The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

In 1966, Paul Brown met with James A. Rhodes, then the governor of Ohio He convinced Brown that Ohio needed a second team. Cincinnati was deemed the logical choice, in essence, splitting the state.

Brown named the team the Bengals in order "to give it a link with past professional football in Cincinnati." Another Bengals team existed in the city and played in a previous American Football League from 1937 to 1942. The city's renowned zoo was also home to a rare white Bengal Tiger. Paul Brown chose the exact shade of orange used by his former team. He added black as the secondary color. Brown chose a very simple logo: the word "BENGALS" in black lettering. Ironically, one of the potential helmet designs Brown rejected was a striped motif that was similar to the one featuring the helmets adopted by the team in 1981 and which is still in use to this day.

With assistance from Ohio governor James A. Rhodes, Hamilton County and the Cincinnati city council agreed to build a single multi-purpose facility on the dilapidated riverfront section of the city. The new facility had to be ready by the opening of the 1970 NFL season and was officially named Riverfront Stadium, which was its working title.

With the completion of the merger in 1970, the Cleveland Browns were moved to the AFL-based American Football Conference and placed in the AFC Central, the same division as the Bengals. An instant rivalry was born, fueled initially by Paul Brown's rivalry with Art Modell.

Founder Paul Brown coached the team for its first three seasons, accumulating 15 wins and 27 losses and one tie. One of Brown’s college draft strategies was to draft players with above average intelligence. Punter/wide receiver Pat McInally attended Harvard and linebacker Reggie Williams attended Dartmouth College and served on Cincinnati city council while on the Bengals’ roster. Because of this policy, many former players were highly articulate and went on to have successful careers in commentary and broadcasting as well as the arts. In addition, Brown had a knack for locating and recognizing pro football talent in unusual places.

In the '70s the Cincinnati Bengals moved to play at Riverfront Stadium, a home they shared with the Cincinnati Reds until the team moved to Paul Brown Stadium in 2000. The team would reach the playoffs three times during that decade, but could not win any of those postseason games.

The Cincinnati Bengals would reach the Super Bowl twice during the 1980s, but lost both times to the San Francisco 49ers. Then after appearing in the playoffs in 1990, Paul Brown died. He had already transferred control to his son, Mike Brown, but was reported to still influence the daily operations of the team. Shortly after his passing, the Bengals' fortunes changed for the worse as the team would post 14 consecutive non-winning seasons.

The Cincinnati Bengals began to emerge from that dismal period into a new era of increased consistency after hiring Marvin Lewis as head coach in 2003. Under Carson Palmer, the future star quarterback, the team advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

Meanwhile, Paul Brown Stadium was built for the 2000 season using private and public money. In tribute to his father, Mike Brown refused corporate offers to have the stadium renamed for their company which became a trend in the NFL and other sports teams around that time.

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