It took Joe Burrow 3 years, but he's now more popular than Fiona the hippo in Cincinnati

In just three short years, Joe Burrow has morphed into one of the faces of the NFL. He took the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl 56 and followed it up with another dynamite season and Championship Sunday appearance.

Such an early-career rap sheet is apparently what Burrow needed to finally usurp a hippo in Cincinnati’s popularity.

According to a survey conducted by CityBeat, Burrow was voted the most popular Cincinnatian for the first time in 2023. The vote officially knocks off Fiona the hippo — a staple at the Cincinnati Zoo — from the popularity throne for the first time in half a decade.

Honestly, Burrow must be pretty great to beat this special lady:

Well, it was a good run! After five years at the top spot, it took @Bengals QB @JoeyB to finally dethrone Fiona the hippo as the #1 Cincinnatian! Congrats Joe Burrow! Who Dey! https://t.co/IYAbUEOyHM pic.twitter.com/GljoZ7grv1

— Cincinnati Zoo (@CincinnatiZoo) March 31, 2023

It goes to show you that even when you’re a lovely, majestic animal, it can’t possibly rival a superstar quarterback in a football-starved city.