If the Cincinnati Bengals win Super Bowl 56, they change the narrative of their franchise over the course of 60 minutes.
More than 50 years of a franchise, changed over the span of three hours.
This is the opportunity facing the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, who are visiting the Los Angeles Rams — despite technically being the home team — at SoFi Stadium for Super Bowl LVI.
Born as part of the American Football League in 1968, the Bengals have been looking for their elusive first championship in the 53 seasons since. In 1981 and ’88, Cincinnati reached the Super Bowl in unexpected fashion, only to twice be beaten back by Joe Montana, Bill Walsh and the San Francisco 49ers.
The good news? The Niners lost in the NFC Championship Game this year, so no rematch there. However, the Rams are waiting with their cast of stars, trying to deny the Queen City once more.
For most generations, the Bengals have been known as an afterthought. Until January, Cincinnati hadn’t won a playoff game since 1990, when it beat the Houston Oilers, who haven’t existed in said form for the last quarter-century. The quarterback for Houston that day wasn’t even Hall of Famer Warren Moon, but backup Cody Carlson.
So far, this Bengals team has been busting both narratives and bad history. Cincinnati got that elusive payoff victory and then two more, including upset wins on the road over the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs, with the latter including a 21-3 deficit late in the first half.
Sunday also serves as the potential for quarterback Joe Burrow to stake himself as one of the league’s elite. Regardless of the outcome, Burrow has earned tremendous respect and is seen universally in the top 10 signal-callers, but a ring gets him into the conversation with Patrick Mahomes as the game’s best among the young quarterbacks permeating the AFC.
Still, in the end, this isn’t about Burrow or any other one player. It’s about the Bengals’ franchise and their fans, who have suffered through decades of losing with only the occasional campaign to truly feel good about.
If Cincinnati wins Super Bowl LVI, all those emotions are washed away, leaving the Bengals and their city with a taste of a title, and a well-deserved one at that.
