BengalNation1281 Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 It has been a while since I have been in the Zone, and I felt that there was never going to be a better time to come back than right now. As I sit in my family room that is painted orange with tiger stripes (the first thing that I did when we bought our house in May) surrounded by my Bengals accessories and various other Bengals paraphenalia, I think about how far we have come in the six years of the Marvin Lewis era.Six years ago on Monday, 11/16/03, we dealt the 9-0 Chiefs their first loss of the season. I was surrounded by my Bengal Nation family and a mob of bitter Chiefs fans at Cafe Chicago (RIP) here in Wichita, and the feeling of pure elation I had that day is one that has only been eclipsed on two other occasions, one being my wedding day and the other being the day that my Parker (who is growing into his Bengals fandom as we speak) was born. I, like the rest of us, spent so many years waiting for a day like that; a day when Bengals fans could hold their heads high and proudly proclaim that we were finally getting something in return for our years of love and patience in the face of hapless teams and near-constant losing. We have seen times since then that gave us joy (2005) and broke our hearts (the playoff game, losing three in a row to end 2006, all of 2008), but I do not believe that we have seen anything quite like what we are about to see tomorrow. For tomorrow at 12:00 CST, we will step onto the field with the hated Pittsburgh Steelers as something that I have not seen in my fifteen years as a Bengals fan: We will step onto the field as equals, as competitors truly worthy of their respect, as a team that is as complete and as dominant as any Bengals team that I have seen. And while I do not know that we will walk away victorious, being able to see that validates me. It should validate all of us.Six years ago, we truly started a turnaround. Let's hope that tomorrow starts the next chapter.And if anyone calls you a bandwagoner after tomorrow, you have my permission to punch them in the face.Who Dey, and God Bless. *BN1281*Wichita, KSEmerson Biggins (Home of Bengal Nation)2330 N Maize, Suite 100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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