Bengals Booth Podcast: It's Time

Ring of Honor to Paul Brown Stadium. Coming up, I'll talk to Elizabeth Blackburn, the Bengals Director of Strategy and Engagement, as she explains why the Bengals are moving forward with a Ring of Honor, how many players will make up the initial class and how they are being chosen, and if that picture of a snow covered stadium back in February that included a hint of today's news was a

clever tease or an honest mistake. Then I'll talk to the greatest player in franchise history, Anthony Munio's about Bengals legends being honored this year and for years to come, and I'll sneak in a few questions about the draft as well. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by bud Light. Seltzer refreshed the game and here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher,

Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since the book God's at Play. That book, written by Tom Callahan, a columnist for the Cincinnati Inquirer back in the nineteen seventies, include some great material about Paul Brown and the Bengals, including this nugget. Once a training camp in Wilmington, Callahan and Brown were having lunch and the writer said, I'm looking for a column, Paul, Do you

have any ideas Paul Brown gave him this quote. I'd take a closer look at this new six foot two fellow Ken Anderson. I'd be especially interested and how much taller than six two he appears to stand in the pocket, and how the veteran players out offense respond to him. I'd forget that he's just a third round draft choice. I'd ignore the fact that he went to a nothing school. I'd trust my eyes. That's what I'd do if I were a newspaper columnist today. Pretty cool stuff, right again.

The title of the book is God's at Play and the author is Tom Callahan. Speaking of Paul Brown, the Bengals announced this morning that the legendary coach and Anthony Munio's are the first two members of their new Ring of Honor. Two more will be added to this year's initial class in an upcoming vote by season ticket members. I spoke to the Bengals Director of Strategy and Engagement,

Elizabeth Blackburn, about today's announcement. Today, the Bengals are announcing the addition of a Ring of Honor at Paul Brown Stadium beginning this year. What led to that decision probably started with the fact that we have a very strong desire from our amazing fans and season ticket holders to have a Ring of Honor and the cinc Addy Bengals have such a rich history and our fans in the

community want to celebrate that. A piece that was always holding us back was it's just a name on a wall, and for these legends in Bengal's history, it didn't feel

like it was enough. And so over the last twelve to fourteen months, the company has shifted our approach to content and we have added a lot of capability in video and photo content, and that and the digital channels that exist today with our app, our website, social media, combined with our ability to create great content, gave us an additional piece that we could pair with a physical ring of honor that finally felt made it feel like

it was enough. We were doing justice to these amazing legends in Bengal's history, like Anthony Muno's like Paul Brown, to really tell their stories in addition to showing their name or name and number on the facade in the stadium. How many people will make up the initial class and how will they be chosen? The initial class will have

four inductees or calling them our first four. Two of them, Paul Brown and Anthony Munio's were are automatically inducted as our Pro Football Hall of Fame representatives of the club. And we will fill out the second half of the inaugural class through a season ticket member vote. And that component is really important because we know how much the season ticket members have wanted this. This makes them part

of the process. So we're really excited about the ability to engage our season ticket members to help us induct or vote for the second half those next two inductees for our full inaugural class of four. How did you settle on for for year one and what will be the procedure for adding to the Ring of honor in future years. Our goal with the Ring of Honor is to build it in a sustainable way, and we want this Ring of Honor to remain prestigious and engaging for

a long long time to come. So we went through many debates so and there's definitely no perfect answer. So many people want there to be more and there might be some people who want it to be even more exclusive, and we just felt like four for the first year. It just struck that balance, and we do plan to continue to add in future years, and we hope that those votes it will be a voting component in future

years as well. We hope that the future years still carry weight and excitement and prestige like this initial year, so that the Ring of Honor lasts in a significant way for a long time to come. We're talking to Elizabeth Blackburn, the Bengals director of Strategy and Engagement. Will the initial class be honored at one game this year? Will you spread it out throughout the course of the year. We are going to honor the entire inaugural class together

at one game. We want that one game to be really special, and we're working through a neat and significant way to unveil the ring altogether. We haven't picked what that date or game is yet. We still are waiting to hear what the twenty twenty one schedule, but we will select a designated or dedicated Ring of Honor game,

and we will honor all four inductees. We plan to do a halftime ceremony, obviously COVID protocols contingent, but we're very optimistic about what the stadium environment is going to be like this year. We think it's going to be a really special year when celebrating your past and looking ahead at a bright future converge with this landscape of bringing communities back together again. So we're excited for that Ring of Honor game and we're excited to announce it

when we know when it will be. On a snowy day back in February, the social media team tweeted out a picture of the stadium covered in snow, a lovely photograph, and eagle eyed fans zoomed in and noticed the names of some of the all time legends displayed around the

stadium and different colors and different letter fonts. Was that a clever Easter egg for Bengals fans or an honest mistake, Dan, I'm never going to tell you the answer to that question, although I probably should anticipate getting it a lot, But all I will say is seeing the fans reaction to finding that and then it made the local news and the buzz that it created was really excited and makes me very excited to formally unveil it and get the

reaction because there's pent up demand, if you will, and it was really exciting to see that from the fans In years to come. Could there be statues outside of Paul Brown Stadium, a team hall of Fame, any other ways to honor all time Bengals legends. I will give you my personal answer on this, but which is I

set it to our team a lot. I think everything is on the table right now, and how we celebrate and honor our passed and build out new traditions to do that is a work in progress and I couldn't tell you right now what it's going to look like, but I do know that I personally and are my family and the organization. I love tradition and so finding more traditions is a really important thing. Final question for

Elizabeth Blackburn, the Bengals Director of Strategy and Engagement. I've talked to your grandfather Mike about this in the past, and his position was always football is the ultimate team sport. It's hard to honor the quarterback or the wide receiver without also honoring all of the guys that make their success possible. Did you help change his mind? So when we brought down Anthony Munio's for an interview after we told him that he was going to be one of

the two initial inductees. During Anthony's interview, he started talking about the Ring of Honor as a team and the way I like to think of the Ring of Honor, while it is celebrating individuals for their achievements and contributions on the field and in the community, is that I hope that their Bengals Ring of Honor becomes a new form of a team. And I hope that the individuals inducted.

I hope that the season ticket members who get to vote, I hope that everyone who gets to play a part of it feels like they're a part of this team. And I think for the actual inductees, as we over time add more and more, it will be exciting to see the Ring of Honor turn into this all time Bengals team and connect players and coaches and individuals across

different era of the team into one team. I know this is going to create a lot of excitement among Bengals fans and former players, and I appreciate you sharing some of the information that went into this decision. Thank you Elizabeth, Thank you Dan. It will be interesting to see who will be added to this year's initial class.

Ken Anderson, Ken Riley, Tim Crumray, Boomeris Hiason, Chad Johnson, Willie Anderson, David Fulcher and others are all worthy candidates for the voters, but no vote was needed for the first player added to the Bengals Ring of Honor. He is widely considered to be the greatest offensive lineman to ever play the game. Hall of Famer Anthony Munio's Anthony, how did you get the news and what was your

immediate reaction? Well, you know, it's interesting because, first of all, I gotta share this because this is our twentieth anniversary for our foundation. So I had contacted the Bengals about doing something for us for the foundation, you know, making a commitment over the phone with Troy, and he got back to the family and he said, let me let me talk to them and I'll call you well, he called me, is this can you come in a day next week? And this was a couple of weeks ago.

I said, yeah, I can come in and talk about it. So I went to the Bengals office expecting maybe to meet with him and Katie about you know, hey, what are you guys gonna be able to do for the foundation? And all of a sudden I walk in. Mike's in there, Katie's in there, Troy's in there, Elizabeth's in there. Peb was out getting rehab on his hip that he's messed up.

So the whole family was in there, and I'm like, oh, okay, and so we sat down and then Mike started out by by sharing with me that, you know, they were going to do a Ringham honor and the two initial inductees were going to be, you know, Paul Brown and myself. And I was like, oh, my goodness. So I got the word in front of the whole family and the fact that the original two, or the inaugural two are going to be Paul Brown, who started the foundation, and myself,

it's humbling, it's exciting. And then we just sat around shared stories, I mean, and it was fun because you know, Troy and Katie are a little older. But Elizabeth I think she might have been born the year I retired or a year after I retired. But we sat there and just shared stories, and she was kind of on the corner over there, just smiling and she and she sent me an email after her she goes, that's exactly

what this is all about. You know. I shared a story about, you know, Paul Brown and how much he meant and you know that Mike was talking about they're they're watching the Rose Bowl on January first in nineteen eighty him with his brother Pete and Paul and how they just you know, he shared that whole story about how that went down, and so, you know, it was pretty exciting just not only getting that, but being able to just connect and share some stories, some memories, some

history that you know has happened over the years. That's really interesting. It's no secret that Mike has been reluctant to do this, thinking that football is the ultimate team game and it's hard to honor a quarterback or running back without honoring everybody that made their success possible. Could you sense in that conversation that now that this decision has been made, he's excited about it. I think so.

And you know, I think the one thing you know about Mike, at least when I'm around him most, is usually a camp you know, he's kind of sitting in the cart, and he's always cordial, and we always talk about football and and he loves the guys that come by practicing. So I think that's always been there with him. Maybe the reluctancy of making doing a Ring of Honor,

but I think he's always appreciated all the guys. I think, deep down inside, I think there's a lot of excitement for this and for me, just the opportunity to celebrate. And you know, because you know the history, the number of guys that have gone and played in you know, with this franchise, I mean before I was here, during my years and then after. It's just phenomenal that the great players that we've had in this organization now we

get to celebrate and recognize the guys. We are talking to Hall of Famer Anthony Moone, it was initial member of the bengals first Ring of Honor class. In February, pictures leaked that made it pretty clear that the Bengals were at least strongly considering a ring of honor. It got the fans talking what about former players? Well, it's funny because when that came out, I think I had like a handful of texts coming Okay, what do you know? What? I said? What do I know about? What the Ring

of Honor? I'm like, wait, what are you talking about? Because I had no clue. I hadn't seen the pictures until a couple of my staff here had sent them to me some close friends, you know. So yeah, I didn't know anything about it, and I really hadn't talked to any of the guys about it because of course, you know, February is still cold. We're not on the golf course as much as we have, so you know,

I think I maybe had played with Jim Breach. You know, we'll play when it's forty degree, so, you know, I think the weather was good enough and we were playing a little bit, but we just kind of said, wouldn't that be cool if that's really going to happen. So I think there was you know, at least I haven't talked to the guy. I think there's a out of excitement now that this is going to happen. What do

you think it'll mean? To former players, including guys that aren't likely to get in but played with guys that we'll get in. Well again, excitement and just the memory of being teammates. You know. Sure, you're only going to have, you know, a certain number of guys to be there, but from what I understand, it's going to be a celebration for all guys, which I think is cool, not just the guys going in the Ring of Honor, but

like you, just the teammates. And I think, you know, I think that's going to be exciting to be part of that celebration, you know, because quite frankly, I'm going in. Maybe the guy that played next to him, he's not going in, but he is very important in me getting involved getting inducted into this Ring of Honor because you know, he was a very important part of my career and all the other guys I played with. So I really believe it's going to be exciting for guys going in

and guys that might not go in. We're visiting with Anthony Munio's back in twenty seventeen, when the Bengals celebrated their fifth of season, most of the franchises all time greats made it back to Cincinnati to be honored. Did that feel like a turning point in any way in the relationship between the former guys in the organization. I

think so. I think that was huge. And again, you know, we had those Saturday night dinners where you know, guys were telling stories and of course the stories get a lot better than when they actually happened, but I think it was I think the guys really appreciated that, really felt comfortable, and like you said, everybody made it back and there was you know, we had those Saturday night

dinners and they were packed. I mean, there was all kinds of guys and to hear, you know, from me, to meet guys like Tommy Tommy casting over that I'd never met, or guys that played I'd seen Mike Read before, but I hadn't officially met Mike Read. You know, those are the guys that really laid the foundation for guys like me that you know, came in the eighties. So, you know, I think that was really kind of that turning point of you know, guys saying, hey, man, you

know they did this. Hopefully things happened, you know, more often in the future, and it looks like it's going to be that way. You have obviously received the ultimate NFL honor in being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and a couple of years ago you were named to the NFL's one hundred anniversary All Time Team. But does this honor feel a little bit different because it is the team you played for? It certainly does. I mean this, I played my entire career here. This

is my home. You know, we've been here forty one years now. I mean it's like, you know, when I go back to southern California, still feels like this is where I'm from. But we come back here and this is home. You know, our kids and grandkids and long time friends are here. So it is special because you know, first of all, the gratefulness that I have I shared earlier when Mike Brown was talking about him and Paul, his dad and Pete sitting around watching that eighty Rose Bowl.

I had no clue if I'd even be drafted oruld get a chance to go to an NFL camp. And the fact that the Brown family and the Bengals took a shot, they drafted me and gave me a chance. I mean, that's why it's even more special that we live in Cincinnati. I got to play all thirteen years with the Bengals, and when from what I understand, more than half the teams had failed me, said no way, we want to touch this guy damn as good. And not only did the Bengals draft me, but with the

third pick in the entire draft. It is very very special that now you know this is happening. You know we live here the team I played my whole career for and is very very special. All Right, this conversation is largely about the Ring of Honor. But the draft is three weeks away, and I think people would scream at me if I didn't ask you a few questions

about that. What do you think of Piney sewell, Rashaan Slater, if you've studied either of these guys, and the possibility of taking an offensive lineman fifth overall, well, you know, I'm excited possibility of taking an old lineman with that fifth pick. I know we signed Riley Reef and he's an excellent lineman. That to me, that's a piece of

a puzzle that they can continue to put together. In Slater, I'm not that familiar with I've watched Pinna quite a bit of course, you know him being a Pac twelve guy, and you know them beating up on my trojans as much as they did, So I would not be disappointed at all if suel Pine ended up wearing the stripes going from that crazy green and yellow or whatever they were up there. But no, I would be excited. If you know, I'm in my mind, I'm already thinking of

different combinations along that offensive line. If you get a guy like Pinnay, you know, and you have Jonah coming back and healthy and he's got that experience, and now you got Riley Reid, then you got the other guys that are still there, you know, Cephila and the guys like that Hopkins coming back from the injury. So uh yeah, I would be I'd be thrilled if they you know, I know there's a lot of talk about this pretty good wide receiver, and I'm thinking, oh my goodness, come on,

I think we have enough weapons. Let's get Joe Burrow protected, give him an opportunity not to worry about getting a hit, and let him utilize you know, te Higgins and all the other guys that he has. But yeah, I be interesting to see what happens as a come draft day. From what you've seen a piney sewell, what stands out just a big kid, big kid who is flexible and you know he can get out in space and move extremely well. I mean that to me, that's the thing

that impresses me. You know, strength and arms length and that's that's all good, but if you can get out there. I think he's bigger than I thought he was. I don't know. I think he was three. I'm not sure exact way, but I thought he's about three fifteen, three twenty. He might be a little bigger than that. I think it's closer to three thirty. Yeah, that kind of flexibility and movement exactly. And that's what impresses me about a big guy playing left tackle is that you know their

ability to move out in space. And I've seen that with him. And and he's a competitor. I mean he is a competitor. He gets after you. And from what I understand never met the kid a young man, he's supposed to be just a phenomenal young man, a man of character and you know, great work ethic. So you know, again I'm going by what I've heard and what i've read,

but I'm going a lot. By what I've seen when I watch him on television during the game, it sounds like if he's the pick, that he would probably begin his career with a year at guard, since Riley Reef was signed for a year to play right tackle in all likelihood, would that be difficult in your opinion? I don't think so, you know, I think I think that would be good. I think that would be good. And I think with someone with that athleticism and that ability,

I would imagine it shouldn't be that difficult. But you know, just thinking of that, that combination, I mean, do you you know, play him next to Jonah? Do you move him, you know, Jonah inside him? I mean you can kind of mess with that and then check that out, you know, because now you've got that right tackle that is he's uh. I mean, you know what you've gotten with him. He's been very, very successful and he's pretty good. So and Riley Reef sou But no, I don't think it would.

It shouldn't be that difficult. And I'm I'm going by experience. I don't know if you remember, if you're my last year here, I played one game at left guard, and I enjoyed that I enjoyed it immensely. I don't remember that you played a game at left guard. Well, I think we had some guys hurt and I said, you know what, I'll play left guard, you know, and to have a guy on each side every single play was a nice feeling. It was, you know, plus the you know,

the guy is closer to you. You do have to, you know, make sure that you're a little quicker setting and stuff. But I think with someone like Pinney, who's you know, has that athleticism and it appears that he has that quick twitch and stuff, I think he could be able to handle that one more offensive line question. How significant is the return of Frank Pollock in your opinion? Well, you know, I'm not one to you know, once the staffs in place, you know, I encourage them, I support him.

But when I saw that Frank Pollock was coming back, I was pretty excited. I saw what he did three years ago when he was here, a technician, not afraid to get in your face. I think that line might have been is physical in the last probably five six seven years, as I've seen here, and if I'm not mistaken, I think Joe Mixon might have had his best year

that year rushing the football. I'm just saying, you know, but so I think that's I'm excited about Frank coming back and the fact that, you know, he does have some really good technique. I watched him what he's teaching, and then he is a coach that wants you to be physical and you know, all but the size between him and Jim Jim McNally, I think there's some similarities there. Uh. You know, Jimmy was a guy that was a great technical coach, but he wanted you to be physical the

entire play and that's the way he taught us. So h you know, I'm looking forward to see what you know, Jonah and the guys do under Frank's tuligion, and I am looking forward to going to games at Paul Brown Stadium and looking up and seeing the name Muno's and the number seventy eight displayed for all time. Congratulations on this well deserved honor of being an initial member of the Ring of Honor. Well, Dan, thank you so much.

I appreciate it, and I'm excited. Not only am I excited to see that up there, but I'm excited to go to the games this year, which I did not attend one game last year, and to see fans, a lot of fans in the stands, that's what I'm excited. And then they kind of occasionally look up and see that there amen to that. Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. Thanks Dan, always a pleasure.

My thanks to Anthony and Elizabeth Fan. That's going to do it for this edition of the Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to you by bud Light Seltzer. Refresh the game. If you haven't done so already, please subscribe, and if you have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde and thank you for listening to the Bengals Booth Podcast. H