CINCINNATI — Five days before the Super Bowl, the Cincinnati Bengals made their way to Los Angeles with plans to arrive that afternoon and start their typical practice schedule.
What You Need To Know
- The Bengals left for Los Angeles on Tuesday morning
- The team will continue its practice schedule upon landing in LA
- It is the third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history
- Fans saw the team off Monday night and Tuesday morning
Fans saw the Bengals off the night before in a 30,000-person rally at Paul Brown Stadium, then a small group came out Tuesday morning to give the team a final goodbye.
The team wanted to arrive with plenty of time to acclimate to the time change and warmer temperatures, two issues their opponents, the Los Angeles Rams, won’t have to face as the hometown team.
On top of that, the Bengals need to adapt to the pressure of playing on the biggest stage in football.
It is the third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, though the last two appearances took place more than 30 years ago.
Fans wave at busses as Bengals head to Los Angeles (Michelle Alfini/Spectrum News 1)
That’s why fans said they made sure to soak in as much of the experience as possible.
“It’s been a long time coming. Last time we went to the Super Bowl, I was 13 years old,” said Mike Stiers, one of the fans who stopped by Tuesday morning. “I didn’t think it was going to happen for a while, but I’m glad it is.”
Another dedicated fan, Rhoda Gross, said she came to see the team off because doing so two weeks ago paid off.
“I was down here when they left to go to Kansas [City], and I told them they would win by three points, and they did,” she said.
This weekend, she’s expecting a similarly close game with another game-winning field goal.
“We’re going win by three points,” she said.
While the team has left Cincinnati, the city plans to continue Super Bowl festivities throughout the week, in hopes of attracting out-of-town fans into the city boosting the local tourism industry.
Fountain Square will host Bengals events starting Thursday, and The Banks and Newport on the Levee will host watch parties on Sunday evening.
