RIVERSIDE, Ohio — The bickering starts almost immediately.
First, about where their tailgate menu is. Then, about how hot the pan that just came out of the oven is. And finally, about the lyrics to the Cincinnati Bengals' touchdown song.
“You are driving me insane,” Steve Nagel told his twin brother, Jeff.
Or at least I think it was Steve. It’s hard to tell.
See how much these superfans look alike in the video below:
Bengals fans used to tell them apart by a wedding ring. But now, after a divorce, the Nagels got Ted Karras tattoos on their legs to help.
Jeff's on his right. Steve's on his left.
“There’s not too much that isn’t orange or black in the house,” Steve said. “Some people think we’re crazy."
Jeff and Steve have been season-ticket holders for 43 years. And for about four decades, the Nagels tell me they’ve been wearing matching clothes to home games.
That's why when they introduce themselves, they call themselves the Bengal Twins. When I meet them at their house, they’re wearing Sam Hubbard jerseys, three big necklaces and white Cincy hats.
Even their shoes match.
“Bengal Twins — from head to toe," Jeff said. “We just have a lot of fun with it."
The two live together near Dayton. And they’re both chefs. To show me the type of meal they make at tailgates, they bake a pot pie with the words “Who Dey” on top.
“This is not just your ordinary pot pie,” Steve said. “Our tailgate is undefeated.”
The twins tell me they became Bengals fans because their aunt and uncle were two of the team's first season-ticket holders. The Nagels are 58 now (Steve is older by 4 minutes), and they finish each other’s sentences during much of our interview. And this is before they start singing the touchdown song.
“We’ve seen some (expletive) football," Steve said. "But it’s not a football game to us — it’s the whole experience.”
