CINCINNATI — Anthony Brooks went from watching linemen on the football field Thursday to preparing a different type of linemen on a different type of field Friday.
Brooks is a Bengals fanatic with an ‘alter ego’.
“My daughter 12 years ago said, ‘Throw some face paint on and go down to the game,’” Brooks said. “I’m like, OK sure, sounds fun. I let her do me up a bit. It was a lot of fun. People liked it. Got engaged, took pictures.”
And just like that, Tony Da Tiger was born.
You can find Brooks at Paycor Stadium decked out in face paint, dressed in Bengals garb from head to toe.
“I wouldn’t do that as my normal self,” he said. “But when I’m in the alter ego mode, it’s a lot of fun to get the crowd going the fans.”
Brooks said he has been to 27 consecutive Bengals games. He’s worried his streak could be in jeopardy.
“As I was getting ready to go to the game I got a call from work. It was my director — 'Hey man, we’re going to send folks to the Carolinas to prepare for Hurricane Ian,'” he said. “I went to the game, came home. Got home at 12:45 a.m., got packing, threw stuff together, got it ready, laid my head down at 2, woke back up at 7, went to my real job.”
His real job? A supervisor of operations for Duke Energy.
Brooks is now in Asheville, North Carolina. He said the crews there will wait out the storm. He expects to be in the field restoring power by Saturday morning. He has a bag packed for what could be 10-14 days of work.
He knows the road that lies ahead will be tough.
“There’s times where we sleep in our trucks, times we take cold showers out of a fire hydrant, times we live in tents and trailers,” he said. “For me, and the workers I work with, this is what we like to do.”
Brooks' focus is on helping to restore power as quickly as possible. Duke Energy has sent nearly 800 line workers to the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Ian in Florida, and now in North Carolina and South Carolina.
His help means making a big sacrifice back at home.
“Friday is my daughter's birthday. Her name is Katie. She turns 18, had some plans this weekend for her,” he said. “I just want to say happy birthday, Katie, and I love you.”
Brooks said he doesn’t plan on wearing face paint on the job. That’ll be saved for when he’s repping the Bengals.
“I’ll support the Bengals gear when I can,” said Brooks. “I love the team, the city, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. So, Who Dey.”
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