The first Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns game was a home game for Cleveland in 1970 and resulted in a 27-30 loss for the Bengals. Including that game there has been a total of 81 contests between these two teams. The Bengals have come out victorious in a majority of regular season games winning 43 to the Browns’ 38. The Bengals have won more games, however; the Browns have the longest winning streak at seven to the Bengals’ five. The Bengals have more home games in this series because in 1982 the only game played between these two teams was held in the Queen City.

A few current Bengals fans and students of Elder High School gave their input on how long they have been a Bengals fan. Jack Hammersmith, a sophomore; Bailey Dennis, a sophomore; and Zach Fires, a junior; all claimed that they have been Bengals fans for their whole lives. They are all fans who love to put on the orange and black and cheer their team to victory. This year the Bengals are off to an 8-0 start all of these people are very excited.

I asked them all “How many Bengals’ games do you attend on average every year?” Jack Hammersmith told me that, “I normally attend most, if not all of the home games.” Hammersmith also went on to tell me that he is a season ticket holder and that is what allows him to go to most of the games every season. Dennis and Fries both told me that they try to make it to one or two games every year. No matter how many games anyone gets to go to every year does not mean that they are any more or any less of a fan. People can show their Bengal pride just by wearing the orange and black stripes.

These fans are all very passionate about the Bengals vs. Browns rivalry game. Dennis told me, “The Browns aren’t the best team, but it was nice to see the Bengals win in prime time.” He was referring to the Thursday night football game on November 7, 2015 between the Bengals and the Browns. Hammersmith told me that it doesn’t matter that the Browns are not a very good team. He said it’s a division game and we need to take it seriously. Fries gave me a very heart felt response saying, “There’s not a greater feeling than beating up on the Browns. It’s been pretty fun to see the Bengals beat up on the Browns.”

I would agree that it is fun to watch the Bengals win, but I would not say that we always beat up on them. From 2000 until now The Bengals record against the Browns is 18-12. The Bengals have won a majority of the games, but Cleveland has not exactly been a “punching bag” by any means.

The final question I asked these fine men was, “What is your favorite part of this rivalry game?” Dennis told me it was that these were both Ohio teams and because the Browns have not been very good in recent years. Hammersmith told me that, “My favorite part of this rivalry game is that the Browns are the Bengals punching bag.” Fries added to that saying, “It’s always entertaining to watch. Each year there is always something new. It’s smash mouth football. It’s fun to see two teams with bad blood going at it.”

As you can tell Fries had a lot to say about this rivalry because he had so much to say about it.

The Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns have one more game against each other and this one is in Cleveland. The Bengals are still undefeated after their week 9 win against Cleveland and will hopefully still be undefeated the nest time they face the Browns. The Bengals are the number 2 team in the NFL right now and should have no problem handling the Browns. However, this is the NFL and nothing is guaranteed. The Bengals have eight games left this season, and in the great words of Zach Fries, “Go Bengals!”