CINCINNATI — Two Cincinnati legends are excited to see if their Bengals can make some noise in the playoffs this year.
If anyone knows what it takes to create success on the football field, it’s Cincinnati Bengals Pro Football Hall of Famer Anthony Muñoz.
However, the sad truth is the Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since Muñoz was last on the field.
“It's exciting. It’s been six years since the last playoff appearance, but more importantly, we need a playoff win,” Muñoz said.
Fellow Bengals legend David Fulcher couldn’t agree more. Fulcher was also part of the Bengals glory years in the 80s. But now he and Muñoz are excited about this young, electric Bengals team.
“This is a very exciting football team,” Fulcher said. “I think that it’s a little bit earlier than what the NFL people predicted, but that's okay. I think this football team is going to do well.”
Fulcher and Muñoz share common bonds outside the playing field. Both are from California and have dedicated their lives after football to giving back.
Since 2002, Muñoz has developed the Anthony Muñoz Foundation, which helps positively impact Tri-State youth. He views that as one of his greatest victories.
“I just tell people that I'm now a member of a bigger team and one of the things I keep telling our staff is the bigger the team, the bigger the impact,” Munoz said. “So let's continue to grow the team and have a bigger impact with the youth in this great community.
Fulcher, a former All-Pro safety for Cincinnati, is also focused on giving back with his non-profit organization Mentoring Against Negative Actions (M.A.N.A).
For 27 years now, Fulcher visits inmates twice a week, teaching them how to focus on making common sense decisions.
“Instead of putting people in jail, which my dad was a police officer for 25 years in LA, how can I help those who go to jail and make a better choice,” Fulcher said.
Both Bengals legends say giving back is at the core of what they do, because that’s what they learned from being a Cincinnati Bengal. But now they’re hopeful to see the Bengals make a run in the playoffs — because it’s long overdue.
“This city deserves it,” Fulcher said. “The franchise deserves it. And the opportunity to get it done is right now.”
“I don't think I've ever gotten more Who Deys from fans out in the community than I have here in the last couple of weeks,” Muñoz said. “For someone that played with the team and is a big fan still of the guys playing, I want them to experience success. They are, you know, experience of success. But you want them to win a playoff game because I got to experience that. I got to see the excitement with the city and this city is hungry for a playoff win.”