Just a positive comment on the Bengals

[BengalszoneBilly]

Usually we're not privy to very many good thing said about our Bengals by outsiders looking in. The reverse is usually the case. Hence, when I stumbled on this while surfin', I could not help but to share it here. See what a little Prime Time does for a teams perception?

I was watching the Bengals-Broncos game and I couldn't help feeling happy about seeing the Bengals and their absolutely classic helmets playing on Monday Night Football again.

I got to thinking of back in the day, of when the Bengals were actually good, and specifically of the old AFC Central. Riverfront Stadium. Three Rivers Stadium. And my all-time favorite, Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

And that made me think of the Houston Oilers. Man, I miss the Oilers. I really do. A lot. Thus, I've decided not to acknowledge the existence of the Texans. They're dead to me. When Houston received an expansion franchise it should have resurrected the Oilers name and logo. That would have been the cool thing to do.

Long live the Oilers! Long live the Oilers!

:player: He's right about the Cincinnati Bengals football helmets. :player:

:player: They've rocked like none other since the day they debuted! :player:

As far as his (true) comment on "back in the day, of when the Bengals were actually good," I'm confident in Marvins ability to accomplish it's resurrection in this "New Day of the Bengals"!

More importantly, I like his chances in this "New Day of the Bengals" to surpass the levels of success and achievements made by the team "back in the old days!"

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I actually agree with him about the Oilers, miss them. Glanville, Dishman, Lorenzo White, Moon, Givens...Givens and Dishman were characters, total trash talkers. I was at the 61-0 game at Riverfront when Wyche was still here and watched those two pick a long verbal fight with two fat guys with their shirts off flexing their muscles (or lack thereof) in the stands and it was freezing cold out behind the Oilers bench, while Wyche ran up the score for no apparent reason.

I also miss the Bucs, Broncos and Pats old uni's, at least the helmets.

It's harder for us older folks as we grew up watching those traditional uniforms for 20 or more years in some cases.

[Ox]

Here's what I miss

In 1989, Bengals head coach Sam Wyche took a microphone during the game to admonish fans who were throwing snowballs on to the field. "You don't live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati." That was all it took to calm the crowd. "I was referring to the Dawg Pound up in the Browns' stadium," Wyche said. "They would throw things at you. Snowballs. Dog bones. Batteries. It was usually just during pregame, but stuff would be thrown out there." They've always been rowdy in Cleveland. Not rowdy in the sense of exuberant support for your team, but rowdy like a bully taking cheap shots at people for fun. What happened in Cleveland yesterday sickens me, but it does not surprise me.

Ahhh yes the days of the battery throwing loud mouth Turds fans. Oh what was that? Things really haven't changed? Go figure.

http://www.footballproject.com/2001/00000037.html

[bengalindian]

Man, I miss those days too....though I'm not old enough to remember them. I've heard enough from my Dad and uncles about when they went to the Chargers playoff game and how it was to watch the Bengals win and actually instill fear in the other teams. :player:

Oh well, I guess I'll get my chance starting this year and for many years to come!

WHO DEY

[BeyondTheJungle]

I was at the "you don't live in Cleveland" game. I guess I was 12 years old. I'll never forget how the crowd reacted when Wyche made that announcement. There was such an amazing pride in the fact that WE were from Cincinnati and THOSE PEOPLE were from Cleveland.

[TecmoFever]

Those were the days. Young BengalIndian (you're probably not much younger than me, but I've been a diehard since age 6), I was at that game when Wyche said that about Cleveland. IT WAS AWESOME!!

If only I was at the game where Wyche showed absolutely no class in calling for an onside kick late in the game of a 61-7 butt-kicking of the Glanville-led Oilers. What a perfect non-gentleman thing to do.

Now that's nostalgia!

[jjakq27]

I actually agree with him about the Oilers, miss them. Glanville, Dishman, Lorenzo White, Moon, Givens...Givens and Dishman were characters, total trash talkers. I was at the 61-0 game at Riverfront when Wyche was still here and watched those two pick a long verbal fight with two fat guys with their shirts off flexing their muscles (or lack thereof) in the stands and it was freezing cold out behind the Oilers bench, while Wyche ran up the score for no apparent reason.

I also miss the Bucs, Broncos and Pats old uni's, at least the helmets.

It's harder for us older folks as we grew up watching those traditional uniforms for 20 or more years in some cases.

Sam had an axe to grind with Glanville because I believe earlier in the year Wyche felt like JG was running up the score. In the rematch I think it was 28-0 in the first quarter.

I think Sam had issues with Chuck Noll also. One of Noll's assistant coaches coined the name "Wicky-Wacky" in reference to some of Sam's innovations. I can't remember who the Browns coach was at the time but I think he had some moral dilemma with that guy too. I think Marty was gone by then so I don't hink it was him and I don't think it was Belichick either. Anyway Sam had issues with all of the coaches in the division.

I also miss James Brooks for one thing in particular. Once he outran Clay Matthews for a touchdown and turned around and fired the football at his feet for the spike. It was the ultimate in-your-face. Today that would have gotten him 15 yards but it was Brooks letting him know he wasn't backing down.

[bengalindian]

Those were the days. Young BengalIndian (you're probably not much younger than me, but I've been a diehard since age 6), I was at that game when Wyche said that about Cleveland. IT WAS AWESOME!!

Haha, yeah I've been a Bengals fan since I can remember, so that would be about age 6, which would put me at a Bengals fan since right after they stopped going to the playoffs. Sam Wyche actually used to live across the street from our house currently (though we didn't live there at the same time).

Man, am I pumped about this year.

[TecmoFever]

Beyond the Jungle--

That was well said. I was 11 years old at the time and you hit it on the head when you said that there was pride in being a Bengals fan.

It will come again!!

(I'm starting to wonder if I was really at that game or not. I wonder if I live in reality or in an alternate Bengals dream universe and just wanted to be at that game. Were they playing the Seahawks and did Steve Largent score his 100th career TD that game? If so, then it was all true and my dream has become a reality.)

[TecmoFever]

I also miss James Brooks for one thing in particular. Once he outran Clay Matthews for a touchdown and turned around and fired the football at his feet for the spike. It was the ultimate in-your-face.

Wasn't that game on Monday night, too? Those were the days. Of course, I could be dreaming that up, too.

Who else cried hard after the Bengals lost Super Bowl XXIII? I was ten years old and our whole church got together to watch it. Everybody kept telling that it was okay and looked at me like I was a little strange. I realized then that my love for the Bengals was not shared by everyone. Then I cried a little more.

That was your "Deep Thoughts...by Grant Dawson" for the day.

[BeyondTheJungle]

Beyond the Jungle--

That was well said. I was 11 years old at the time and you hit it on the head when you said that there was pride in being a Bengals fan.

It will come again!!

(I'm starting to wonder if I was really at that game or not. I wonder if I live in reality or in an alternate Bengals dream universe and just wanted to be at that game. Were they playing the Seahawks and did Steve Largent score his 100th career TD that game? If so, then it was all true and my dream has become a reality.)

That sounds about right to me. I definitely remember being at the game where Largent caught #100. I also checked the Bengals history and there were only 2 December games in 1989, one of which was against the Seahawks.

I'm with you on the Super Bowl XXIII loss. I remember trying to bargain with the powers that be that if Boomer could lead us down the field in 34 seconds that I'd be good for the rest of my 6th grade year.

[San Antonio Bengal]

I grew up more of a baseball fan rather than a football fan. But football came along in due time. I remember Superbowl XXIII. I remember my mom telling me to really enjoy it because there wasn't any guarantee that the Bengals would be back next year. I didn't believe her. I knew that Cincinnati would be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. I just didn't know the the force would be at the bottom of the AFC Central. What's the lesson? Always listen to your mother.

And hearing Wyche say "you're not in Cleveland! You're in Cincinnati!" still sends shivers down my spine. No matter how bad the Bengals may be, at least we're not Cleveland!

[BengalszoneBilly]

Speaking of Cleveland fans and their notoriously violent and highly improper behavior, why hasn't the Browns #1 fan, Cleveland native and television funnyman Drew Carey ever done any skits on his show on this topic? There has to be at least a few laughs flying around among the barrage of batteries and beer bottles at a Cleveland game, wouldn't you think?

[ArmyBengal]

God, I miss those times as well... My Dad and I always went to the games together when he had season tickets. The two tickets were for him and Mom, but she never wanted to go, so there I was all through grade school going to Bengals games every Sunday with the Dad !! It was awesome !! The Cleveland game with the Wyche comment was classic and the AFC Championship against the Chargers, "The Freezer Bowl" was incredible as well. I froze my giblets off !!!

One thing I remember most is the bathrooms being closed because the pipes were frozen. Ah, the good old days !!! Oh yeah, we have the best helmets in the NFL and Kyle Boller sucks !!!

WHODEY !!!

[HairOnFire]

Sam had an axe to grind with Glanville because I believe earlier in the year Wyche felt like JG was running up the score. In the rematch I think it was 28-0 in the first quarter.

I had already moved to southern California when that game was played so I probably have a unique perspective. I was sitting in the stands watching as the Rams played the Jets, and odd as it might sound I was wearing my favorite Bengal jersey. The complete stranger sitting to my right must have noticed because at some point during the game he got my attention and pointed to the scoreboard now showing the early score of the Bengal game. We shared a laugh or two and then both of us got back to watching the game being played. What happened in the coming hours was something I had never experienced before. Every time the Bengal score was updated the crowd of non-Bengal fans reacted loudly....and positively. Maybe they were cheering for the Bengals or maybe they were just laughing at the Oilers. Who knows? By far the funniest moment came after a long period where the score hadn't been updated....prompting the fans around me to guess what the next number would be. Thirty-five? Forty-something? Nope, up popped a fifty plus. It was hilarious.

[jjakq27]

Beyond the Jungle--

(I'm starting to wonder if I was really at that game or not. I wonder if I live in reality or in an alternate Bengals dream universe and just wanted to be at that game. Were they playing the Seahawks and did Steve Largent score his 100th career TD that game? If so, then it was all true and my dream has become a reality.)

That sounds about right to me. I definitely remember being at the game where Largent caught #100. I also checked the Bengals history and there were only 2 December games in 1989, one of which was against the Seahawks.

Yes that famous "call" by Sam was during that Seattle game and Largent did catch his 100th TD in that game. The Bengals lost that game which probably cost them making the playoffs even though they lost to Minnesota on Monday Night on the last game of the year.

Also I checked on the Jerry Galnville-Sam Wyche thing too. I was mistaken earlier when I said JG ran up the score earlier in the season. That game was a 26-24 loss at Houston. The game Sam was upset about was at the end of the 1988 season. The Oilers beat the Bengals 41-6 at Houston in week 15. But Sam wasn't bitter.

[bengalskyspy]

It was January 22, 1989, and my daughter had just been born 5 days earlier, 16 weeks pre-mature, 1 lb and 10 oz. She had been clinging to life for that whole week, struggling to breath with lungs that were not ready to breath, eyes still closed and not ready to see. Her odds of survival were far less than those for the Bengals to prevail against San Francisco in the SuperBowl that day.

The nurses in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit of Good Samaritan Hospital were, like all of us in Cincinnati, electrified by the achievement and appearance of the hometown team in the SuperBowl. They dressed the premies in Bengal-striped onesies and skull caps for the occasion. I kept thinking that somehow the outcome of this game might be in some way related to my daughter's fate. We win, she lives. We lose, well I didn't want to think about that.

We all watched, and we all cried, as our hopes were dashed in the final seconds of that game. And we can all mark that as the beginning of a long and miserable decline in the Bengals franchise.

It is 2005, and my daughter is 16 years old, an artist, and a free-spirit. She doesn't really care at all about the Bengals. Whether they win or lose doesn't affect her. Never did.

And losing that game on January 22, 1989, and all the losses since then, don't really affect us or the 2005 Bengals either. When the Bengals return to play in another SuperBowl, we will all be electrified by the achievement and appearance of our hometown team. And this time they might just win. But it still won't really matter. :player:

[R-U-D-I]

January 2001 my son was born 15 weeks premature at 2 lbs even. Spent 11 weeks at Good Sam NICU - great nurses, great care. No super bowl ties, but he's now 4 - extremely small still, looking at needing growth hormone therapy - but he's a HUGE Bengals fan. Goes nuts when he see's them on TV, he saw CJ on the best hands competition and started jumping up and down clapping saying, Daddy, Bengals - let's watch football!!!

No matter what the Bengals do, there will always be more important things in life. But, given the opportunity, every Sunday this fall, I'll be watching the game with both my boys.

[TecmoFever]

I'm not understanding all this talk about there being more important things in life than the Bengals.

I have a beautiful 15-month old daughter and twins (one boy, one girl) due in the next two weeks, but my mind is far from all of that. What is on my mind is who the Bengals are going to take in the draft and whether they'll trade down. My mind is on how we're going to stop the run this year and whether Carson Palmer can lead us to the promised land. All that other stuff will just take care of itself.

Putting things back in perspective...

(That is a wink on the icon. I am joking...mostly.)

[bengalskyspy]

Dont get me wrong fellas. I will definitely be there in the Club Seats on Sundays, maybe even with my daughter. And for 3 hours, nothing else matters. Who-dey!

[HairOnFire]

All I know is that kids are sticky and far more expensive than a nice roadster. So all things considered...I'm glad I had my wires cut.

[BengalszoneBilly]

So all things considered...I'm glad I had my wires cut.

AHHHHH! Okay, okay!!! We get the point! Talking about your kids is just fine. Good wholesome stuff. But talkin' about any kind of surgical snippin' in the sensitive area that "my Boy's" call home down there just makes me cringe up big time!