Panelists on ESPN's "Around the Horn" debated whether the Cincinnati Bengals or Cleveland Browns have the more intense fanbase, and it likely wouldn't have gone well for Bengals fans if not for Miami University alum Clinton Yates.
Yates defended the Bengals' fanbase while debating "before the horn" with fellow panelists Tim Cowlishaw, Kevin Blackistone and Harry Lyles Jr., as well as host Tony Reali. The discussion started with the topic of the Bengals' "White Bengal" video Thursday, which didn't include the white helmet the team will employ this season but did include an old-school, leaping tiger logo that excited fans.
"You've got to roll this out and have these (helmets) available for sale immediately. I mean, what's the point of the tease? I mean, this is Cincinnati," Yates explained. "That's one of the most rabid fanbases in terms of like soaking everything up."
"Is it?" Reali asked, before acknowledging that he doesn't think he's ever met a Bengals fan. "I don't even put them at No. 1 in the state."
"Are you familiar with the Bengals fanbase?" Yates continued. "If they dropped that helmet tomorrow, that thing would be sold out in an hour."
When the debate became a comparison of Bengals' fans vs. Browns' fans, Blackistone questioned Yates' claim that many Browns' fans are apathetic.
"I never thought that the Bengals' (fans) care more than the Browns'. This is news to me," Reali added later.
Yates' tweet includes video of the debate:
From former Bengals great Willie Anderson via Twitter:
Here were Reali's tweets Thursday, and another one Friday morning in which he suggested that he never understood "Who Dey?" (or the Saints' "Who Dat?" for that matter):
And Reali's sense of humor was on display Friday in a tweet respon to the article:
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