A VIP experience: What it's like to attend a Bengals game as a special guest

Andy Bernard in “The Office” once said he wished there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you leave them.

Cincinnati Bengals fans are currently experiencing those days, but many understand that.

You can feel it in the city. Walking Downtown on game day is a different vibe than in years past. There is hope, but also excitement following the team’s magical run to Super Bowl 56 last season.

There are also Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase jerseys – everywhere.

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It’s a new era.

That was my first takeaway as I walked into the Amazon Prime VIP tailgating event for the “Thursday Night Football” matchup between the Bengals and Miami Dolphins. It was my first time going to a game since Joe Burrow went No. 1 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft and I was overwhelmed by the number of times I saw his jersey.

Once I got to the tailgating tent, I saw fans buzzing for what was to come that night. Best friends, significant others and parents with their kids – the relationships amongst the winners of Amazon’s VIP game day experience (who were selected at random after adding “TNF” to their Prime Video watchlist) varied drastically, and they were all having a good time celebrating an event that lived up to its name.

Every fan had a story

The first two people I talked to that night were a couple of friends, who had season tickets last year and met at Paycor Stadium, previously known as Paul Brown Stadium. They appreciated each other’s vibes and have been hanging out ever since.

“We matched intensities throughout the entire game,” Tyler Daniel, a lifelong Bengals fan, said while wearing orange and black-striped pants and taking swigs of Michelob Ultra.

That was a toned-down get-up for him. He showed me a photo of a full-body tiger-striped suit that he wore to the AFC Championship Game.

“I didn’t see the guy’s face the first eight games of the season. I didn’t know who he was,” his friend Connor Hug, who won the prize, said.

I spoke to a father and son who flew in from Phoenix. The son had his Cartier-style shades, similar to the glasses Burrow made famous.

The most remarkable story of all came from two friends originally from Cincinnati who now live in Fort Myers, Florida. They moved their families to Florida and won the sweepstakes right before Hurricane Ian made landfall.

“It truly was a godsend for Amazon to reach out to us and give us tickets to this game,” Chris Bolton said. “We left right before Ian turned into Fort Myers. … To say it’s a godsend is minimalizing it.”

Standing feet away from their heroes

After everyone finished eating, they took pictures with some Ben-Gals cheerleaders and the team's mascot, Who Dey.

The 10 winners and their guests then walked together into Paycor Stadium and eventually got onto the field, instantly looking like a group of kids in a candy store.

They weren’t just on their favorite team’s field, they were feet away from their heroes.

Among the stars on the sideline were Bengals legend Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson, comedian Gary Owen and broadcaster Taylor Rooks.

There were, of course, the players, too.

Burrow ran by in his special white and black White Bengal uniform.

Evan McPherson took pictures with fans.

Chase and Joe Mixon warmed up just feet in front of everyone.

Once game time approached, everyone went up to the stage where Ring of Honor inductees Willie Anderson and Isaac Curtis completed their Ruler of the Jungle responsibilities. The legends pumped up the already-hyped crowd, while standing near a jungle-themed throne. The fans then also took the stage, getting a special segment on the stadium’s jumbotron before going to a suite for the game.

Watching a thrilling Bengals-Dolphins matchup

The suite was, well, sweet.

It featured more food, more drinks and a thrilling game.

Other than the moments following Tua Tagovailoa’s scary injury (without a TV, we were all trying to figure out what happened), the room was filled with excitement. Everyone watched the game like a bunch of old friends reuniting for a special occasion and they still seemed confident their team would get the win, even when the Dolphins entered the fourth quarter with a 15-14 lead.

Sure, Cincinnati's offense struggled for the first three quarters. Yes, it had trouble running the ball. But the Bengals had Burrow, and that proved to be the difference in the game.

Everyone’s palms were still sweaty when Vonn Bell intercepted a Teddy Bridgewater pass with a little over three minutes left. They all stood up and screamed when Bell caught the pass, but nothing compared to the moment when Burrow put the final nail in the coffin.

Despite seemingly not being in rhythm all night, the jersey sellers (Burrow and Chase) connected for a 36-yard pass to put the Bengals inside the 10-yard line with about two minutes left. Burrow then found Hayden Hurst for a touchdown about a minute later and the suite felt like its roof was about to blow off.

The VIPs, screaming and high-fiving each other, weren’t just celebrating what would end up being a 27-15 win for their team. They were soaking in a perfect night, and it wasn’t quite over yet.

The icing on the cake

Once the final fireworks went off at Paycor Stadium and the 67,260 fans (an attendance record for the venue) flooded out, Amazon took its guests back to the field and gave them game balls. They tossed the balls around like the players did a few moments earlier.

No one was as athletic as Burrow and Chase (few people are), but they got to pretend they were, throwing and catching touchdown passes in the Bengals’ white and black end zone.

For Steve Winans, one of the fans from Florida, this was a full-circle experience.

He spread his dad’s ashes at Paycor Stadium. Now, he can say he's played catch on the field.

“I inherited his two seats after he passed away,” Winans, who had season tickets before moving, said. “He’s happy, he’s smiling. … As a lifelong Bengals fan, this is totally amazing. I don’t know of anything else that could top this.”