'I loved Cincinnati': Deion Sanders on his time with the Reds, trying to play for Bengals

New University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders was a guest on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, and in addition to talking about his new gig he also covered some of his past career highlights.

McAfee's co-host, former Bengals linebacker A.J. Hawk, asked Deion about his time playing baseball in Cincinnati for the Reds. Hawk, a Centerville native told Sanders, who played for the Reds from 1994-95 and again in 1997 and 2001, that he used to drive down to Riverfront Stadium to watch him play.

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"I loved Cincinnati," Sanders explained. "I wanted to just build a home there and live there forever. We even asked the darn Bengals at the time, which were horrible, like ok, just let me bring it here. Let me do the two-sport thing here because I don't want to leave, I love it.

"They didn't even call us back. That's how bad the Bengals were at the time. They didn't even call us back. I'm like, I want to play for you."

Sanders, a Hall-of-Fame cornerback who was six times First Team All-Pro in his NFL career, spent time with the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys when he played for the Bengals. He had retired from football during his 2001 comeback with the Reds.

Deion Sanders' opportunity to play for Bengals never came: 'They never even called back'

"I love baseball here, I would love to play football here so I could stay here all year-round. I found some property with a little lake on it, I want to do my fishing. I love it here," Sanders said. "And they never even called back."

In 226 games with the Reds spread across four seasons, Sanders hit .260 and stole 94 bases. His 94 steals are the most he had with any team in his nine-year MLB career.

Sanders' love for Cincinnati and the Reds extended to the fans.

"I used to leave random people... I used to leave like 50 to 100 tickets a game because these little kids, they were just my guys," he explained. "So I'm like 'give me your number, I'm going to leave you tickets, you got tickets to every game. It's going to be tickets at the gate, in your name, whether you come or not. I got you.'

"That's how much love I had for the Reds and Cincinnati."

Watch Deion Sanders talk about Cincinnati on the Pat McAfee Show

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Deion Sanders on Pat McAfee Show talks time in Cincinnati