Layton man shows Bengals pride in superfan basement

LAYTON, Utah — A Layton man, who is usually alone in Utah cheering on his favorite football team, got the chance to host a Super Bowl party in his decked-out Bengals basement.

Uniforms mean something in the Traum house. Joe Traum, a retired United States Air Force Master Sergeant and aircraft mechanic, wore one his entire career.

On Sunday, he sported his other lifelong uniform — one that isn’t often seen in Utah.

“There are not many of us here in Utah, I will tell you that,” Traum said with a chuckle.

Traum is a Cincinnati Bengals fan, usually made fun of for sporting orange and black in the Beehive State.

“People laugh at me and they kind of think it’s funny, but I tell them, I say, ‘Well that’s where I was born and raised,’” he said.

Originally from Ohio, Traum’s lived in Utah for more than three decades. Over the past 10 of those years, he’s turned his basement into a Bengals oasis in the middle of a football desert.

Around the room, he displays jerseys, banners, posters, pictures, and even a Bengals pool table chandelier.

The ultimate Bengals man cave turned out to be the perfect venue for the Super Bowl.

Usually a lone wolf — or should we say, tiger — Traum was surrounded by a room full of people to help him cheer on his beloved Bengals.

Despite the loss, Traum was happy his team made it to the Super Bowl.

“They’ve had a great year, and it’s a very successful year,” Traum said. “They weren’t expected to be here, so yeah. So this is all gravy.”

And he got to show off his Cincy pride, as well as his impressive superfan setup, to all his friends.

“I’m just glad that we could all get together, have a good time,” Traum expressed. “That’s really what it’s all about, is the friendships and just having people over, the good time.”