C.O. Rams and Bengals fans ‘nervous’ but confident in their teams for Super Bowl LVI
(Update: Adding video, comments from Rams and Bengals fans)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on NBC, and two Central Oregon fans on opposite sides of the big contest are particularly excited.
Erik Himbert, a Rams fan living in Sisters, and Scot Gilmore, a Bengals fan living in Bend.
“Oh man it’s huge and Cincinnati sports just as a whole is a big part of my life,” Gilmore said Friday.
Himbert and Gilmore are diehard Rams and Bengals fans respectively, living hundreds of miles away from their teams' cities.
They may have left home, but they’ve kept their passion, and some memorabilia.
“Any Rams fans remember these guys,” Himbert said, pointing at a poster. “This is their defensive secondary from back then.”
Gilmore unzipped his sweatshirt to show his unique skyline chili T-shirt: “We always have our Cincinnati style chili.”
Now, with their teams in the Super Bowl, these life-long fans are not taking it for granted
“The Bengals haven’t exactly been entirely too relevant since I’ve been alive,” Gilmore said.
While the Rams have had more success, Himbert remembers the tough times.
“There were a lot of really bad years being a Rams fan,” Himber said. “I mean, bag over your head kind of years.”
With the Bengals searching for their first ever Super Bowl title, and the Rams seeking redemption for their 13-3 loss in 2018, a win would mean a lot to them both.
“And so we scored three in the Super Bowl, so it was a major major let down,” Himbert recalled of the 2018 loss to the Patriots. “So I'm actually really looking forward to it this year.”
Gilmore, with the Bengals without a Super Bowl appearance in over 30 years, did not downplay the importance.
“It would probably be one of the -- oh, I mean it would be the most exciting sports moment of my life, hands down.”
But both men still haven’t decided where to watch the game.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. Some part of me just wants to sit here by myself, 'cause I’m so nervous,” Gilmore said.
Himbert feels much the same.
“I mean it’s like, if people are rooting for the Bengals, I don’t know if I want to show up, 'cause I’ll be kind of nervous, and I don’t want to be the only guy (rooting for the Rams), you know?”
But wherever Himbert and Gilmore watch the big game, you know who they’re confident in prevailing.
“I think we might have the edge a little bit, because we have some more experience. But I don’t know -- its looking tough,” Himbert said. “They’re a good team.”
Himbert gave a final prediction of Rams 27, Bengals 24.
Meanwhile, Gilmore is 100% confident in his Bengals.
“You heard it here: 34-31,” Gilmore said.
