ATHENS, Ohio (WCMH) — There is no question what team the town of Athens is rooting for on Sunday – the Bengals.

More specifically, fans are rooting for their hometown boy, Joe Burrow.

As soon as you turn off Route 33 into The Plains, not only are you in Bengals country – you’re in Joe Burrow country.

“All that everyone is talking about is the game,” said Courtney Hanning with Gigi’s Country Kitchen.

At the restaurant — one of Burrow’s hometown haunts — the pride for the star quarterback is hard to miss. Hanning said they even have a meal named after him.

“The Burrow omelet is an omelet with ham, onion, green peppers and cheese and go get it with a double side of hash browns and a biscuit,” Hanning said. “It was just what he always ordered every single time. So obviously we had to rename it after him.”

Hanning said Burrow brings a sense of community to The Plains and Athens. The people love him not for the fame, but for the love he has for his town.

“We’re a small town. When you think about the cities in Ohio, Athens never really used to get mentioned, but now it’s pretty hard to overlook us,” Hanning said. “We’re on the come-up all thanks to Joe.”

A couple miles away on Court Street, it’s safe to say these Bobcats will be Bengals fans on Sunday. Just about every business on the street and around Athens County has a sign that says, ‘Go Joe’ or ‘Who Dey.’

“Joe Burrow means so much to this town,” said Marco Fiore, a bartender at Courtside Pizza. “It shows his character. It’s one of the biggest things that he highlighted in his Heisman speech and he’s continued to do that in the NFL. And that just shows you who he really is and how Athens raises people to be.”

The only Bengals game ball to ever leave Cincinnati sits inside Courtside Pizza. It was hand-delivered by Burrow’s family last week.

“This bar was packed shoulder to shoulder. No one really knew what was going on. It was kind of like a birthday party and then all of a sudden you had Mr. and Mrs. Burrow walk behind the bar, microphone, they put on the video,” said Eddie Kammerer, a bartender at Courtside.

The bartenders said they’re expecting a packed house on Sunday, with “Welcome to the Jungle” blasting on repeat — and a whole lot of Who Dey chants.

Most fans in Athens agree: If anyone can lead the Bengals to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, it’s their hometown boy, Burrow.