Seena Greiwe poses for a photo before working a Bengals game at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.
Submitted photo
Seena Greiwe’s allegiance to the Cincinnati Bengals began around the time she was born in 1999.
That was the year that Greiwe’s uncle Duke Tobin began working in the player personnel department for the Bengals. Four years later, Duke’s father and Seena’s grandfather Bill Tobin joined his son in the Bengals front office.
“I came out of the womb saying ‘Who Dey,’” Seena joked.
Sunday evening, the Bengals will play in the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years, or 10 years before Seena was born. Since then, she has had an up-close look at the team from the perspective of a fan, family member and also as an employee.
In the fall of 2019, Seena’s junior year at Ball State, she spent a couple days a week in Cincinnati working as a production assistant for the Bengals, mostly shooting and editing video. Then in 2020, she worked for the NFL as a live content correspondent, splitting her time between the Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans.
While those two years weren’t great years for the Bengals, they’ve turned things around this season. After finishing 2-14 in 2019, they used the first pick in the 2020 draft on Ohio native and Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Joe Burrow, who has taken the city by storm.
“I think we’ve made the right choices in our draft selections,” Bill Tobin said. “I wouldn’t trade our quarterback for anybody in the league. I think he’s really special, and I think the coaches are doing a good job. It’s just a matter of going and finishing it off and winning.”
Last week, Duke Tobin, who worked his way up to become the Bengals director of player personnel, was named NFL Executive of the Year.
“To see all their hard work pay off, I’m so happy for them and proud of them,” Seena said. “When I was working for the Bengals, I was always glad to see them around the building. Obviously, (2019) wasn’t a great year for us, but to see where they’ve brought us is amazing.”
Seena graduated from Ball State last May and began working for the Air Force Academy athletics as creative video producer and editor in August.
“It’s incredible,” Seena said. “It’s such an awesome experience, just with the military aspect, the stories I get to tell, the people I get to meet. The opportunities are endless. It’s been awesome so far.”
Seena spent most of the week leading up to the AFC Championship game working a video shoot for Air Force in Las Vegas, then worked an Air Force hockey game in Colorado Springs the night of Jan. 29. She caught a 6 a.m. flight to Kansas City the morning of the game to meet her family.
Down 21-3 in the first half, the Bengals rallied for a 27-24 overtime victory to secure the berth in the Super Bowl. Seena had a 7:53 p.m. CST flight to catch back to Colorado.
“The game was incredible, and we stayed and celebrated, and luckily got out of the parking lot fairly quickly,” Seena said. “I was literally running to my gate so I could make my flight, and luckily, I was able to make it to work the next day.”
While working at Air Force, Seena continues to do projects as a videographer and editor with the NCAA, a relationship that goes back to her freshman year at Ball State.
“I’m really excited for where that’s heading, and I’m really grateful for Air Force allowing me the opportunities to do that on the side,” Seena said. “That’s been a huge part of my career, and I can’t thank the people enough who have given me those experiences.”
Seena also has done work for Turner Sports in Atlanta. Last month, she was able to work the College Football Playoff championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The CFP, which is not part of the NCAA, brought in photographers, videographers, graphic designers and social producers to work the event, and Greiwe was one of the videographers.
“To me, that was one of the most incredible experiences and it was an honor to be a part of that incredibly talented group,” Seena said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and was definitely an experience I will never forget.”
A former three-sport athlete at Columbus East, Seena is the middle of Keith and Kerry (Tobin) Greiwe’s five children. Her three brothers played football for the Olympians, and her younger sister Koryn, recently became the school’s all-time leading scorer for girls basketball.
While the rest of the family plans to head to Los Angeles for the Super Bowl later this week, Kerry and Koryn aren’t planning to leave until the morning of the game. Koryn is hoping to be playing basketball with her East teammates in the Columbus North Regional on Saturday.
The Olympians are playing in the weather-delayed Bloomington North Sectional final on Tuesday. Bill Tobin and his wife Dusene, who live in Greenwood, have tried to make it to most of their grandkids’ sporting events and were there for East’s sectional-opening win last week.
“Keith had three sons, so we’ve been to all of those games and Seena’s gymnastics,” Dusene said. “This is our entertainment. They’re a great family.”
Bill Tobin, who was general manager for the Chicago Bears when they won their only Super Bowl in 1985, later worked in the same capacity for the Colts.
“I was a lot more involved in ‘85 than I am now,” Bill said. “It’s exciting because that’s what you work for — the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl. We’ve accomplished that, and we just have to finish it off next week.”
Duke, who was a state-title winning quarterback in Arlington Heights, Illinois, decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue a career in player personnel. He got his start working for Bill in Indianapolis.
“You always anticipate something like that because we’ve been in sports our whole life,” Bill said. “You expect to win. He’s done a great job organizing the (Bengals) player personnel department.”
“(Bill) kind of passed it down to our son,” Dusene said. “I found a picture (Tuesday) on his wall that has Duke with him after we won with the ’85 Bears, and I’m thinking our son will have his son because we’re going to win.”
Seena is grateful for the time she was able to spend working for the Bengals with Bill and Duke.
“I’ve always been really been close to my uncle and grandpa,” Seena said. “Then to grow up and see how big they actually were, it’s great to have that connection, it’s great to have them a part of my life and have them as role models. They’re always there. To me, they’re my grandpa and my uncle, but they’re also doing amazing things with the Bengals, which is incredible.”
On the afternoon the day Bengals won in Kansas City to secure their trip to the Super Bowl, Seena booked a flight to L.A., hoping they would win, but knowing she could cancel if they lost. Although she might have been able to secure a working role on the sidelines for the Super Bowl, she is happy to just go as a fan of the team she grew up cheering for.
“I do want to shoot a Super Bowl one day, but this is one I really want to spend with my family and soak it all in and enjoy it,” Seena said. “It’s on my bucket list to shoot a super bowl and hope there is an opportunity to do so down the road, but I’m young and have time to make that happen. There are only so many times your team is going to be playing in it and I want to enjoy this one as a fan.”
