It was never Jim Foster’s plan to become “Bengal Jim.”
He was just your average Bengals fan, tailgating with a few buddies outside of the former Riverfront Stadium in 1993 with a small charcoal grill and a cooler of beer.
Today, Bengal Jim’s “Before the Roar” Tailgate Experience draws upwards of 3,000 fans for what Foster describes as a block party (the festivities have extended from Paycor Stadium Parking Lot E into Smale Park) for Bengals fanatics of all ages. Former Bengals, such as Ken Anderson, Ickey Woods and David Fulcher, are frequent attendees.
“When I sit back and look at what this tailgate has become and what it has built and what it’s done for our community, to be able to hang with basically my childhood heroes, it’s just been a lot of fun,” Foster said on The Enquirer’s That’s So Cincinnati podcast, adding that the effort takes a whole team of volunteers to pull off.
In recent years, the tailgate been a place for local charities – such as the Ken Anderson Allliance and the Cincinnati chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association – to raise funds and awareness. Foster also has taken the show on the road. Bengal Jim’s upcoming tailgate in Miami, when the Bengals take on the Dolphins on Dec. 21, is sold out.
As one of the Bengals’ biggest fans (the team named him Fan of the Year in 2021) this has been a tough season for Foster. But hope springs eternal, and he’s still holding onto the euphoria of the team’s unexpected run to Super Bowl in 2022.
“What I remember most about that year is the Bengals won their first playoff game in 30-something years, right? Against the Raiders here at the stadium,” Foster said. “I had three of my four boys with me. They’d never seen the Bengals win a playoff game. I was in a stadium with these guys and we didn’t talk for 5 minutes.
“We cried.”
That’s So Cincinnati, The Enquirer’s weekly podcast on what’s making news in our community, features a who’s who of special guests. Find it at Audioboom, Apple or your favorite podcast platform.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How Bengal Jim became the king of tailgates | That’s So Cincinnati
Reporting by Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
