George Clooney to Ed Reed: 'You hurt me bad, I'm a Bengals fan'

Sunday night was the Oscars, the big screen's version of NFL Honors but without Tim Tebow. The NFL was well represented, however; Super Bowl champion and Ravens safety Ed Reed found his way onto the red carpet. Not as a guest, though, but as a reporter for the NFL Network's Rich Eisen Podcast.

Clooney and Reed share a moment on the red carpet Sunday. (Dan Hanzus, NFL.com/Getty Images)

Sunday night was the Oscars, the big screen's version of NFL Honors but without Tim Tebow. The NFL was well represented, however; Super Bowl champion and Ravens safety Ed Reed found his way onto the red carpet. Not as a guest, though, but as a reporter for the NFL Network's Rich Eisen Podcast.

For an evening, Reed got to slum it enjoy the fame and fortune that comes with being on the other side of the microphone. Except unlike most of us in this line of work, his subjects actually wanted to talk to him. Even those who aren't Ravens fans.

Take, for example, George Clooney. The man best known for his recurring roles in The Facts of Life and Roseanne had a few words for Reed after spotting him on the red carpet.

"Clooney said to me, 'Hey, Reed, you hurt me bad -- I'm a Bengals fan,'" Reed told SI.com's Richard Deitsch Sunday night. "I told him, 'Hey, man, they hurt themselves!' But it's awesome he's a Bengals fan. I really enjoyed talking with him."

The Bengals connection makes sense: Clooney, 51, was born in Lexington, Ky., and his old man was a prominent television personality in Cincinnati.

And unlike some Hollywood types, Clooney's a legit sports fan who'd previously hooped it up with the Commander in Chief (related note: my god, Spiderman looks awful).

Reed, meanwhile, got to be a fan, something that rarely happens in his line of work.

"Usually I'm the guy not doing interviews," he said. "I'm focusing on my job. So to do something different was fun. I think I did all right."

It got better: Reed made his way backstage and met Jamie Foxx, and "I also shook hands with Halle Berry," he added. "I wanted to take a picture with her but she walked out so quick. Beautiful woman, man."

NFL allegiances aside (and we're Steelers fans), on this we can all agree.

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