Cincinnati Bengals

• 1. Founding And Franchise History

  ›

  Paul Brown began planning for the creation of the Bengals franchise in 1965. Cincinnati's city council approved the construction of Riverfront Stadium in 1966. The American Football League granted a franchise to an ownership group led by Paul Brown on the 23rd of May 1967. This team began play in the 1968 season. Brown had previously been dismissed as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns by Art Modell in January 1963. He looked at both Cincinnati and Columbus before choosing the former. A deal between the city, Hamilton County, and Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds resulted in an agreement to build a multipurpose stadium. The merger of the AFL and the NFL was scheduled to take full effect in the 1970 season. Brown agreed to join the AFL as its 10th and final franchise. The Bengals were assigned to the AFC following the merger. Cincinnati was selected because it could draw from several large neighboring cities like Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky, and Columbus, Dayton, and Springfield in Ohio. These locations are all no more than 100 miles away from downtown Cincinnati.

• 2. Stadium Development And Relocation

  ›

  Riverfront Stadium opened in time for the 1970 NFL season. It served as the home of the Bengals until they moved to Paul Brown Stadium in 2000. The new facility replaced Crosley Field which the Reds had used since 1912. By the early 1950s parking issues had plagued the city while the park lacked modern amenities. The Mill Creek Expressway project ran alongside the old park exacerbating these problems. In 2024 the team proposed a $120 million renovation of Paycor Stadium. This plan would have seen 90% of the funds raised from taxpayers. Hamilton County commissioners drew fire at this proposal since the Bengals only pay $158,526 in rent per year. On the 3rd of April 2025, Bengals executive V.P. Katie Blackburn stated that the team could go wherever they wanted after this year if they didn't pick up the option on their lease. She noted she likes the stadium's downtown location and hopes to secure the team's future there. Negotiations with the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County continued regarding the lease terms.

• 3. Coaching Eras And Strategic Shifts

  ›

  The Bengals reached the Super Bowl twice during the 1980s in Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XXIII. They lost against the San Francisco 49ers both times. After Paul Brown's death in 1991 the team posted 14 consecutive non-winning seasons. They were saddled with numerous draft busts during this period. The term Bungles was coined by Steelers broadcaster Myron Cope to disparage the team. Following the 1990 season the team went 14 years without making the NFL playoffs or posting a winning record. Their fortunes improved in the mid-2000s into the mid-2010s. They became more consistent postseason contenders but continued to struggle in the playoffs. The turning point came during the 2021 season when they won their first playoff game in 31 years. They advanced to the first of two consecutive AFC Championship games. In 2021 they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 27, 24 in overtime. They then lost to the Los Angeles Rams 23, 20 in Super Bowl LVI. They advanced to the AFC Championship again in 2022 but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs by

• 4. Super Bowl Appearances And Playoff Struggles

  ›

  a score of 23, 20.

  When the team debuted in 1968 the Bengals' uniforms were modeled after the Cleveland Browns. Paul Brown packed up all his equipment from Cleveland which he then used for his new team in Cincinnati. The original helmets featured the word Bengals in black block letters with no stripe. The team did not have secondary uniform numbers until they appeared on the sleeves in the 1980 season. That same year the helmet face mask color changed from gray to black. A unique uniform design was introduced in 1981 featuring orange helmets with black tiger stripes still in use today. Sports Illustrated likened these new helmets to varicose pumpkins. In 1997 the Bengals designed a logo consisting of a leaping tiger added to the uniform sleeves. Another alternate logo consisted of a Bengal's head facing to the left. In 2004 a new tiger stripe pattern and more accents were added to the uniforms. The black jerseys now featured orange tiger-striped sleeves and white side panels. A new logo consisting of an orange B covered with black tiger stripes was introduced. On

• 5. Uniform Evolution And Visual Identity

  ›

  the 21st of January 2021 the club announced a new uniform design worn beginning with the 2021 NFL season.

  The Bengals fight song is called The Bengal Growl written by entertainment director George Red Bird upon the team's founding in 1968. Bird had been friends with Paul Brown for over 30 years. He met Brown at Massillon Washington High School when Brown was head football coach. His first task was to pen a fight song along the lines of the Browns' fight song Hi O-Hi-O for Cleveland. The Who Dey chant has been in use since the 1980s. The full chant reads Who dey who dey who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals followed by Nobody. Saying Who Dey at Bengals games is steeped in local beer lore involving Hudepohl Brewing Company from 1978 through the late 1980s. Beer vendors carrying full cases of bottled local beer up the steep upper stairs of Riverfront Stadium would call out If Hudy Burger and other local beer names. Raucous fans often chanted back and forth with them as the vendors called out. During the 1980 season this banter grew organically into the now famous Hu-Dey-Who They-? chant. The official mascot

• 6. Cultural Impact And Fan Traditions

  ›

  is a Bengal tiger named Who Dey whose jersey number is 1.