Bengals begging fans to show up

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

One victory away from an unexpected playoff spot, the Cincinnati Bengals are already immersed in their biggest challenge of the week.

No, it’s not getting ready for Baltimore. It’s trying to get somebody to come and watch.

The Bengals (9-6) drew another less-than-capacity crowd for their 23-16 win over Arizona on Saturday that secured only their third winning record in the last 21 years.

With a victory on Sunday over Baltimore, they would clinch the final AFC wild-card berth for a chance to win their first playoff game since the 1990 season.

Big moment. Will there be another small crowd?

Only 41,273 fans showed up on a sunny, 38-degree afternoon to watch the breakthrough victory Saturday.

Paul Brown Stadium was more than one-third empty, and that’s been the norm all season. Players buoyed by the chance to make the playoffs wasted no time lobbying for an audience.

“I just want to thank the fans who were out there today,” defensive tackle Domata Peko said. “We really felt you guys out there, and that helped us out big time. I really want to encourage all of the Cincinnati fans to come out and cheer us on as we try to make the playoffs.”

The franchise’s two decades of futility have brought about the strange situation: a team begging for fans as it closes in on the playoffs.

There’s a lot of bad history behind it.

The Bengals went 4-12 last season, when coach Marvin Lewis essentially played out his contract while looking for an indication the front office was fully committed to winning.

After two days of talks, he agreed to return even though owner Mike Brown said publicly that there would be no significant changes.

Franchise quarterback Carson Palmer then insisted he would sit out rather than play another season in Cincinnati. The Bengals eventually satisfied his request for a trade, sending him to Oakland during the season.

Although the Bengals got a first-round pick and a conditional second-rounder, for fans it confirmed the notion that the franchise is hopeless.

Also, Paul Brown Stadium has been an ongoing point of contention as the region struggles to recover from the recession. Hamilton County voters approved a sales tax hike in 1996, and the Bengals signed a 30-year lease that gives them a lot of control over the facility and much of its revenues.

The stadium came in way over budget — bad for taxpayers — and cost roughly $450 million when it opened in 2000.