FLORENCE, Ky. — The Cincinnati Bengals will go to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row if they can beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City on Sunday. And while the Bengals may be an Ohio team, some of the team’s most devoted fans reside in Kentucky.
Matt Johnson says he’s not a superstitious fan, but he’s also not above plunging into freezing cold water after every Bengals win, so readers can be the judge.
Some might call these polar plunges “crazy,” but then again, those people are probably not diehard sports fans. One thing no one can argue against is that Johnson is as diehard a Bengals fan as fans come.
“The best thing about sports is it brings everybody together. No matter, guy, girl, black, white, just brings everybody together,” Johnson said.
He’s also the owner of Matt’s Natural World, a health food store in Florence, and Susan’s Natural World in Anderson Township, Ohio. He wears his Bengals gear to work every day, and instead of talking about things he finds boring, like the weather, he talks to his customers about the Bengals.
And he’s got a lot to talk about, being a Bengals season ticket holder for the last decade or so.
“We haven’t missed a game. And we stay till the end. And we’re in there. Now it just feels like, it’s almost like, feels paid off. We’re right now. And so I’m excited about it,” he said. “We’re there when they’re bad.”
During his 40 plus years of fandom, he and his family have seen a lot of bad. But in recent years they’ve seen a lot more good. The current team just needs to beat the Chiefs for what would be the fourth straight time in order to reach the Super Bowl again.
Johnson attributes most of that success to his favorite player.
“When we realized we were gonna get Joe Burrow, we felt like it changed everything for us,” Johnson said. “I’m excited man. I think this is it. I think Joe’s gonna bring us the ship.”
As for the polar plunge, that’s a new tradition his family started at the beginning of this season.
“My sister-in-law, after a close win, was like, ‘everybody’s gotta jump.’ And so we all jumped in the pond together. We had a good video of that, and everybody was cracking up. And it was nice in September and October. But then our rule was that we were gonna jump after every win. And since we haven’t lost since Halloween, it’s gotten a little bit intense,” he said laughing. “Last night was one of the worst ones, I’ll be honest with you. It was super cold.”
In addition to all the Bengals home games, Johnson goes to at least one road game during the regular season. That game was in Tampa Bay this year. He went to all the road playoff games last year, including the Super Bowl where the Bengals lost to the Los Angeles Rams, and the game that preceded it in Kansas City — a win against the Chiefs.
So it’s no surprise that he and his family are heading to Kansas City once again for the 2023 AFC Championship game, where Johnson hopes to come away with a shot at Super Bowl redemption, and, as is the rule, another plunge.
Johnson said his 72-year-old mother has agreed to take part in the polar plunge if the Bengals win the Super Bowl, which he said is something he and his brother are very much hoping to see.
