They may end up calling it "The Wiggle."
Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still doesn't know if he'll be active for Sunday's 1 p.m. Paul Brown Stadium opener against the Falcons. But if he is and is active enough to come up with his first full NFL sack, there will be a new celebration dance in Bengaldom to join Ickey Woods' Ickey Shuffle and Chad Johnson's River Dance
"We have a dance that me and my daughter came up with which is called the pee dance, and that came about because she's on so many different IVs throughout the night she continues to pee the bed," said Still Wednesday, a sea of calm in an ocean of emotions. "The first time she peed the bed she got mad because she kept saying she's a big girl, she's not supposed to pee the bed and now she has to wear pull-ups. I walked over to her bed and I told her that when she peed in the bed she kind of wiggled. She started laughing."
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has noticed that whenever Still talks about 4-year-old Leah Sari fighting Stage 4 cancer spreading from a Neuroblastoma tumor in her abdomen, his face lights up.
"Every time she does it we continue to do that dance just to give her something to laugh about and not be so ashamed that she's peeing in bed because she can't control what's going on," Still said. "I'm definitely going to do that if I get a sack."
Still, the third-year player looking to jack that half-sack total in his first 18 games, arrived back on the 53-man roster Wednesday, 10 days after he was cut and then joined the practice squad. Not a shocking move. The Bengals were down a tackle after the man that beat out Still in training camp, Christo Bilikudi, was claimed in the wake of a roster for move last Sunday's opener in Baltimore.
But Still's return came on a stunningly wonderful day in Bengaldom. A day after putting Still's No. 75 jersey up for order with all proceeds going to Cincinnati Children's Hospital & Pediatric Cancer Care, the Bengals sold more than 1,000 jerseys Wednesday for their all-time record for one player. That came a day after they sold 100, another all-time record for one player. The New Orleans Saints ordered 100 Bengals No. 75 jerseys by themselves Wednesday.
The Pro Shop's all-time career record for a jersey sold is, of course, Chad Johnson/Ochocinco with more than 3,000. The way the orders are flying in from 60 percent of the states and as far away as California and Canada with inquiries from Great Britain and Australia, A.J. Green isn't the only Bengal The Ocho has to eye in the record book.
"That's amazing. That's big time," Still said Wednesday when he heard the news. "All the support that people have shown me and my family, it's truly a blessing. I just wish my daughter could understand. But once she beats cancer and she gets a little older, she'll be able to look back and see what it all meant."
What it means is a sad, sweet, and defiant lesson for a town and a team. It's always better to stick together. Whether you're backed up in Baltimore and up by a touchdown or fighting for the apple of your eye.
"There are a lot of great people out there," said the dean of the Bengals, defensive lineman Robert Geathers. "It's for a great cause.
"We try to keep his mind off it,' Geathers said. "The guy comes in every day and does his job like a true pro."
The day the jersey went on sale, quarterback Andy Dalton cut a ribbon at Children's Hospital for a room the Andy and Jordan Dalton Foundation donated that is stocked with computers, iPads, and anything else to help kids and their families get through a hospital stay.
"I have talked to him just a little bit about it," Dalton said. "I've tried to keep up with it from the outside in. I know the jersey sales have been big."
Left tackle Andrew Whitworth, who has been here from Ocho to A.J., is a big fan.
"It shows the passion people have for making a difference. It's what makes this country special," Whitworth said. "Children are special to us all and to see people bond together to support Devon and his daughter is heartwarming."
Still's defensive line became one of the first to rally to the cause a few months ago, long before Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco saw Wallace Gilberry and Margus Hunt pawing at the ground on third down with a minute left last Sunday. Still came up with a web site “Help The Bengals Sack Pediatric Cancer,” where anyone can donate per sack.
After Gilberry, with help from a Hunt stunt on third down and a safety blitz from Reggie Nelson on fourth down, registered 1.5 sacks on the last two plays of the game, Still thanked him. With three Bengals sacks on Sunday, the count is more than $14,000 headed to the goal of $100,000. How much a sack and and a dance would mean to Still?
Start with priceless and go up.
Carlos Dunlap, who hauled down Flacco at the half-time gun to prevent a field goal knowing exactly what it meant for the team and Leah, says the goal is four against Atlanta.
"I wished from the start of the game that we'd get sacks," Still said. "It took us a while to get some but the guys who did get the sacks I definitely thanked them for what they did after the game on the bus. I just let them know how much means to everybody who's going up against this cancer.
"(Gilberry) just started smiling and said 'No problem.' He said he saw people writing on his Instagram and Twitter about how his sacks turned into money and he said he didn't know what that meant until I said what I said to him."
Twitter is how Still found out what the Bengals were doing with his jersey. On Wednesday, it seemed as if he were still overwhelmed.
"It helps bring awareness to pediatric cancer and it helps raise funds for research for pediatric cancer," Still said. "Pediatric cancer doesn't have a big budget with the government for research and I feel like it's important to gain funds for research because our children are our future and as long as we continue to help them out that brightens our future."
Still has gone from saying good-night to Sunday Night Football in Arizona with a hamstring injury to Good Morning America. He turned just 25 back in July sleeping on a hospital cot, but he has no qualms about becoming a national voice.
"The support nationwide, from across seas, has been huge because going through this cancer fight I don't think anybody should have to go through it alone," Still said. "Hopefully I can use my platform to bring awareness to pediatric cancer and allow people to understand how hard it is for a family to go through it. Not just myself but so other families can have the support of everybody.
"I didn't want her fight to be for no reason. I wanted to bring light upon every family and every child who's going through this same battle so that they can receive help from outside people."
If this is a story about a team, then Lewis had to be sure that Still could help the team. When he went to the practice squad last week he said he couldn't give 100 percent to football. On Tuesday morning after Still said he rolled out of bed before the Bengals could change their minds, Lewis needed to have his mind changed.
Lewis turned on tape of various defensive tackles and asked him who was better. These guys or Devon Still?
"And he said, 'Devon Still,'" Lewis said. "And that's what I believe, too. I asked him, 'Where are you? Are you ready to do this again? 'And he was. It's the first time I really saw him, other than talking about his time with his daughter, you saw the brightness in his face."
Still think he's ready. His hamstring is.
"The Bengals have helped my family out tremendously and I'm going to do everything I can to help them on Sundays," Still said.
He's had a tough but powerful week. Lewis let him travel to see Leah this weekend (and he says he still will even though Still is on the roster) near Baltimore and let him fly back on the team charter following the game.
"Last week was a good week for him,' Lewis said. "Just to clear his mind and spend time with (Leah), allowing him to do what he needs to do in tending to her care."
A week after finishing her fourth round of chemotherapy, she began to tire this weekend. She ran fevers and Still sent her back home early to Philadelphia Children's Hospital on Sunday, the day he met the Bengals after the game. With her white blood cell count zero, she received antibiotics and bounced back enough to leave ICU in the last 24 hours.
"It's been a crazy day," Still said.
But also a heartfelt, hopeful day when the orders never stopped. Leah and her Dad have the next dance.
"We rally as much as we can as a team around him. I know my family prays for them often," Whitworth said. "It's important to lift them up. He's an inspiration to many in our building."
