For over thirty years now, the Cincinnati Bengals mascot is the iconic Bengal Tiger called Who Dey. He is seen on the field interacting with the fans, taking pictures, dancing around and having a jolly time. The Who Dey tiger was not the first ever mascot of the Bengal’s football team but he has been quite a popular one in today’s day and age.
The Bengals’ actually started their mascot program back in the late 60s using a live tiger cub. This practice was only stopped in 1989 but the team has had many costumed versions of mascots since the early 70s. However, Who Dey only came into existence from the 1993-94 NFL season.
As the popularity of mascots has grown to a larger extent in today's era, Who Dey is making his presence felt much more outside of the football field as well. For the youth, having a fun mascot present something important is always a great idea as it captures their attention and they also take it seriously. And for that, Who Dey has garnered a lot of fans in Cincinnati.
What do Bengals fans call themselves?
The Bengals fans have a very distinctive cheer known as ‘Who Dey’ and the fans themselves are called the Who Dey Nation. The chant that the fans use in the stadium as well as outside during Bengals games is something like this:
“Who Dey! Who Dey! Who Dey think gonna beat them Bengals!” This chant has been used by the Bengals fans for more than 30 years now and the organization thought it would be the perfect name for their new mascot. As a result of the chant, the Bengals used it to name their mascot and their enthusiastic fan base as well.
Who Dey’s other events
Even though Who Dey’s primary responsibilities lie with the Cincinnati Bengals football team, he has many other events where his presence is requested. For example, he has attended the Cincinnati Reds baseball games, local outdoor festivals, Pro Bowls and even a mascot basketball game. Who Dey’s latest Pro Bowl appearance was in 2020 and this current version has been around four Pro Bowls till now.
Furthermore, Who Dey has also been called upon by companies in Cincinnati to be their spokesperson and to be a part of their ad campaigns. His most useful contributions have come in the form of health education where he has been seen teaching how to perform CPR and educating the citizens about various health-related issues.
But back to the football field, Who Dye made his very first Super Bowl appearance in 2022 as the Bengals took on the Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately Who Dey wasn’t able to hold the Lombardi Trophy since they lost to the Rams, but with the current team that they have, that day may just be around the corner.
Who Dey mascot appearance
The current iteration of the Who Dey mascot is very likable with his friendly smile and overall cheerful demeanor. He is a completely orange-colored tiger with black stripes resembling more of a real tiger than a cartoon. He wears a black or white jersey with the number 1 on the front and Who Dey written on the back. Depending upon the jersey, he will wear either the same colored shorts or pants that fall below the knees.
FAQs
A. The Cincinnati Bengals’ mascot is known as Who Dey. He is in a Bengal Tiger costume.
A. The Bengals’ owner wanted to keep the name of a previous football team that used to play in Cincinnati and was called the Bengals. Also, the Cincinnati Zoo had a rare white Bengal tiger at the time.
A. Yes, the Cincinnati Bengals have a Bengal tiger costume mascot.
A. Who Dey, the Bengals mascot wears the number 1 jersey.
