Bengals Avoid Local TV Blackout With "Buy One, Get One Free" Ticket Promotion

Oh, Cincinnati. Oh, oh, Cincinnati. You are supposed to be one of our great metropolises. And your upstart Bengals are supposed to be one of the AFC's brightest spots. Your fans are supposed to be passionate and steadfast.

And yet:

The Cincinnati Bengals announced they have sold out Sunday's regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens, a day before the NFL's blackout deadline. The odds of filling up Paul Brown Stadium seemed extremely slim before the team used some creativity.

Cincinnati used a special promotion for season-ticket holders—"buy one, get one free"—to record its second sellout of the season. The Bengals can clinch their third postseason berth in two decades with a win over the Ravens.

Really, is there something else to do in Cincinnati on New Year's Day? Come on. There is not.

The upshot: After some coaxing, enough people decided they wanted to go see the Bengals, and now everyone in the greater Cincinnati area will be able to see the Bengals on television. Too bad Terrell Suggs is gonna decapitate Andy Dalton.

Bengals announce sellout for finale [ESPN]