It’s the quiet before the storm that is NFL training camps in late July, meaning it’s time for the important stuff — like mascot rankings.
And the Cincinnati Bengals have a strong one with Who Dey, the tiger with plenty of character and a great overall design.
Where he ranks among all NFL mascots makes for an interesting discussion though. One ranking says 12th overall, via Rhiannon Walker of The Athletic:
Thoughts: Somebody got paid to name the mascot, Who Dey? This is why we don’t have nice things. The name being underwhelming isn’t taking away from the fantastic costume design, by the way. The fur looks plush, the uniform shows his muscles, too. I just want to see that same effort put forward in naming the mascot.
That means Who Dey ranks better than any other AFC North mascot, though the blip of criticism about the name seems pretty fair. All of the mascots ranked in front of Who Dey — such as Sir Purr in Carolina — have catchy names.
Maybe the name gets a tweak when the Bengals finally update jerseys, but there’s no reason to change up the mascot.
