Bengals coach Zac Taylor is looking to start a new tradition in Cincinnati: deliver a game ball to fans around the city after every postseason win.
He embarked on such a task on Saturday, after the Bengals defeated the Raiders 26–19 and recorded their first playoff win in 31 years.
That night, Taylor and punter Kevin Huber showed up at Mt. Lookout Tavern, a bar that Taylor passes during his ride home from work, to surprise the supporters there with a memento from Saturday's win.
“It was what I pictured,” Taylor told The MMQB's Albert Breer. “It was packed. It was a good scene. People obviously had been there for a while, having a good time, which is what I was hoping for. So it was fun to be able to share that with those people.”
The team's social media account also said that game balls would be dropped off at two other bars in the city, including, in at least one instance, by tight end C.J. Uzomah.
"Mr. Taylor was here actually the first week he got hired, had dinner right upstairs quietly with his assistants, unassuming," Mt. Lookout Tavern's kitchen manager Daniel Love told WCPO in Cincinnati. “And he got to work and the fruits of his work has bore.”
Taylor, now in his third year with Cincinnati will look to build on the tradition and continue his team's season next Saturday, when the Bengals play the Titans.
Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. ET.
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