CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals season is underway and fans are beyond excited to watch the orange and black play.
Fans are returning to Paul Brown stadium, and tailgates are back at full capacity as well.
Bengal Jim’s is the longest continually running tailgate at Paul Brown Stadium and there are no shortage of characters.
“Tony Da Tiger,” is one of several die hard Bengals fans who don full costumes on Sundays.
“Threw some faceprint on one day and from there ‘Tony Da Tiger’ was born,” he said. “My daughter actually started it, throwing the face paint on. Then when she went to boot camp, I just started figuring it out for myself. So I do all this myself in the mirror every game day.”
He is among many fans that are ready to be back at Paul Brown without capacity restrictions.
“Last year was kind of odd, right,” Tony said. “We had limited capacity. Being back here at the jungle, Paul Brown Stadium, full capacity with the Who Dey Nation, it’s gonna be represented. It’s gonna be Who Dey all day.”
Bengal Jim is just happy to see everyone back together after the pandemic challenged their streak of consecutive tailgates last season.
“With friends and family, I got goosebumps thinking about it,” Jim said. “It is going to be a crazy day in Cincinnati. It is going to be a day of celebration. It’s going to be a lot of fun today.”
.@Real10jayy__ saw that ball and took it to the HOUSE.
📺: #MINvsCIN on FOX pic.twitter.com/T9jt61X2w9
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) September 12, 2021
Thousands of fans are thrilled to be back practicing their Sunday traditions, with high hopes for the team.
“Seventeen and zero,” Jim said. “It’s a Super Bowl season this year. We’re not gonna miss a beat. This is gonna be a big year. Don’t underestimate the Cincinnati Bengals this year. It’s gonna be fun.”
