'Who-Dey!' Even a non-sports fan appreciates importance of Super Bowl to Cincinnati
I've never been a big sports fan, but Cincinnati is my hometown.
I grew up across the river in Kentucky and my first real job was in concessions at Riverfront Stadium as a teen. It's hard not to get nostalgic about the Bengals even if playing for my high school marching band at Friday night football games was about as close to being a football fan as I ever got.
Seeing enthusiastic posts of "Who-Dey!" all over my social media feeds takes me back.
Riverfront Stadium was the perfect high school job because of my band schedule. Football games were on Sunday, and baseball season didn't interfere with band season until the playoffs.
My memories don't revolve around touchdowns and home runs. My time was spent on the concourse interacting with hungry fans.
What I remember most is working at a two-person nacho stand with my best friend. They let us run a stand together because we did it well. Our cash drawer always balanced at the end of the game, which was a big source of pride for me. I was not a math person (I'm still not), and stadium transactions were all done in our heads from a wooden drawer. Cash only. Our managers rewarded our superb skills with free T-shirts and ball caps.
Our stand was wheeled to its spot before each game, and three hours before start time, we showed up and prepped for the game while listening to music they piped through the loudspeakers. It felt like "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses was on repeat most of the time. We filled trays with corn chips and made vats of nacho cheese from powder and water.
Sometimes workers on the field transformed the dust and white lines of a baseball diamond to green turf and goal posts for football right before our eyes when the Reds made the playoffs. Now, each team has its own stadium, and I miss the skyline of my childhood that included Riverfront Stadium, which they had to share.
As the Bengals head to the Super Bowl this weekend I can't help but think of my days in "the jungle" serving subpar nachos and gallons of soda to some loyal, enthusiastic fans.
In good years and bad, Cincinnati fans show up and show love for their home team. In a world of fair-weathered fandom, it was time they had their day on Sunday. They didn't win in the end, but in getting there, all that hope from big-hearted Cincinnatians paid off for the city and their team.
You don't have to be a football fan to appreciate that and let out a full-throated, hearty "Who-Dey!"
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