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          Cincinnati Public Schools amend academic calendar, give students, staff day off after Bengals-Rams in Super Bowl LVI

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 1, 2022, 01:11 AM
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          CINCINNATI -- Schoolchildren in Cincinnati will have something to cheer about no matter what happens in Super Bowl LVI.

          Cincinnati Public Schools announced Monday that staff and students will have the day off Feb. 14, the day after the Bengals play the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.

          In a letter sent to parents that was obtained by ESPN, the city's largest school district cited "celebrating" the Bengals' first Super Bowl victory as the reason it amended the academic calendar and made Feb. 14 a day off.

          "We hope that you enjoy roaring the Bengals to a win on Sunday and take this time to take pride in our incredible city and amazing football team," the district said in the statement to parents.

          CPS board member Mike Moroski told the Cincinnati Enquirer that students in the district typically are off on the Monday after the Super Bowl. However, this year, the school calendar didn't line up with Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area. After the Bengals reached the title game by defeating the favored Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, a request was made to change that, and it was OK'd.

          In the release sent to families, the district noted that an annual off day for students (but not staff) still will be observed on Feb. 7. However, because of the Bengals' best playoff run in decades, students and staff will get Feb. 14 off, as well.

          The change reflects the mood around Cincinnati in a playoff run that started with the franchise's first playoff victory in 31 years. When the Bengals arrived at Paul Brown Stadium following Sunday's win in Kansas City, many fans were waiting outside the team facility to cheer and greet the team.

          "It was overall a great night," coach Zac Taylor said Monday. "I haven't gotten a lot of sleep yet. Still taking it all in. But we're going to quickly turn our focus to the L.A. Rams."

          Cincinnati also reached the Super Bowl in 1982 and 1989 but lost both times, with each defeat coming to the San Francisco 49ers.