“We ask you, Lord, to watch over all our athletes this weekend,” Pohlman continued. “Keep them healthy, and let them show sportsmanship. Go Bengals, Who Dey, and Amen.”
Some council members wore outfits a bit different from usual for council meetings: Ryan wore a Bengals’ scarf with his dark suit and a black-and-orange tie. He accessorized the look with a prominently placed Bengals coozie on his bottle of Hamilton water. Councilwoman Carla Fiehrer wore a bright orange Bengals hoodie.
And Mayor Pat Moeller, who announced Hamilton officials accepted a bet from the second-largest city in Greater Kansas City — Overland Park, Kansas — wore a brighter tie than he often wears, featuring orange, black and yellow stripes.
But before that, Moeller asked Ryan to provide a “Bengals’ update.”
“Sunday’s a very special day,” Ryan announced. “And it’s so special, unofficially, we’re going to label Sunday as Bengals Dey — D-E-Y — in the city of Hamilton.”
Showing those Stripes
Ryan urged residents to “show their stripes, get those claws out, wear that black and orange.... Let’s show this team that we care, we’re gonna win, we’re gonna go to Kansas City, and and we’re going to wipe them all over the … field.”
Ryan asked students, their teachers and staff across the city to wear Bengals colors “the rest of the week.”
Ryan also announced, “I’ve got all kinds of orange lights, and spotlights on my house,” and said some sculptures have been lit up, and the Fitton Center for Creative Arts will “be tuning on some orange lights for us.”
“You have waited for this your whole life,” said Fiehrer, who herself is an active fan of several area college and pro sports teams.
“I haven’t slept all week, I’m so excited about this,” Ryan responded. “Unofficially, Sunday is Bengals Day in the city. It’s time to get excited.”
“Sunday, the Bengals are America’s team. Who dey,” Ryan added.
“When we win this game, then we’ll make the next one official,” Fiehrer said.
“We will do that,” Moeller said, before he tried to use his political might to convert city staff to root for the team in the stripes. Director of Engineering Rich Engle, when asked who he was rooting for, said: “I haven’t decided yet.” City Clerk Daniel Tidyman was praised for his diplomacy after being evasive: “I like Ohio teams,” Tidyman said.
A Bengals/Chiefs Bet
Moeller said people who weren’t around for the Bengals’ two Super Bowl appearances during the 1980s “don’t know what this’ll be like if we get to the Super Bowl. Think it’s kinda crazy now? Just wait.”
Moeller said he received an email late Sunday night. Overland Park “must have done their homework, pretty quick, I guess, because they found out we’re the second-largest city, next to Cincinnati.”
While Hamilton is far smaller than Overland Park, (63,399 according to the 2020 Census, compared to 197,238), but Moeller said he believes Hamilton residents are hungrier for a win.
Moeller said the mayor of Overland Park, who he called “a super-nice guy,” told him, “I wish I had a river in my city.”
If the Bengals win, Hamilton officials will receive barbeque from there.
“If we happen to lose, we’ve got 12 Richards (Pizza) steak sandwiches, six bottles of Neal’s (Famous BBQ) sauce, and a case of water going to Overland Park,” Moeller said.
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