04-21-2017, 11:24 AM
(04-21-2017, 01:25 AM)Shake n Blake Wrote: 1. Fans = customers, so he should care what we think. Not for personnel decisions and day to day details, but he should be willing to do whatever it takes to WIN in order to please his customers. No offense, but this attitude that Mike owes nothing to his fans/customers is beyond ridiculous to me. No other owner of a sports franchise acts apathetic towards their fan base. In fact, they go out of their ways to show respect and appreciation for their fans and at least appear they're doing all they can to produce winners.
They realize that fans are the ones paying for their stadiums, watching their commercials, buying tickets and merch, etc. We deserve to have owners that not only respect us in return, but want to do everything in their power to reciprocate that loyalty. Unfortunately for us, we follow one of the only sports franchises where this can even be a discussion.
I think most will readily admit that Mike hasn't done everything in his power to field a real championship contender, and that's sad. We should expect more.
I just personally feel like this "I'm entitled because I bought a bengals T-shirt and a who dey foam finger last year" logic is flawed. You bought that T-shirt and foam finger on your own volition. You tuned in or attended the game on Sunday because of nobody but yourself.
I also think that saying he doesn't care about the fans at all is flawed. Call it a canned letter, fluff, poop on a stick, Call it what you want. But The letter at the top of this thread is proof that he cares. Who am I (or you) to decide his intentions behind the letter? He didn't have to release anything at all. In fact, he may have been better off if he hadn't, which is sad.
This fanbase is jaded and maybe for good reason. We have endured a lot of agony (33 years for me), so I get it. But what I can't wrap my head around is asking for him to show he cares but rejecting his efforts to show said care. No matter what he does unless it is EXACTLY what we want, he can't win. And maybe he has earned that. But For the most part, this team has been competitive for a decade. We have watched some talented teams (that he has had a hand in putting together) pee the bed in the playoffs. the talent has been there though and he has funded it the entire time if I'm not mistaken.
Also, I'm not sure and I'm not willing to do the leg work on the research, but I'm guessing that the cap space numbers are not nearly as eye popping when it comes to cheapness as many want to believe. People really need to leave the 90's in the 90's. The narrative that there hasn't been change when it comes to the front office is simply not true. It is run much differently than it was then. Could it be better? Yep. But I Would wager that most fan bases think this way. Nothing is perfect.
