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<P><b>On the Road with 5th Ace Entertainment</b>
   <br>Pittsburgh Steelers at the Cincinnati Bengals
   
<P>December 30, 2001

<P>Cincinnati, OH � The five in 5th Ace Entertainment was where the small hand on my watch was pointing as I pulled into the parking lot of Bill Green Shopping Center in Pleasant Hills, PA. Five A.M., that is. It wasn�t as hard as you�d think to lift my head from the pillow in the wee hours that morning. It never is when the prospect of the day is such as it was. I was down right bright eyed and bushy tailed. At five A.M. And trust me when I tell you I am not a morning person. 

<P>I would imagine that many of the people standing in the parking lot that day loading up their warmest winter clothes onto the awaiting bus were as allergic to five A.M. as I am, but they were pretty bright eyed themselves. And why not? We were all about to embark on an adventure of which any Steeler fan would be envious. 

<P>I quickly made my way over to our host, owner of 5th Ace Entertainment, Dan Koch. As he finished loading the bounty that was to be our sustenance for the remainder of the day he shot me a grin and it was like premonition of what was to come. 

<P>The luggage all packed and the food, beer and drink stowed we made our way onto the warm bus all laughs and bustle. For the first hour of 5-hour drive we sang Steeler fight songs and then settled into our seats to watch movies on one of the 3 televisions on the bus.  

<P>As the sun began to rise higher in the sky and we neared Cincinnati the drink began to flow and to be honest by the time we pulled into the city limits I had a full on buzz. The bus pulled into the lot and as Koch and helpers put out the food and more drink the rest of us took the opportunity to add a few extra layers of clothing. By the time I took my very first breath of Cincinnati air I was bundled in more black and gold than a home game at Heinz Field. 

<P>My stomach was grumbling and when the smell of the smorgasbord laid out for us hit my nose I nearly slobbered all over my face paint. There were hoagies, fried chicken, every type of salad you can think of, casseroles, pizza, chips and, yes, plenty of beer and liquor to wash it down with. We ate, drank and were merry. 

<P>Pick up football games started up along with face painting, sign making and an abundance of places to spend your gambling dollar with polls and wagers abound. I, personally, didn�t win a damn thing, but that is why they call it gambling. I was having so much fun socializing that I almost forgot the reason why we came to Cincinnati in the first place�the game. 

<P>As one o�clock neared we packed up the bus and headed toward the stadium. Because we are talking about the Bengals there were nearly as many Steeler fans in the stands as there were for the home team. The black and gold nation travels well. Steelers fans rocked that Stadium throughout the game and no section was louder than the one organized by 5th Ace Entertainment. In the end, our cheers were for no avail because the Bengals prevailed, but we didn�t care because the Steelers were playoff bound. Even though we lost, we held our heads high and chanted, �PLAYOFFS!�PLAYOFFS!�� as we left made out way back to our bus. 

<P>We drank on our way to Cincinnati, before the game and during the game, so you can imagine we drank after the game too. After a few post-game cocktails we loaded back onto the bus and watched movies and played cards all the way back to the homeland�Pittsburgh PA.

<P>As we crossed into the Pennsylvania border I reflected on the fun we had, the food I ate (and it was a lot), the beer and liquor I consumed (and it was even more) and the comfort of the bus ride and I could barely believe how much scratch I put out for the whole day. When Dan told me that the whole trip, including the ticket, bus, food and drink would only cost 80 bucks I called him a liar to his face. But it was true. I still don�t know how he did it.

<P>All in all, besides the fact that I had to get up at five in the morning, the Cincy trip was an excellent time at an excellent value. Who knew that a trip to a crappy city like Cincinnati would be such a great experience. 


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