Best/Worst fan moments

[derekshank]

So, I was reading the Carson Palmer article in Sports Illustrated yesterday, and I saw the two-page picture of Palmer lying there on the ground wincing. I remembered all the air being let out of me, and laying there half on the floor half on my couch (I collapsed after I had been jumping up and down... my wife thought I was having a medical emergency). Anyway, I was reminded that it was probably the worst feeling I had ever had as a Bengals fan.

This got me thinking about the best and worst feelings as a Bengals fan. Most of my memories are pretty recent. Firstly, because I am only 26... and secondly, the last 15 years have been mostly down, so the emotions don't usually get too ridiculously high or low when it is always in the gutter... but here are some of my thoughts.

Top Best:

1. Victory over Pittsburgh 38-31, 12/4/05 - Giving us our first winning record in 15 years, and giving us a 2 game lead over our hated rivals. Best feeling I can remember as a Bengals fan, because it had been so long in coming... and it couldn't have happened against a better team.

2. The playoff run in '88. I was 8 years old, and ecstatic that we just kept winning. It was a long time ago, and it was before the decade and a half of futility... but I remember my dad taking me to buy Super Bowl merchandise, and just being so pumped about Ickey Woods and Boomer Esiason.

3. Bengals upsetting the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs 24-19, 11/16/03. The first time I really believed that the culture of losing was coming to an end.

4. The Jon Kitna comeback in Pittsburgh 24-20, 11/30/03. I was listening to this game on the radio while traveling through Pennsylvania. I had to listen to Pittsburgh announcers, and when the Steelers took the lead, these guys starting talking about the "same old Bungles" I was getting so pissed off... and when Kitna threw the game winner to Schobel with 13 seconds left I almost wrecked my car in celebration.

Top worst:

1. No contest... Palmer's injury. We had come so close, and it felt like God was mocking us, and toying with our emotions. This combined with the fact that we lost the game... to the Steelers... who won the Super Bowl! I just threw up in my mouth a little.

2. The Joe Montana comeback. I still haven't recovered fully. To this day I hate seeing Montana honored because of how he damaged me as an 8 year-old Bengals fan.

3. It kind of all runs together... but 15 losing seasons is a bad feeling.

4. The Ki-Jana Carter injury. There was so much to expect out of the overall #1 pick in 1995, and he never played a single down in a real game with a healthy ACL.

What are some of yours best/worst moments?

[Stripes]

I was barely a toddler during the '88 saga, so I'm not quite qualified to include any of that...

Best:

1 - Rudi Johnson pounds past Polamalu for a late TD in Pittsburgh to give us a 38-24 lead and seal the deal that the drought was over forever.

2 - Kitna takes a knee and raises his arms in triumph to meet the roaring Paul Brown Stadium crowd after closing out the win over the 9-0 Chiefs, vaulting the Bengals back onto the NFL scene.

3 - Shayne Graham knocks through a 23 yarder to beat the Ravens in Baltimore (2004), capping off a great 4th quarter comeback from 20-3 deficit to a 27-26 win. Palmer comes into his own.

Worst:

1 - A 66 yard playoff pass becomes the end of a great and promising season.

2 - The Bengals give up 170 something yards to Lee Suggs in the final game of the 2003 season, losing at home to the pathetic Browns and finishing 8-8.

3 - Every year before that since 1991.

[DesperateDerelict]

BEST -

1) Our destruction and total demolition of the Super-Bowl Champion Cowgirls. The 1st quarter of that game is the best 15 minutes any Bengal team has ever played. If you can find a tape of that game - WATCH IT!

2) Our defensive effort against the heavily favored 49ers in the Super-Bowl

3) It's a tie - I can picture 3 devestating hits by Jim LeClair, Bill Bergey, and David Fulcher. Every one of them left a Bengal standing and a divisional opponent (2 Oilers, one Brown) sleeping on the carpet.

WORST -

1) Montana pass with 34 seconds left AFTER Louis Breedon missed a sure interception.

2) Drafting Akili Smith, spurning Ditka's offer of 17 million draft picks.

3) Tie - Mike Reid quitting football for music, and Esiason, Remmington and company being such a$$holes during the strike / lockout.

[bengalboomer7]

BEST -

1) Our destruction and total demolition of the Super-Bowl Champion Cowgirls. The 1st quarter of that game is the best 15 minutes any Bengal team has ever played. If you can find a tape of that game - WATCH IT!

2) Our defensive effort against the heavily favored 49ers in the Super-Bowl

3) It's a tie - I can picture 3 devestating hits by Jim LeClair, Bill Bergey, and David Fulcher. Every one of them left a Bengal standing and a divisional opponent (2 Oilers, one Brown) sleeping on the carpet.

WORST -

1) Montana pass with 34 seconds left AFTER Louis Breedon missed a sure interception.

2) Drafting Akili Smith, spurning Ditka's offer of 17 million draft picks.

3) Tie - Mike Reid quitting football for music, and Esiason, Remmington and company being such a$$holes during the strike / lockout.

Off the top of my head, I thought Billups dropped the INT, but I could be wrong. That definitely ranks up there in the worst.

One of my personal favs is David Fulcher's treatment of Roger Craig in the Super Bowl. If I remember correctly, Fulcher was a big Craig fan, and Roger was an a**h*** to him(didn't sign an autograph, said something derogatory, I can't remember for sure) Fulcher was a beast in that game.

I've been talking to Spain, so my memory is fuzzy right now(taht's some good s**t, Spain ) but wasn't there another comeback against the Steelers where O'Donnel threw a long pass to Pickens to win the game. It could be the same game, I'm not sure. But I always rejoice beating the Clowns and Sqeelers