Bengals beg fans to show up for decisive game

[SteelCrazy]

Re: Bengals beg fans to show up for decisive game

Could this be the end of the Bengals? If they cant sell tickets they may have a reason to move to a new city.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: Bengals beg fans to show up for decisive game

Toronto Bengals? I'd hate that except for the fact that I'd get the Steelers up here every year, and I would be able to make fun of the local fans non-stop.

Los Angeles Bengals? Would be quite a trip for an AFC North team, but at least we'd get sunshine in December.

[SteelCrazy]

Re: Bengals beg fans to show up for decisive game

The Anchorage Polar Bears.........where ice meets cleats

[Sugar]

Re: Bengals beg fans to show up for decisive game

Why would Mike Brown sell the team? They are a huge money-maker for him. If I recall right, they were actually more profitable than the Steelers last year (don't ask me where I read that, though).

[ColumbusSteelerFan]

Re: Bengals beg fans to show up for decisive game

I guess their gimmick worked. Now if the stadium will actually be full on Sunday is another story...

[url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7395976/cincinnati-bengals-avoid-blackout-second-time-season"]http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/73959 ... ime-season[/url]

Bengals announce sellout for finale

By Jamison Hensley
ESPN.com

It's only fitting that a team that has enjoyed one of the most shocking turnarounds in the NFL this season ended with another surprise.

The Cincinnati Bengals announced they have sold out Sunday's regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens, a day before the NFL's blackout deadline. The odds of filling up Paul Brown Stadium seemed extremely slim before the team used some creativity.

Cincinnati used a special promotion for season-ticket holders -- "buy one, get one free" -- to record its second sellout of the season. The Bengals can clinch their third postseason berth in two decades with a win over the Ravens.

"Our fans have made a tremendous response this week to our sales efforts, and we thank the entire community for its support of the Bengals," Katie Blackburn, the team's executive vice president, said in a statement. "We're pleased that the game will be on television for everyone, and we look forward to the fans at Paul Brown Stadium giving us a great home-field advantage for a very important game against Baltimore."

If the Bengals (9-6) can knock off the Ravens (11-4), Cincinnati would be headed to the playoffs and in search of its first postseason victory since the 1990 season. The Ravens need to win to clinch the AFC North title and a first-round bye. Baltimore could clinch the division even if it loses, but only if the Pittsburgh Steelers lose to the last-place Cleveland Browns.

The Bengals have been the unexpected success story of the division, going from a four-win 2010 season to playoff contention this year. But the team has struggled to sell out games and has played regularly at the 65,000-seat capacity Paul Brown Stadium with one-third of the seats empty.

The only sellout this season came against Pittsburgh, when a large continent of Steelers fans made their way from Western Pennsylvania. Now, in order to have a true home-field advantage, Bengals fans must resist the temptation of selling their tickets to Ravens fans who will be coming to town.

Only 41,273 fans showed up on a sunny, 38-degree afternoon to watch Cincinnati's breakthrough 23-16 victory over Arizona on Saturday.

Jamison Hensley covers the AFC North for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.