If you want to blame the Cincinnati Bengals for anything, it’s not a lack of trying.
The Bengals saw an opportunity to hopefully make themselves the focal point of a new NFL tradition. The NFL will play on Black Friday for the first time this coming season. A scheduled matchup between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins is tabled up for the day. However, according to NFL schedule maker Mike North, Cincinnati made a fascinating suggestion.
Ari Meirov, “The Bengals volunteered to play on Black Friday every year and essentially make it a tradition just like Dallas and Detroit have on Thanksgiving.”
The trouble for the Bengals? The NFL did consider a matchup between them and the Pittsburgh Steelers. But they, however, “ultimately chose Jets/Dolphins. Amazon mentioned to the league that NY is the #1 retail market in America, so having the first Black Friday game in NY would be a cool concept,” Meirov wrote.
NFL schedule maker Mike North said today that the #Bengals volunteered to play on Black Friday every year and essentially make it a tradition just like Dallas and Detroit have on Thanksgiving.
League considered Steelers/Bengals, but ultimately chose Jets/Dolphins. Amazon…
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 12, 2023
So while the Bengals have risen to prominence with back-to-back AFC Championships, Amazon still swatted down the idea in favor of Jets-Dolphins. It was a brutal reminder that New York still runs the TV verse, even in the uber-popular NFL.
The NFL world reacted to the brutal Bengals news. Plenty had a lot to say about the ruling Amazon made about the game and the proposal.
oh money making drove the decision? you don't say. https://t.co/7SyTzOFlgw
— james (@jay_dubs92) May 12, 2023
That would have been so much fun 🙁 https://t.co/2paVwPxERs
— 🐷 (@BurrowForSix) May 12, 2023
Translation: the League said "No." https://t.co/T133nmwV7i
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) May 12, 2023
Cool for fans of retail. https://t.co/jZ3NQOqlAN
— JR Radcliffe (@JRRadcliffe) May 12, 2023
Amazon is going to be furious when they find out the Jets play in East Rutherford, NJ without a retail store in sight https://t.co/GNjqQUnygT
— Mike Maher (@mikeMaher) May 12, 2023
What a crock. Bengals players already believe the league has it against them and some other smaller markets that aren’t traditional powers. This makes their point. https://t.co/xN4RLpcWxu
— BJ Bethel (@BJBethelTweets) May 12, 2023
Bengals tried to get a tradition going and the nfl said nah yall ain’t like that🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/Ff3geiu7Pm
— DMac Wakefield (@DMacWake316) May 12, 2023
