CINCINNATI — After helping win the AFC Championship Game last Sunday, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow got a request from one of his childhood idols.
Kid Cudi, a rapper Burrow grew up admiring, congratulated Burrow on taking the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI and asked him for the game jersey from Cincinnati’s overtime victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
It didn’t sound like Burrow had to give it much thought. On Friday, Cudi tweeted about the exchange and sent out a picture of Burrow’s grass-stained No. 9.
“He said yes and sent it right away,” Cudi said on Twitter.
Burrow had a simple but poignant message for the rapper, who rose to fame at the end of the 2000s: “Ohio Love.” Burrow grew up in southeast Ohio, while Cudi hails from Cleveland.
😭😭😭😭😭
Ok. So after the Bengals win against the Chiefs, I hit Joe and congratulated him and asked if I could have his jersey. He said yes and sent it right away 🥲 rockin this bitch to the game and then framing it. I am so geeked right now. #ohiolove @JoeyB @Bengals pic.twitter.com/mHWHfVRkR6
— The Chosen One : I 💖 YOU FRESHIE 4EVER (@KidCudi) February 4, 2022
But the connection is a bit deeper than that. Burrow said he listens to Cudi’s “New York City Rage Fest” before every game, and Cudi reached out before Cincinnati’s first conference championship since the 1988 season.
Cudi wasn’t the only Ohio celebrity to take note of Burrow’s run with the Bengals. The second-year quarterback also elicited a tweet from NBA star LeBron James, who is from Akron. After the game, Burrow said while the football success doesn’t surprise him, his growing social status feels surreal.
“The situation that I’m in socially doesn’t really feel real to me, because in my head, I’m just the same old guy,” Burrow said.
That celebrity status isn’t restricted to others with name recognition. While Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford is the favorite to win Super Bowl MVP, Burrow is currently the hottest bet to win the award, according to Caesars Sportsbook.