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It was 40 years ago today.....


jjakq27

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Sunday, August 3, 2008 is the 40th anniversary of the first game by the new Cincinnati Bengals of the AFL. Maybe tomorrow would be a good time to take a moment to reflect and appreciate the impact that this team has had on us over the years.

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This excerpt is from the 1973 book "The Cincinnati Bengals and the Magic of Paul Brown" by Dick Forbes and is as follows:

It was the night of August 3, 1968, before a group of more than 21,000 fans, and a newly formed group of players holding an NFL (AFL) franchise-the Cincinnati Bengals-took the field against one of the strongest teams in professional football-the Kansas City Chiefs.

A solitary figure stood on the Bengals sidelines. He was Paul Brown, renowned in contemporary football in the past three decades have been legion.

Although the result of the game between the novice Bengals and the seasoned Chiefs was predictable, Paul Brown had not expected otherwise. The Chiefs won easily, 38-14, and the defeat was so complete that the Bengals not only were held without a first down in the first half, but also were unable to run a play from scrimmage in the first quarter.

About a year after that fateful and hapless debut, the "Baby Bengals," as they were condecendingly called, faced the powerful Chiefs again. This time, however, with exhibition play behind them, the practice party was over and the Bengals were playing for keeps.

By 4:20 that afternoon, the infant team's initiation to the ranks of the pros was complete. Cincinnati had won, 24-19, and Paul Brown was carried off the field by his joyful charges as the crowd cheered wildly.

In just a little more than thirteen months the Bengals had beaten one of the best. That was the year Kansas City won the world championship and pro football came of age as a vaulable commodity in Cincinnati, a city previously dominated by the Reds of baseball fame.

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Action from later in the season vs. the Broncos at Nippert Stadium.

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My dad tells me about that game all the time, and how he was a Browns fan until then. I always laugh, because he's the reason I'm a Bengals fan, and also the reason I've dealt with the years of sucktitude.

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Yes, Thank You Paul Brown for (in my case) 30 years of expectations and hopes dashed against the rocks of reality that this team has given me.

Dont take me the wrong way, I will be a Bengals fan as long as they are an NFL team based in any region of Ohio other than the Northeast. I just hope they can pull off a SB win before I leave this earthly existence.

Who-Dey, all day, every day

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My dad tells me about that game all the time, and how he was a Browns fan until then.

Your dad must be my age Ox because I too was a Cleveland fan until the day the Bengals were born in '68. From that moment on Browns games were no longer shown Sundays on local channels around Cincinnati, and our whole family jumped to being Bengals fans. I remember the day well. It's just so hard to believe 40 years has passed since then... :huh:

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