Feb. 13 Is Now Officially Cincinnati Bengals Day in Ohio, New Proclamation Says

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has been giving Cincinnati some love lately.

By Allison Babka on Wed, Feb 9, 2022 at 8:41 am

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Photo: Adam Doty

All of Ohio will be wearing Cincinnati Bengals colors on Feb. 13, Ohio's governor hopes.

Greater Cincinnati already has been celebrating the Bengals' road to the playoffs with orange lights, special street signs and location name changes. Now the state of Ohio is getting in on that action.

Tuesday afternoon, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a proclamation saying that Sunday, Feb. 13, would be known as Cincinnati Bengals Day throughout Ohio. If you've recently gone through your own Cast Away experience and have no idea why this proclamation is happening, the Bengals will be playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday for the first time since 1989.

"I wish the Bengals luck as they prepare to play the Los Angeles Rams this weekend," DeWine said in a press release. "They have had a great season and hopefully they can win once more to bring home Ohio's first Super Bowl championship and tenth NFL title!"

The proclamation notes the Bengals' 10-7 regular-season record, the AFC North title, the team's first playoff win in 31 years, rookie Evan McPherson's clutch field goal kicks and the team's strong defense. DeWine also encourages all Ohio residents to don orange and black to support the Bengals.

DeWine's proclamation comes just one day after he declared that Ohio would temporarily rename three parks for current and former Bengals players.

The Ohio governor isn't the only one changing things up in honor of the state's new favorite team. In January, Dayton, Kentucky, Mayor Ben Baker signed a proclamation saying that the city would become "Deyton," named for Bengals fans' "Who dey" chant. And last week, Cheviot renamed the streets around its D.O.R.A. district for Bengals players.

DeWine, his wife Fran and other family members will travel to Los Angeles to see the Bengals play in the Super Bowl, WKYC-TV in Cleveland reported Monday. DeWine's press secretary Dan Tiernay also told the television station that the family is paid for their own tickets and will do the same for lodging and other expenses.

The Bengals will take on the Los Angeles Rams during Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, Feb. 13. The Rams won the Jan. 30 NFC Championship game to advance with the Bengals, who overcame the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime just hours earlier to become the AFC champs. This will be just the third time the Bengals have gone to the Super Bowl and the team's first since 1989.

The Super Bowl will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Rams' home of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (the Bengals will serve as the home team). NBC will broadcast the game, and fans also can watch on Peacock, Telemundo, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

Read DeWine's full proclamation below.