CINCINNATI, Ohio — On a typical Bengals game day, Paul Brown Stadium is surrounded by fans, but when the Bengals took the field on Sunday, they did so in an empty stadium, surrounded by barren parking lots.
Any other year, Jeremy, the self-proclaimed “Bengals Captain” said he’d be right there, rallying fans all day leading up to kickoff.
“I would have gotten to Lot 1 right outside the stadium 9:00 in the morning to set up a tailgate with the Bengal Bomb Squad,” he said.
Instead he’s 100 miles away at his home in Columbus. He watched the game and joined in on all the pregame festivities from his couch.
“I miss my friends,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of friends that I only see during football season and we’re going to try to do something virtually today.”
Local fans planned socially distant tailgates and watch parties, but Jeremy said it wasn’t worth the risk to travel without a ticket into the game.
Governor Mike DeWine announced Sept. 5 that some Bengals and Browns home games can open up to limited capacity in the next few weeks and Jeremy said he wants to make sure he’s not doing anything to put that opportunity in jeopardy.
“I’m gonna try to do whatever I can to be safe for right now and prove that the Bengals deserve a lot more than 6,000 fans in those stands,” he said.
For Sunday, that meant sticking to virtual tailgates to get some of the camaraderie he’s been missing, but Jeremy said he and his fellow fans wanted to do something for the team as well.
He helped compile and edit together a string of videos and photos from Bengals fans from across the region to show the team just how many people were cheering them on and what things would sound like if they could be there inside the stadium.
“I hope that they think about that when they’ve gotta dig deep for a critical moment,” Jeremy said.
Bengals fans weren’t the only ones who wanted to make sure their team felt their support.
Tony Householder and Julia Mandella made their way from Nashville to cheer on the Chargers, even though they knew they couldn’t actually get into the game.
“We’re diehard Chargers fans, from California originally,” Householder said. “It’s only a four-hour drive — why not support our team?”
The couple said they would have bought tickets if they could, but instead they settled for cheering on their team from as close as they could get. Mandella said they saw the team as they arrived at their hotel.
“Greeted them said hello, let them know that we were here,” she said. “There was a small group of us.”
They said they’ll be watching the game from a local sports bar, representing Chargers fans, even as the team is thousands of miles from home.
With only sixteen games a year, Householder said fans too have to make something special out of every game.
“Some support is better than no support,” he said.
Whether they’re at home or in the stands, these super fans said they’re not taking a single Sunday off.
“And once we get back in that stadium, we’re going to owe you,” Jeremy said. “We’re going to be louder than we ever have before.”
The next time Paul Brown stadium will open up to fans will be Oct. 4 for the Bengals game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Just 6,000 fans will be allowed inside, tailgating is prohibited, everyone must wear masks, and seating locations will change based on social distancing guidelines.
Cleveland will get to host Ohio’s first game with fans on Thursday Sept. 17. The Browns will play the Bengals for their home opener at First Energy Stadium. Fans must follow the same set of rules.
