The throng of customers crowding Koch Sporting Goods store Downtown early Monday morning was so thick Ryan Koch said he could hardly get in the door to start his shift at the family business.
"It was wild,'' Koch said Monday afternoon. "I've got 50 people in the store right now. People are more excited than I've ever seen them before. It's crazy.''
The crowd was celebrating The Cincinnati Bengals 27-24 overtime win Sunday over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, setting up the Bengals' first trip to the Super Bowl in 33 years.
Ecstatic fans snapped up Bengals' hoodies, hats and sweatshirts at the store Monday, but they'll have to wait until Tuesday to buy Bengals' AFC Championship gear and "Super Bowl-bound'' stuff, Koch said.
"We had those items overnighted,'' he said. "They shipped today (Monday), but we'll have them tomorrow.''
The Bengals Pro Shop at Paul Brown Stadium pre-ordered Bengals' AFC Championship hats and T-shirts before the game, and opened to hordes of revelers at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, shortly after the Bengals' come-from-behind victory, according to Monty Montague, the merchandise manager.
The hats sold out overnight, Montague said, and the remaining T-shirts were selling fast Monday.
"Business has been phenomenal,'' he said, noting he picked up a fresh order of T-shirts Monday morning and was expecting delivery of more hats and other gear and accessories over the next few days.
"The demand has exceeded even our expectations,'' said Montague, who noted a line began forming outside the pro shop Monday before it opened at 9 a.m. He expected traffic to remain brisk until the shop closes at 5 p.m.
The Bengals shocked the nation when they came back from an 18-point halftime deficit to defeat the betting-favorite Chiefs.
The Bengals advanced to Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles on Feb. 13 after posting five straight years of losing records and finishing in last place in the division for three consecutive years.
The Bengals, who have appeared in three Super Bowls in the team's 54-year history but never won the title, will face the Los Angeles Rams, who beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game Sunday night.
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