Monday, December 13, 1999
Cinergy goes out with a roar
Fans, Bengals say so long with style
BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Bengals fans packed Cinergy Field to capacity Sunday despite wind and rain, roaring with heart and sending the stadium off to some dusty corner of Bengals history with style.
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Ed Pokorski, John Clarke
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Cinergy Field
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The day's 44-28 victory over the Cleveland Browns — the Bengals' third straight — was gravy.
Fans came to say goodbye to the former Riverfront Stadium, which will be replaced next season by Paul Brown Stadium a few blocks to the west. Since 1970, the stadium has been — recent shellackings aside — the stage for many unforgettable Bengals moments.
Sunday was for remembering that list. It also added to it. The Jungle did not go quietly.
“It's the end of an era,” Kenny Sowards, 31, of Lexington, Ky., said as he curled an arm around his 3-year-son, Lex. “I wanted him to be a part of history.”
Many in the announced crowd of 59,972 had the same thought. They recalled with fondness the old Bengals uniforms, the two Super Bowl seasons in the '80s, and the Jungle's roar that once made opposing NFL players dread playing here.
The pregame circus-like atmosphere on the concourse grew when the opening kickoff cut through the low fog and rain. Fans in the lower seats remarked about the (usually empty) seats disguised as paying customers in the upper deck, which has been desolate throughout most of the Bengals' frustrating season.
By late in the fourth quarter, most fans were driven away by the weather, but with 49 seconds left, the thousands who stayed were treated to a final blaring of the Guns n' Roses anthem, “Welcome to the Jungle.”
On the final snap from scrimmage, with 6 seconds remaining, flashbulbs popped from the lower blue seats to the upper reds.
Several fans looked around nervously, then calmly walked out onto the concourse carrying the portable orange chairs they had been sitting on.
Most said they would keep their tickets as mementos.
“That's the future, boys,” Bryan Wharton, 34, of Athens, told three friends as they stood on the upper-deck walkway overlooking the new stadium under construction.
Others moved forward by looking back, their memories undulled by recent defeats.
For many, the warmest memories were also the coldest.
Pat Basler, 45, of Reading will never forget the famous Freezer Bowl game of 1982 for two reasons: It was the first AFC title game ever at Riverfront, and because, well, Ms. Basler had never seen her brother-in-law's beard freeze over before.
The temperatures that day were subzero, with a wind-chill factor of minus-59 degrees.
“I remember that I stayed until the bitter end,” she said Sunday.
Over in Section 427, Mark Gagnon, 34, of Monfort Heights and Ron Phelps, 32, of Bridgetown turned in unison and smiled. Their friend, Greg Young, 31, of White Oak focused his Kodak disposable camera as fans milled between them.
Click.
“Last game,” Mr. Gagnon said with a smile.
Cinergy's swan song wasn't just about memories of a building, it was also about building memories.
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