The tailgate was off to a fantastic start, and a positive omen for the Bengals, when Lot 1 decided to open over an hour early! the Who Dey Hero Bus was at the front of the line and ready to pull-in, so we happily drove up to our spot and got things ready to rock-n-roll!

The day was full of surprises. The first of which came when Bomb Squad member Jason brought his baby daughter Raven for her first-ever tailgate with the Bengal Bomb Squad! Although she was a little intimidated by "Andre", she had a blast with our cast of characters!

Our little group is expanding as more season ticket holders and super-fans have enlisted in the Bengal Bomb Squad and are returning weekly now! Oh the blessings of sitting on top of the AFC North!

Food treats were found everywhere! A surprise came with Beer & Cheese Cupcakes (don't be fooled by the name, they were sheer heaven in a cupcake wrapper!) and a mouth-watering Taffy Apple Pizza! The 1/4 pound Chicago-style hot dogs were too big to even bit!

We had special guests from Italy! Carrying their Italian flag with some Ocho Cinco Bengals flair - Paolo, Filo, and Fabio of Milan, Italy, brought their excitement for finally getting to see the Cincinnati Bengals play live to our humble tailgate! They partied with us before and after the game and cheered the Orange and Black throughout!

In addition, a father and son trio from Kansas City came by this weekend! They tour NFL teams and stadiums together, hitting a new one every single season! They were some of our earliest guests this Sunday and stayed right through to the end. A great bunch of guys who we're certain won't forget us anytime soon (and definitely won't be forgetting those Tiger Bombs!)

Back for a second week in a row, we held a special prize drawing! All guests who donated to the tailgate were entered and everyone was excited to see if they'd win! In the end, The Bengal Thing (for the 2nd week in a row!) and Dan B. took home the prizes! The drawings are proving so popular that you can bet they'll be returning throughout the season!

As always, the Bengal Bomb and Tiger Bombs were there in all their glory! Nearly thirty bombs were dealt out per round! Even though our new attempt at an "air raid siren" to signal the time for drinking up never really took off (we'll keep working on that one!), the Bombs were enjoyed by all!

As you know, the Bengals were victorious against the Bears in just amazing fashion! The 45-10 stomping was electric to watch and our gang was still fired-up well after the game. The photo below says it all.

Another large group (exceeding forty attendees!) this week with everyone meeting new friends, laughing with old ones, cheering through game of beer pong and cornhole! We're continuing having a blast enjoying 2009 with the Orange and Black!

Not everyone made it into our group shot (some left early to get into the stadium), but EVERYONE had a spectacular time!