The Bengals -- who last Monday "unveiled Katy Perry's megahit 'Roar' as a pregame, in-game and postgame song at Paul Brown Stadium -- said on Friday that the song will no longer be featured as prominently," according to Kevin Clark of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The decision came "after a social-media backlash over the team's usage of the song." Bengals Dir of Sales & Public Affairs Jeff Berding said, "I think some fans proved that there's an expectation that when the team takes the field, there should be more of a hard-rock, classic-rock song and I know that's what we're going to do this game. Katy Perry is not going to be the last song you hear before the team takes the field." Berding said that the song "was embraced by the game-day entertainment staff, since 'the lyrics are sort of on the mark and we thought it was a good song.'" Berding: "The social media was obviously very negative." Berding said that the team three years ago "decided to diversify its songs and was met with a similar but much-less-visible reaction when they started to play more country music" (WSJ.com, 9/20). ESPN.com's Coley Harvey yesterday tweeted, "' offensive/defensive players take the field to T.I.'s "Bring 'Em Out." Big cheer from fans filing in. Still no sign of Katy Perry (TWITTER.com, 9/22).
STILL USING KATY: A Bengals' spokesperson on Saturday said that the Bengals will "reevaluate how often it will play Perry's song during home games." The spokesperson: "We still like the song. We are not ditching Katy Perry. I can't tell you exactly when the song will play or even whether it will play at all (Sunday). It's just being moved around" (ESPN.com, 9/21). Berding: “Pregame is where the most angst came from. Fans have an expectation of certain music they want to get fired up to before the game. We’re always trying new things. We have a diverse fan base and are trying to find a mix that entertains them.” In Cincinnati, Kate McGinty wrote one thing that "did go over well was the debut of the Bengals drumline." Berding said that there was a "very good reaction to The Growl and that they were well received before the game in the tailgate lots and after the third quarter" (CINCINNATI.com, 9/20).
