Tuesday, August 17, 1999
Tristate scenes: Bengals camp
Making buddies of the Bengals
BY JOHN JOHNSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Fan-friendly players such as Darnay Scott patiently sign autographs following the Bengals workout.
(Michael E. Keating photos)
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Their favorite football team is the Cincinnati Bengals.
Never mind that the Bengals are coming off another dreary season in what has been a dismal decade. The team's fans, for the most part, have remained loyal.
And so they flock to Georgetown College, where the team is preparing for the upcoming season. Such was the case on a hot, sunny day last week. A couple of hundred fans — young, and young at heart — were on hand to watch practice.
“There he is! There's number 28! Corey Dillon!”
“There's Artrell Hawkins!”
“Is that Jeff Blake?”
“Hey guys, look for that one dude, number 67.”
“Dad, who's that guy, number 67?”
“Kimo von Oelhoffen,” says Steve Asman.
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IF YOU GO
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These Bengals workouts are open to the public at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky:
Today: 11 a.m.-noon; 3-5 p.m.
Wednesday: 9:30-11 a.m.; 3-4:30 p.m.
Sunday: 3-5 p.m.
Monday: 9:30-11 a.m.; 3-4:30 p.m.
Aug. 24: 11 a.m.-noon; 3-5 p.m.
Aug. 25: 9:30-11 a.m.; 3-4:30 p.m.
Aug. 26: 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Aug. 27: 11 a.m.-noon; 3:30-4:30 p.m.
• Getting there: I-75 south 70 miles to exit 126. Turn right off ramp onto U.S. 460 west. Go through four traffic lights, turn right at fifth light onto Lemons Mill Road. Go one-half mile and follow the signs.
• Admission: Free.
• Parking: $5 a day cars, $25 buses.
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Mr. Asman is a maintenance coordinator for Procter & Gamble. He has taken the day off to watch the Bengals with five boys: his two sons, Josh, 9, and Corey, 11; a nephew, Nathan Asman, 11; and Austie and Alex Welch, ages 9 and 7.
All are from Delhi Township.
“Cincinnati's my home,” Mr. Asman says. “It's real important that (my boys) are Bengals fans, no matter if they win or lose. It's like the Reds this year. How exciting is that!”
The boys, standing behind a yellow rope at the edge of a practice field, are enjoying themselves.
“Who's 24?”
“Where's Artrell?”
“Hey Artrell!” Austie shouts. The cornerback from the University of Cincinnati looks around and points his finger at the boy.
“I want to get somebody like Jeff Blake to come by.”
“Who's that guy right there?”
“Is that Corey Sawyer?”
“That IS Corey Sawyer.”
“Corey Sawyer!” Austie yells. The veteran defensive back turns and waves.
Walt Broadnax, a neurologist who lives in Mount Auburn, also has taken the day off.
“It seemed like a good day to spend with my son. I like the Bengals. I want to expose him to football.”
Walt Broadnax III, also known as Bo, is 5. He's holding a camera that shoots instant pictures, and he's aiming it at kids playing under his bleacher seat.
“Careful, careful, don't drop the camera,” his father says. “Remember to save some pictures, or we won't be able to get a picture with the Bengals. Wait a minute, don't take any more.”
Click.
“Oh well, it's hopeless,” Dr. Broadnax says, smiling.
“Two pictures (left),” Bo says. “I want (another) picture. May I have one picture?” Bo asks.
Click.
“He's having fun,” Dr. Broadnax says. “That's the important thing.”
For Walt Broadnax, Jr. and his son Walt Broadnax III, 5, a day at the Bengals' camp provides quality time together.
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The Delhi boys — Josh, Corey, Nathan, Austie and Alex — are still jabbering, nonstop.
“There's the coach.”
“Don Shula?”
“Not Don Shula.”
“Bruce Coslet.”
“Bruce Coslet! Hey Bruce!”
“Who's 31?
“Greg Myers.”
“Greg Myers is good.”
“That third guy, number 51. Isn't that (Takeo) Spikes?
“He's good, 51.”
“Look how skinny that 87 is.”
This seat is SO hot,” Bunny Selzer says, ensconced in a plastic chair in Rawlings Stadium. But she and her husband, Charlie, have endured far worse. Bengals season ticket-holders since the 1970s, they survived the January 1982 Freezer Bowl, which was played in minus-59 degree wind chill. The win in that AFC Championship game against San Diego put Cincinnati in its first Super Bowl.
“We've been with (the Bengals) through thick and thin,” Mrs. Selzer says, “and there's been a lot of thin.”
The Montgomery couple have two grandchildren with them this day. But while Christopher Berens, 12, and Alex Selzer, 5, seem content to wander, the Selzers pay close attention to the players on the field.
“They're looking better today than last week,” Mrs. Selzer says.
The Aiken High School football team is
here. So are 53 first- to seventh-graders from Sayre School in Lexington.
“They want to hang out and maybe get some autographs,” says Peggy Gall, the assistant director for the private school's summer program.
Her 12-year-old daughter, Dana, wants a player's signature — any player's signature — badly. “Can I please, Mom?”
“No, they're working.”
Ray Gundrum's twin 11-year-old boys, Kyle and Andrew, also are ready with footballs they hope to get signed. Both boys are wearing black Bengals jerseys. Mr. Gundrum is armed with a video camera, still camera and binoculars.
The afternoon wears on, and the Delhi boys — Josh, Corey, Nathan, Austie and Alex — are feeling the heat. They spy a huge jug on the field.
“Look at that water leaking out.”
“I could drink it right now.”
“So could I.”
“I could lick it off the ground.”
“Dad, can we get a drink?”
A few minutes later, they return, refreshed.
“Is this the Bengals stadium where they play?”
“NOOOOO!”
“How come Artrell's not in?”
“Maybe he's taking a break.”
“Will we be in the newspaper?”
At 4:15, the players gather in the center of the field, signaling the end of practice. The boys know what's next — autographs.
“Dad, do you have any pens?”
Several dozen people, mostly youngsters, congregate along the yellow rope beside the field. They bring T-shirts, footballs, trading cards, pennants and buttons to be signed.
The Delhi boys are in the crowd. And Ray Gundrum's boys. And Dr. Walt Broadnax is there, too, with Bo.
Now one of the Bengals' young stars, Takeo Spikes, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker, steps over the yellow rope, and picks Bo up. He holds the little curly-haired boy in his massive arms while Dr. Broadnax eyes them through a camera viewfinder. All the camera's film has been shot, except for one frame.
Click.
“Perfect,” Dr. Broadnax says.
Tristate Scenes is a periodic series of stories on the people, places and events that help define Greater Cincinnati. If you have a story suggestion, write John Johnston, Tempo, Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax: 768-8330; e-mai: jjohnston@enquirer.com.
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