CINCINNATI — A Bengals tradition is back; shortly after Sunday night's win at Paycor Stadium, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor personally delivered a game ball to fans at the Blind Pig.
In the days that followed, other Cincinnati bar owners revealed their establishments had also been visited by a Bengal and gifted a coveted game ball.
In all, the game balls currently live with downtown bar Blind Pig, Crowley's Irish Pub in Mt. Adams and Clutch OTR in Over-the-Rhine.
Hundreds of fans were present at Blind Pig to watch the game against the Ravens. After the 24-17 win, Taylor walked into the bar and grabbed the mic from the DJ.
"You're the best fans in the whole world," Taylor said while holding the ball in his hand. "We need you next week in Buffalo."
Zac Taylor game ball at Blind Pig pic.twitter.com/sQ5pByGz5O
— Kevin Herbers (@kevinherbers) January 16, 2023
Taylor said he wants to keep the game ball tradition going but didn't reveal who else received a surprise visit that night.
"We got a good thing going," Taylor said. "I'm not going to reveal that right now, but we want to include as many people as possible."
Taylor added that this is a Bengals tradition that "will never die."
Bengals safety Vonn Bell delivered another ball to Crowley's Irish Pub in Mt. Adams, where he celebrated the outcome of the game with patrons.
"We wanted a ball so badly last year, we were begging for Crowley's to be remembered," said Jaimie Smith, a member of the Crowley family. "There's four generations of Crowleys at the bar today, just to come up and touch the ball."
Smith said getting this specific ball made waiting all season well worth it, thanks to Sam Hubbard — a Cincinnati-born Bengal who ran back a fumble recovery for a 98-yard touchdown in the first few minutes of the 4th quarter.
"It's a special honor for us to have this ball because, like I said, we wanted one so badly, but I think it was well worth the wait to have this one in particular just because of the hometown connection with Sam Hubbard," said Smith.
Monday night, Joey Cook, event organizer with Cincinnati Entertainment Group, tweeted a photo of one of the game balls, thanking Tyler Boyd for bringing it to Clutch OTR; his tweet was retweeted by Emily Parker, director of communications for the Bengals.
BIG Shout out to @boutdat_23 for giving out one of the game balls to Clutch Otr. Appreciate all the support from him & the guys during the season. THEY GOT TO PLAY US! 🐅 pic.twitter.com/h0Dq9JGUfr
— Joey Cook (@3BallCook) January 17, 2023
The Bengals will head to Buffalo this weekend to play the Bills in the divisional round. The game will be Sunday at 3 p.m.
A trip back to Buffalo has major significance after the Bengals-Bills regular season game was canceled when Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field.
READ MORE
WATCH IT AGAIN: Cincinnati's own Sam Hubbard runs 98-yard fumble recovery for TD in Bengals-Ravens wild card
'My plan is to be here my whole career': Joe Burrow wants to stay a Cincinnati Bengal
Bengals vs. Ravens live blog: Crazy fumble return for touchdown gives Cincy the win, 24-17
Watch Live:
