COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Cincinnati Bengals will take the field in the Super Bowl Sunday for just the third time in franchise history.

The first time the team was in the big game was 1982 when they faced – and lost – to the San Francisco 49ers.

Ohio State University and Bengals legend Archie Griffin was a member of the team for that game.

The only two-time Heisman Trophy winner in college football history, Griffin traded his scarlet and gray for orange and black in 1976, when he was drafted by the Bengals. Within a few years, he was part of a special squad that took the franchise to its first Super Bowl.

“We had to get up after we were knocked down and we were knocked down for a few years,” Griffin said of the pre-1982 team.

After the Bengals’ 1980 season, when the team finished 6-10, Griffin said they stepped up in 1981. The first change: new uniforms.

“We came out with the stripes that year, so we were getting all kind of compliments, good and bad,” he said. “We really felt it was a new time, a new day.”

It was a time Griffin said the Bengals’ rallying cry “Who Dey” became popular with fans.

“Again, it started when we changed our uniforms, it was so fun,” he said. “I mean, we just had a lot of fun going on with it.”

The 1981 season would eventually make franchise history.

“I mean, that was a big thing at the time because the Bengals had gone to the playoffs, but they had never won a playoff game,” Griffin said.

Much like the current Bengals roster, Griffin said his 1981 squad had to battle a number of tough playoff games to reach Super Bowl XVI in January of 1982.

“The Super Bowl came around, everybody was excited, kind of like what they are right now in the city of Cincinnati and even in the state of Ohio,” Griffin said.

San Francisco was up 20-0 at the half, but Griffin said he sees a number of similarities between the 1982 team and the Bengals now heading to SoFi Stadium. During the second half of that game, the Cincinnati defense stepped up and the offense delivered; however, the Bengals fell short, losing 26-21.

“Second half, we played extremely well, and I’m hoping this year, it’s totally different,” he said.

As a legendary former Buckeye, Griffin said it makes him proud to see all of the former Ohio State players making crucial plays for the Bengals this past season.

“When you think about the Super Bowl, that’s the only game in town, so all eyes are going to be one you and to be able to play in that game is truly a great honor, and a lot of people play in the NFL for many, many years and never get that opportunity,” he said.

Just as he cherishes the memory of his 1982 Super Bowl game, Griffin hopes the former Buckeyes cherish the moment as Cincinnati aims to win its first NFL championship.

“And I think the Bengals have a great chance at winning it and I think they will win it,” he said.

During the Bengals Thursday night game against Jacksonville on Sept. 30, Griffin met up with his 1982 teammates to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of their Super Bowl game. Griffin said a lot of them hadn’t seen each other in a long time, and it was great to share old memories and support this current Bengals squad.