To go from zero playoff wins in the last 31 years to three in a month was head-turning.
While the Bengals are winning on the field, their fans are enjoying the newfound success. They have shown up in droves to opponents’ stadiums, including ones in Tennessee and Kansas City. In fact, the Titans were restricting the transfer of tickets 24 hours before their divisional playoff game in Tennessee in an effort to minimize the amount of Bengals fans in the stadium.
With how expensive the Super Bowl is this year it’s no surprise that fans on both sides are debating whether the tickets are worth the expense. The average price for a Super Bowl ticket as of Friday was $6,697, CBS Sports reported. That doesn’t include the cost of plane tickets, hotels and other expenses.
“This might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Me and my grandpa are super close and for us and our relationship this would mean a lot,” said Braden Lieungh, a season ticket holder for the Bengals who is going to the Super Bowl.
Lieungh was 6 when his grandfather started taking him to Bengals games. He admits he was born into a Bengals family but he is glad he stuck with the team during the hard times.
The stage is set for the Super Bowl. Who will win: a veteran Rams team that is built to win now, or a young Bengals team that has surprised many to this point?
The answer is about to reveal itself.