Have you left Bengal fandom behind?

[TippCityRick]

I started to write this in a post in another topic, but decided it needed it's own forum. What I'm about to write may get me in some trouble with some of you, but if you find yourself in the resulting mirror understand I may be writing this to me as well as you . . .

To those of you who say you are leaving your Bengal fandom behind over the Henry signing may I ask you to

GROW THE **** UP!!

Why would a contiversial move made by a below average owner make you back out on something as inoccuous as being a fan of a particular team? Is it that you are embarassed by the move? Are you scared fans of other teams will use this as a way to put you down? Will the reaction of the national media make it hard to bear? To all these I say that being a Bengal fan is only a diversion from regular life . . . it is not life itself. Do you take this crap so seriously that it can change how you view something that you have no control over in the first place?

This all hit me a bit last night as I watched ESPN News with my 5 year old son (wife and daughter were out so we had a chance to eat in front of the TV!). First he asked who Chris Henry was. Then he asked who Pacman was. He really liked that name. Anyway I explained that these were two football players that had done some things that weren't so good and had been told they couldn't play football for a period of time. Kinda like a long timeout. But now they were being allowed to play again and there were some people who wanted to judge where they could play and when. So he asks me, "Dad. Why do they care so much. It's only a game right?" Kinda brings it home.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm going to try and view this whole deal with his eyes for a while. I can't control what they do, I can only watch and cheer. And when the game is over it's over . . . move on to the next thing and keep my priorities straight. Just some thoughts from a 44 year old season ticket holder looking for a way to raise my kid with an appreciation for sports without making them the center of his (or my) existance.

[ChadJohnson-85]

Well said!

[bwillycuse]

I thought you were going to say you weren't going to be a fan anymore.

We need to start realizing that these people aren't role models. Some may be but all cant be.

I love my Bengals win or lose. Im a fan. I really cant stop rooting or change teams.

Its a great sport - dont let the small things ruin it for you.

[TecmoFever]

I was one of the fans who wrote that for the first time, the thought of not being able to take being a fan of this team anymore crept into my mind. To which I added that I know that this would be impossible.

What TippCity said was right on, and it kind of agrees with what I had written before. Why do I let myself get so wrapped up in being a fan of this team? It just bites me in the butt year in and year out. I need to go back to the days of just showing up on Sundays, rooting for the team, and when the game is over go back to regular life without letting it ruin my day. The funny thing is that I have a very good and balanced life, except for when it comes to being a fan of the Bengals. Maybe it's time to put things back in perspective, like TippCity said.

[Tee]

I'll always be a fan.

We spend all kinds of money...Tickets, parking... and everything else.... and it just pisses me off when ther coach gives a smart ass answer.

Question: Do you understand the frustration of Bengals fans?

Lewis: "I can't answer each fan's frustration. I get frustrated on Sunday afternoons, too. I get frustrated on Mondays. That's part of this job. I can't answer each of their frustrations. They have an option to be frustrated, if they want. It's a waste of time on their part. But they have that option. Their frustrations aren't going to change us and our opportunity to win football games."

Maybe it is a "waste of time" but taking that kind of attitude is just adding more negativity toward the team. Its building a wall between the team and its fans. I've lived through the dredful 90's. I know what it was like then. Slowy its beginning to "feel" that way again....

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

We spend all kinds of money...Tickets, parking... and everything else.... and it just pisses me off when ther coach gives a smart ass answer.

Maybe it is a "waste of time" but taking that kind of attitude is just adding more negativity toward the team. Its building a wall between the team and its fans. I've lived through the dredful 90's. I know what it was like then. Slowy its beginning to "feel" that way again....

I hear you. If fans didn't "waste their time" focusing on the team, Marvin wouldn't have a job. I think he forgets that sometimes.

[TippCityRick]

What Marvin is saying is that your frustration has no bearing on how the team performs. They perform and we watch . . . that's the deal. We don't affect things nearly as much as we'd like to think.

I remember Mike Golic making the comment on more than one occassion that he really doesn't understand fans because he's never really been one. He had a job to do and it never made much of a difference to him how the fans felt about it. He cared only about what his bosses felt about his performance. Maybe Marvin is coming from somewhat the same area code.

I've been known in the past to be a real piss ant after a Bengal loss. Frankly it's amazing my loving wife would still speak to me after the dreaded 90's. I do know that both her and my daughter knew to avoid me from 4-6 on Sunday because I was often an overbearing ass complaining about my beloved team. What did it get me? Not a damn thing because I couldn't affect anything. A number of years ago I woke up and changed my behavior. My 5 year old son knows nothing of that side of me, THANK GOD!

[Dadraftnick]

You asked what does it mean to be a fan.

To be a Bengals fan it means to be insane.

If doing the samething the same way again and again and expecting a different result is insanity then we are all insane.

Because, as long a Mike Brown is incharge I dont know if we will ever see a Super Bowl or even a playoff game again.

The guy has had one winning season since he took over.

Look at all of the deffensive co-ordinaters that we have had LeBeau,Bresnahan,Fraizer all have had success when they didnt have Mike Brown drafting their players and not so much when they did have Brown doing the drafting.

If you remember the MNF a-holes calling for for Marvins head if he doesnt win theis year---Its more like will Marvin get fed up with Brown and quit.

[Ickey44]

I can't help the fact th at I'm a Bengals fan. I have been since I was 11 and have no control over it.

That said, it's hard to defend the fact that you ARE a fan of this team when the team so eagerly drafts or signs people of questionable character. There are many consequences to this:

1. Like it or not, professional athletes ARE role models whether they want to be or not. Young people look up to them.

2. The team suffers when said player gets suspended.

3. The teams will now be stripped of draft picks and/or fined for misconduct by their players.

4. The team gets accused of having no moral compass.

I'm tired of having to defend my loyalty to a franchise that continually employs players that act like thugs and get arrested all the time.

I'm also a passionate fan of this franchise and would like to see it do well. No one wants their team to suck. So when we sign someone who's already proven to be unreliable for us, it kind of ticks me off.

I have a vested interest in this team as well. I have countless jersey's, hoodies, memorabilia, shirts, pants, shorts, and coats with Bengals plastered all over it. This team is making money off of me and I would like to see some effort to show that the franchise cares what I think. The franchise should care what we all think. After all, without our money they don't have jobs.

I will still root for this team, and I will root for Henry. Henry is a Bengal and I will root for him for that reason only. I would love for this guy to get his life together and be a positive member of society and a great player for the Bengals. Unfortunately I'm skeptical at this time because he's already burned this team 5 times. Listening to his press conference it sounds like he knows this is it, so I hope that everything has finally sunk in to his head.

[GregCook]

I can't help the fact th at I'm a Bengals fan. I have been since I was 11 and have no control over it.

That said, it's hard to defend the fact that you ARE a fan of this team when the team so eagerly drafts or signs people of questionable character. There are many consequences to this:

1. Like it or not, professional athletes ARE role models whether they want to be or not. Young people look up to them.

2. The team suffers when said player gets suspended.

3. The teams will now be stripped of draft picks and/or fined for misconduct by their players.

4. The team gets accused of having no moral compass.

I'm tired of having to defend my loyalty to a franchise that continually employs players that act like thugs and get arrested all the time.

I'm also a passionate fan of this franchise and would like to see it do well. No one wants their team to suck. So when we sign someone who's already proven to be unreliable for us, it kind of ticks me off.

I have a vested interest in this team as well. I have countless jersey's, hoodies, memorabilia, shirts, pants, shorts, and coats with Bengals plastered all over it. This team is making money off of me and I would like to see some effort to show that the franchise cares what I think. The franchise should care what we all think. After all, without our money they don't have jobs.

I will still root for this team, and I will root for Henry. Henry is a Bengal and I will root for him for that reason only. I would love for this guy to get his life together and be a positive member of society and a great player for the Bengals. Unfortunately I'm skeptical at this time because he's already burned this team 5 times. Listening to his press conference it sounds like he knows this is it, so I hope that everything has finally sunk in to his head.

Listen guys, I don't a single Bengal's player. I might recognize Carson if my cart ran into his at Whole Foods....if I shopped there. So its not personal to me. Henry is a knucklehead and that won't change. Probably a chemical problem in his brain, who knows. But he's destined for the jailhouse.

I support the team because I like Ohio teams to win. I never went to OSU (my wuss brother did), but I still take quiet satisfaction when they whip my California teams or win the national championship. Even during the World series I rooted for Cleveland, the city with a river that caught on fire. So be it. Plus Game day Sundays, its my excuse to eat all the transfat I like. Green onion dip and chips really taste good in November. Then the alcohol. Good drinks too. Really nothing to do with the players on the team.

[derekshank]

Listen guys, I don't a single Bengal's player. I might recognize Carson if my cart ran into his at Whole Foods....if I shopped there. So its not personal to me. Henry is a knucklehead and that won't change. Probably a chemical problem in his brain, who knows. But he's destined for the jailhouse.

I support the team because I like Ohio teams to win. I never went to OSU (my wuss brother did), but I still take quiet satisfaction when they whip my California teams or win the national championship. Even during the World series I rooted for Cleveland, the city with a river that caught on fire. So be it. Plus Game day Sundays, its my excuse to eat all the transfat I like. Green onion dip and chips really taste good in November. Then the alcohol. Good drinks too. Really nothing to do with the players on the team.

Good post. That's pretty close to the way I feel. I might cheer for Carson Palmer if he pulls a Brett Favre at the end of his career... but aside from that outside chance, I cheer for jersey colors on Sunday. When the Bengals play poorly, it puts me in a poor mood for a short while, but the Simpsons and the Family Guy come on shortly thereafter and ease my suffering.

All of that to say... it's entertainment. Yes, because of the nature of competition, there is a good deal of passion involved. I feel more disgust if the Bengals lose than if an episode of The Office stinks... but it is still in the same category. I feel a connection and certain amount of loyalty to the Bengals because I grew up cheering for them and they are located about an hour from where I grew up. But the Bengals do not represent me or my values. They play a game that I enjoy watching. The only thing I really desire is for them to play that game well.

Regardless of who the owner is or what decisions are made, I will cheer for the Bengals. But I also understand that someday a new owner could move them to Los Angeles, Mexico City, or Baghdad. That connection to the Bengals could be stolen from me. I'm only a fan. My opinion doesn't matter. Marvin is right on that.

But in a very similar way, that makes my job as a fan better. Mike Brown will eventually die. The players that currently play for the Bengals will retire or change teams. But I'll still be a Bengals fan. The current outrage is only temporary, and will be even further dampened by a successful season.

I like the Bengals a lot. I get a lot of joy watching them play and screaming at the television. I even give them some of my money sometimes to watch them play, and wear clothing with their colors on them. But that's really the extent that I have my life invested in it. I'm not benefiting financially from their success - I don't have an close friends or family members on the team. In fact, I get the distinct feeling that I would probably dislike being around some of them.

So, in the end - when the Bengals pull a rather unpopular move, I don't consider quitting Bengaldom. I don't consider rooting for another team, or decide to stop watching football altogether. I just remember that everything that I have invested in this team is for the purpose of my own enjoyment. If I start taking it so seriously that I no longer enjoy it - perhaps I'll go be a Lord of the Rings geek instead. That seems pretty entertaining.

[kingwilly]

well said by all. man, there are some bright minds on this forum. and yet, here we are bengals fans.....weird.

[junglegal]

well said by all. man, there are some bright minds on this forum. and yet, here we are bengals fans.....weird.

Yep, but we could of all been born in PA and had five SB rings. I'm still trying to understand my love for the Bengals. I'll never root for Cleveland. Ever. Or Pittsburgh. Nope. Gotta love that team in Cincy that has only been to the playoffs once in fifteen years. Can't have nuthin'. Hear it helps character tho . . .

[Ickey44]

Well, if anything it proves how loyal we all are. The Bengals sure haven't given us a whole lot of reasons to be fans since 1992.

[Wraith]

I am an Indiana University Alumni, so I root for the Bengals and the Hoosiers, I used to joke that I would only root for a team if it is a perrenial loser.

Remember there are lots of AZ Cardinal and LA Clipper fans too.

[gregstephens]

Been a Bengals fan since I was 8, which is about thirty years now. Dave Shula and Dave Klingler didn't drive me away. Bruce Coslet didn't drive me away. Akili Smith didn't drive me away. I'm not always happy, and I'll piss and moan about a lot of stuff, but I'll always be a BENGALS fan. The team is bigger than the players and the owner. Chris Henry coming back has me shaking my head in some regards, but not all, and is certainly not going to accomplish what the aforementioned could not.

[damiancasey]

Well, if anything it proves how loyal we all are. The Bengals sure haven't given us a whole lot of reasons to be fans since 1992.

I just moved back to the motherland after having lived in New England for 6 years. I used to tell smug Patriots fans regularly that they weren't true fans. It's EASY to be a New England fan and it's EASY to be an Indianapolis fan. It takes discipline, patience, humility, and extreme loyalty to be a Bengals fan. Bengals fans are true fans.

[Kazkal]

Some very good posts here.

[Your(_0_)IsNext]

Very good and valid points made by many, not going to call any one poster out on this but i'm actually at a crossroads on this one, I love my Bengals but not at the exspense of ridicule and B.S jokes. I'm all about giving people chances, but i'm not about a person that blows every chance he gets. I'm willing to wager my lil paycheck that trouble has been following this kid since he was a teen and for some reason he has been able to steer clear of any serious consequences. My question is this? When will it end? When does he wake up? Last but not least, if this fool showed up at your door to date your daughter, what would you tell him?

Me... I wouldn't tell him anything, I'd shut the door in his face, turn around and tell my daughter, get your (_0_) back upstairs....lol

[gregstephens]

Very good and valid points made by many, not going to call any one poster out on this but i'm actually at a crossroads on this one, I love my Bengals but not at the exspense of ridicule and B.S jokes. I'm all about giving people chances, but i'm not about a person that blows every chance he gets. I'm willing to wager my lil paycheck that trouble has been following this kid since he was a teen and for some reason he has been able to steer clear of any serious consequences. My question is this? When will it end? When does he wake up? Last but not least, if this fool showed up at your door to date your daughter, what would you tell him?

Me... I wouldn't tell him anything, I'd shut the door in his face, turn around and tell my daughter, get your (_0_) back upstairs....lol

My daughter aside, and I agree with your point, I just want him to catch the ball and score. That's about it. The whole issue I have with the resigning is the 'hard line' approach Mikey took when he cut Henry that was obviously BS. Bottom line is, Henry is a talented third receiver and we are going to need that. Granted we won't have him for four games, but for twelve games, we should have a potent receiving corps.

[Scottishbengal]

We win together, we lose together. We rejoice together, we despair together. We each have our own cross to bear!

[Pidge]

Like any team in any sport you have to keep supporting them. You're stuck with them, good or bad.