(by Steve Hopkins)

When we first entered the Cincinnati Bengals’ locker room, a Butterfly table was in the center, surrounded by player lockers and other equipment. The table was clearly well-used, as there were paddles on and beside it, and there were balls strewn throughout the room.  This was very much like what we had been told, before our arrival.  The “WE” was Steve Hopkins and Estefania Ramirios – two players who work with Butterfly who were invited inside for this unique visit, and our arrival was on Monday, August 21st, the final day of training camp for the team.

Among NFL teams, the Bengals may be the most interested in our sport.  If you search “BENGALS PING PONG” on Twitter/X, you will find stories of Joe Burrow dominating the locker room table,  and linemen talking trash about teammate’s ping pong skills, and videos of Trent Taylor and Joe Burrow playing, and pretty regularly there are posts about their internal table tennis ladder which on any given day could have Mitch Wilcox, Trent Taylor, Joe burrow, Tee Higgins, or Tyler Boyd atop the list.  One of the funnier sets of tweets are reporters complaining that the noise of the ping pong matches makes their job more difficult.

Last December as the Bengals visited New England to play the Patriots, the team’s Director of Operations reached out to Rhode Island Table Tennis (and Steve Hopkins) looking for a place for players to unwind.   This set off a series of ongoing discussions and exchanges – which included a new table and rackets for the Bengals locker room, and ultimately led to last week’s visit to Cincinnati (for Steve and Estefania Ramirios).

The paddlers were given a tour of the stadium, not just views from a distance, but we were given a football and were able to play catch on the field, and not just meals – but we provided two meals in the team’s cafeteria (one with the team and coaches).  We were given a true insider’s view of meeting rooms and weights and recovery pools and practice fields.  After an early afternoon tour and introductions, we had a short break and then the event began about 4:30p.

Initially Estefania and I talked about our sport and then we had a short exhibition in front of about 100 team members, coaches and staff.  We invited players to join us to play a few short games.  We then held a skills competition where we challenged players to return “pro” serves – a competition that ended with two players tied for first (Joe Burrow and Tyler Boyd), that Tyler Boyd won in “sudden death”.  After the skills competition, we moved to a larger room with two tables where Trent Taylor won a singles tournament and players continued to play for fun for several hours.

For the Bengals, this was the last day of Training Camp, and they ended this mentally and physically taxing phase of their season with a relaxing evening of ping pong.  For the table tennis players, this was a neat opportunity to meet some of the best athletes in the US and to connect through competition and sport.  These are some of the best athletes in the world, so you probably wouldn’t be surprised at how quickly they adapted to the speed and spin of our sport.  I had opportunity to hit with 15 or 20 Bengals, and even the biggest guys (at 300 or more pounds) were fast and agile.  There were many funny comments – one player returning four or five shots in a row to opposite corners exclaimed; “he’s got me doing suicides” (a reference to a fitness drill that includes repeating movements back and forth over the same 5 to 10 yards).  For anyone wondering, Trent Taylor would probably give any of my club’s 1750 players a run for their money, and he wasn’t the only one.  Put 60-70 of the world’s best athletes in a room, give them a great table and some good paddles, and watch them improve as they compete.  Butterfly has done its part to help, providing several ALC blades with Dignics and Tenergy rubber for the team as well as about a hundred balls.

I was surprised at the energy and boisterous nature of the team – loudly cheering points, picking on each other, and talking trash as they took turns playing.  But I was most surprised at how down-to-earth these guys are – making lots of money and often functioning within a spotlight of attention from media and fans, but still taking the time to have real conversations with visiting ping pong players.

In several interviews with media, the Bengals’ Head Coach expressed his thanks to Estefania and I, and he noted that his players had a lot of fun.  Estef and I would also like to thank the Bengals for being such great hosts.  We look forward to seeing you again next year.

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