Bengals make a new fan out of another professional athlete right down the street in Cincinnati
The Banks of Downtown Cincinnati are bookended by the homes of the Cincinnati Bengals and Cincinnati Reds. Naturally, people in one stadium will take notice of what's going on in the other venue. Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo being one of them. Lodolo, who grew up between Los Angeles and San Bernardino in California, told FOX19 […]
The Banks of Downtown Cincinnati are bookended by the homes of the Cincinnati Bengals and Cincinnati Reds. Naturally, people in one stadium will take notice of what's going on in the other venue.
Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo being one of them.
Lodolo, who grew up between Los Angeles and San Bernardino in California, told FOX19 Jeremy Rauch he prefers the Bengals over the two clubs currently playing in his hometown.
"I root for the Bengals now," Lodolo said to Rauch at spring training down in Goodyear, Ariz. "I grew up in Southern California, like L.A. area, so I didn't grow up with a team. The closest one was the Chargers two-and-a-half hours away and we never went or anything."
Lodolo had reason to root for the team that beat the Bengals a few years ago in Super Bowl LVI, but he rocks with the Orange and Black.
"My family was Rams fans because [they were there] when they were there, but other than that, now I just root for the Bengals."
Lodolo was a two-time first-round pick in the MLB Draft, first out of high school in 2016, and then out of college in 2019. The Reds drafted him the second time with the seventh overall selection and debuted him in the Majors in 2022. He finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting that year.
Injuries took a toll on the SoCal product over the last two years, but Lodolo still produced career-highs in wins (9) and innings pitched (115.1) in 2024. He's expected to round out the starting rotation of pitchers for the oldest professional ball club in the country.
Cincinnati has a unique love for its Reds, but the Bengals have gained a lot of ground in recent years thanks to Joe Burrow's arrival. Burrow and other Bengals stars like Orlando Brown Jr. have made stops at Great American Ball Park to bridge the fanbases that already have ample crossover.
Lodolo might just find himself as a Ruler of the Jungle here pretty soon thanks to this revelation.
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