According to Paul Dehner Jr. there is some interest within the Bengals organization to address the need for a Ring of Honor. The passing of Ken Riley was an obvious catalyst for this consideration but factors such as Anthony Munoz being the only player in the Hall of Fame, the Bengals being the only AFC North team without one, and the need to fire up this fan base must also play a factor.
The Ring of Honor is not going to win games for the current team but it can build a sense of history and pride to see those names being honored. Ring of Honor players are some of the greats and who wouldn’t want Joe Burrow to see Ken Anderson’s name up in the stadium and say “I am going to be better!” Why wouldn’t Joe Mixon make it a personal goal to get more yards than Corey Dillon?
It also is a great way to get the old guys together and give fans that sense of nostalgia. My parents generation remembers the the first Super Bowl and I the second. Watching a video montage before each player goes in feels good and knowing that the organization makes you part of a fraternity after you leave may help players with a sense of purpose.
I took a look at the rest of the AFC North to see just what other teams did and how many players/coaches/owners went in. The Ravens ROH began in 2000 and they indicted 8 former Baltimore Colts players. They now have 20 total members in the ROH (once Haloti Ngata goes in this year). The Browns were next in 2010 and inducted 16 members from the jump. There are now 18 member, to include Paul Brown. Last was Pittsburgh who started their ROH in 2017 and inducted 27. They now have a total of 36 members (when you have that many Super Bowl rings it gets crowded).
Knowing that the Steelers did not create their ROH until 2017 made me feel at least a little better. They certainly have the best franchise in the AFC North’s history. It goes to show that the Bengals are behind the times though and have some catching up to do. Fans want it. Former players want it. Families of deceased players would probably appreciate it. I can see potentially 16-18 former players/coaches going into the ROH which I will address in a separate post.
Note: If you are curious about the lead picture some Bills fans wanted Andy Dalton to be inducted into their ROH when in 2018 his commandeered win against the Ravens allowed the Bills to make the playoffs.
Get a Ken Anderson jersey here:
