Monday, October 15, 2001
Fan welcome respite from terror fears
By Tom O'Neill and Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The largest crowd to ever see a Cincinnati sporting event gathered Sunday for the Battle of Ohio. It was the perfect antidote to the fear and emotional exhaustion of the battle against terrorism.
The Bengals' 24-14 win over the Cleveland Browns before 64,217 fans lifted Cincinnati to its best start since 1990, at 3-2. It also lifted spirits — a three-hour respite from the agonizing march of news updates out of Afghanistan.
The colors to hold the day were red, white and blue: on backs, on shirts, on bald heads, on faces and in spirit.
“No chance I was coming without it,” Tom Thiel, a 31- year-old downtown Cincinnati resident, said of the American flag draped on his back. “Every day is 24 hours of what's going on, what's gonna happen next? This is three, three and a half hours of bliss. Wonderful bliss.”
The crowd was the biggest in 11 games at Paul Brown Stadium, bettering the 64,006 for the inaugural game last year.
The most timely “time-out” music on the PA system Sunday was Katrina and the Waves' 1980s hit “Walking on Sunshine” moments after the gray sky lit up during the first quarter. But the two that drew fans to their feet were Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the U.S.A.” and Edwin Starr's peace anthem “War.”
There was the usual banter between rival fans, including one Bengals fan in Section 211 who stopped a Browns heckler with a question: “Hey, how many Super Bowls ya guys been to?”
He never got an answer. It was a rhetorical question anyway. The Bengals have been to two, the Browns none.
But the faithful from the northeast and southwest corners of Ohio were united on one emotion, best summed up by Browns fan Howard Worrell, 69, of Millersport, Ohio.
“I was proud to serve,” said the Navy veteran (1952-56), who came to Cincinnati with his three grandkids. “To serve under the American flag, the most beautiful flag in the world.”
Darryl Richards, 35, of Hamilton, said he's worn an American-flag bandana on his head every day since Sept. 11. He has two. “I support my colors, and I'm going to wear it every day until that (harsh expletive) is caught.”
“It's a release,” another fan, Joe Gregory, 45, of Finneytown explained. “We know we have to go back to our lives. But for now, it's been good just to forget for a while. Besides, man, it's Cleveland.”
Sitting in the front row behind the south goalposts, his voice rising over the roar of a Bengals third-quarter touchdown, Mr. Thiel said he'll bring his flag to each home game.
“Right through the playoffs,” he said.
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Fan welcome respite from terror fears
