“CBS was able to move some stuff around and increase the footprint,” North says. “I think it got up to be 60 percent of the country and it turned out to be an almost statement game from the Bengals. ‘Don’t believe our record? Watch this.’
“Everybody took them seriously from there and obviously they made a run all the way to February and that’s going to carry over to next year.”
Everybody wants to know. Opening weekend vs. the Chiefs? Thanksgiving in Dallas? Christmas in Tampa Bay?
All North knows is, yes, the Bengals are hot.
“It’s not a question of, ‘Hey, do the fans know who the Bengals are?’ It’s a question of, ‘Is there anything better than a Bengals game in one of these big national windows?'” North says.
“There’s an awful lot of Cincinnati games on our (networks) request lists this year,” North says. “You just look at the schedule. They play Buffalo and Kansas City and Tampa Bay and Dallas and those games, no one is hesitating at all. Not only to ask for those games, but really…