Development

Western Pennsylvania's trusted news source
Steelers-Bengals game has higher stakes for Cincinnati fan living on roof | TribLIVE.com
Steelers/NFL

Steelers-Bengals game has higher stakes for Cincinnati fan living on roof

Zach Brendza
1963120_web1_ptr-BengalsFans-112019
AP
Cincinnati Bengals fans wears paper bags on their heads during a game against the Oakland Raiders in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019.
1963120_web1_ptr-PaulBrown-112019
AP
The Cincinnati Bengals play the San Francisco 49ers at Paul Brown Stadium during the first half of a game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019, in Cincinnati.

Jeff Lanham has been living on the roof of his restaurant for five weeks.

But there’s a reason.

Lanham, 42, is a Cincinnati Bengals season-ticket holder. He jokingly said he would live on the roof of his establishment, Hog Rock Cafe in Milan, Ind., if the Bengals lost to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5, according to the Washington Post.

The Bengals had already been winless, going 0-4 in the first four weeks of the NFL season.

“I said it, so it’s my fault … Until they win, I’m stuck on the roof,” Lanham told the Washington Post.

The roof situation looks like this: a 12-by-10-foot tent which has a flat-screen TV, heater, clothes, snacks, cot and sleeping bag.

As the NFL season enters Week 12, the Bengals will host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at 1 p.m., giving Lanham another shot to come down from the roof for good. The Steelers won the first matchup this season, 27-3.

“I’m so ready to come down; it’s miserable up here,” Lanham said. “I did not plan on being up here this long.”

“The only reason I’m even up here is to silence the haters’ mouths. I never want anyone to be able to say that I wasn’t a man of my word.”

Zach Brendza is a Tribune-Review digital producer. You can contact Zach at 724-850-1288, zbrendza@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.

Get Ad-Free >

Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL
Sports and Partner News