Paul Hirons
UK
Paul Hirons has been a Bengals fan since 1986. As a school kid, he would huddle in front of a transistor radio every Sunday night, trying to find American Forces Network on the dial and desperately hoping the Bengals would feature in the game of the week. Fast-forward almost 40 years and he now runs Bengals UK - the fourth most followed British NFL fangroup on X, formerly known as Twitter.
After taking over the reins of the nascent fangroup, Paul has significantly expanded its reach and impact. He produces and co-hosts the weekly CinciNatter podcast, organises in-season meet-ups across the UK, creates fan resources like recipe books and city guides, leads annual group trips to Cincinnati, and constantly strives to redefine what a fan community can be - whether that be hosting the world's first online tailgates or even brewing a branded Bengals UK beer.
In 2024, Bengals UK celebrated its 10-year anniversary. During this time, Paul entered the fangroup into an official partnership with Cincinnati-based charity, Our Daily Bread, and 2025 will see collaborations with UK-based organisations to become mental health champions.
Paul's strong beliefs in the power of community, friendship and inclusivity have been channelled into creating, maintaining and growing the Bengals fanbase in the UK.
He has come a long way from those early days of holding one ear to a speaker trying to find his beloved Bengals over the airwaves 5,000 miles away, to turn his childhood passion into a thriving UK-based fan movement.