CINCINNATI -- One afternoon last month, a tall, familiar-looking man ducked into Allez Café in downtown Cincinnati for a meal.
Joe Flacco was hungry. The 18-year NFL veteran quarterback and Super Bowl MVP had recently relocated after the Cincinnati Bengals acquired him via a trade with the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 7. With his wife, Dana, and their five children home in New Jersey, Flacco sidled up to the bar for an experience that is gaining in popularity.
He ate alone.
"I used to see guys sitting at a bar by themselves or just sitting by themselves and eating and [being like], 'Man, I feel so bad for that guy,'" Flacco said recently.