12-18-2022, 12:24 PM
(12-17-2022, 10:47 PM)Science Friction Wrote: I guess what I'm wanting to say is how invested are you emotionally to the Bengals and their successes and failures? When you reflect on your life's day-to-day activities, how much of a priority are the Bengals? How much time do you do you spend reading, watching, following news about the club? How hard do you take it when the team loses? Can you easily move on from a big loss or does it linger for days or even weeks? How do the Bengals' success compare to other things in your life that you appreciate and enjoy?
From the time I was a young kid growing up in SE KY, the Reds were my favorite sports team. I grew up watching the BRM and almost never missed listening to a game. I spent more time following the Reds than anything else in my life. I still love the Reds but the present ownership has dimmed my interest. That, plus baseball is just a damned mess right now.
The first NFL team I rooted for was the Oakland Raiders( Dayrle Lamonica, Fred Bilitnikoff, Dave Casper, George Blanda, Ray Guy) , mostly because Rodger Bird, from my hometown here in Corbin , was a starter in their defensive backfield. I thought it was so cool watching a guy who starred at my local high school playing for the Raiders. I became a Bengal fan in 1975 and have been a fan ever since.
The only time I ever cried at a loss in a sporting event was after the Montana to Taylor TD with :34 seconds left in Superbowl XXIII . I didn't cry last year (possibly because I'm 60 now, instead of 26) but the loss still stung. I thought about that game several times a day for at least a couple of weeks afterwards. I thought we were the better team coming in and I certainly felt like we were the better team afterwards.
During the latter Marvin years, I kinda detached myself , emotionally , from the Bengals. I still watched the games and rooted for wins but I didn't allow the inevitable crazy losses affect me like they used to. Now, I'm back to being pretty invested emotionally again, with this current roster and a ownership that seems invested in winning.
What about you? How much do you allow yourself to be invested in this team and this franchise? Loving a sports team can offer some incredible highs(think of last postseason) but can run the risk of some terrible, gutwrenching depressions. The Bengals are now my favorite sports team(even over UK basketball, which is getting more and more painful to watch by the game). Kentucky just loss to UCLA and it barely registers an emotion for me. If the Bengals lose to the Bucs tomorrow, I will probably think about it most of the week.
How important are the Bengals in your day-to-day life? How would they rank in your life's activities?
Same as you...I grew up a huge reds fan in the 80's. I couldnt have cared less about the bengals. In fact, I cant recall a single moment of bengals football until game 1 of 1988. I had watched other NFL games but not the bengals. for some reason that I cant even recall And then 1988 happened.... my interest in the reds waned to the point now where I cant even name 2 or 3 current reds but Ive been watching the bengals ever since.
I used to let a bengals loss ruin my week but now I get over it pretty quickly. I was bummed about LA last season but by two hours after the SB ended, I was pretty much over it.
