Cincinnati Public Schools give students day off after Super Bowl in celebration of Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals gained thousands of lifelong fans Monday without playing a game. Cincinnati Public Schools canceled classes the day after the Super Bowl in celebration of the Bengals' appearance in the big game.

Cincinnati sixth graders, rejoice! This is real.

Following the Bengals' surprising win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship, Steven Schad, principal at Roger Bacon High School, sent out an email to students announcing they would not have class on "Super Bowl Monday."

From there, others took up the call. School board member Mike Moroski pushed for that edict to be enforced on a district level. It got approved Monday.

Cincinnati Public Schools students usually have the day off after the Super Bowl. CPS uses that day as a professional development day, according to WCPO in Cincinnati. With the NFL adding another week to its regular season, CPS students were slated to get the day after the Pro Bowl — not the Super Bowl — off in 2022. The new cancellation means students will be off Feb. 7 and Feb 14.

Bengals make surprising run to Super Bowl

Only diehard Bengals fans expected the team to make it this far. The Bengals entered the postseason as the No. 4 seed in the AFC. The team had to defeat the Nos. 1 and 2 seeded teams in order to reach the Super Bowl.

Though Cincinnati struggled at times — giving up nine sacks against the Tennessee Titans and falling behind by 18 points to the Chiefs — the Bengals proved their resilience. Quarterback Joe Burrow showed calm under pressure in both contests, leading the Bengals to game-winning field goals.

Burrow will need to show those same skills against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI. The Rams' defense, led by Aaron Donald, is known for its ability to put pressure on quarterbacks.