Florio: 'Bengals care about money, not championships'

[t3r3e3]

(02-27-2021, 12:06 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Bro, I like you, but you have to know this isn't at all true.

There's so much that goes into this label beyond money spent on player's salaries.  I'm not trying to beat a dead horse by continually bringing these things up, but I think I need to explain my point.

-Small front office (No GM, family members taking up majority of spots, a singular Director (Tobin vs. multiple (Csollege, Pro)
-Small scouting department. (At one point it was the smallest in the league.  Not sure if it still is, but it's way down there)
-No indoor facility.

Then you have all of the stories over the years.  You can debate which are true, which actually matter, but I don't think you can debate the total of them helps shape the perception that this team is cheap.

-Small towels. (Kijani had to buy bath towels for the lineman because they were so bad and they wouldn't replace them)
-Coin Pop Machine.  (Fulcher's story of going to the Raiders and them laughing at him because he couldn't figure out how to pay for his soda)
-Gatorade behind lock and key. (Players were taking advantage of free gatorade, so they locked it up after practice)
-Coach plane tickets. (Tony Siragusa was sent a coach ticket for his free agency visit. Sirigusa weighed like 350 pounds)
-No soap/shampoo. (Jonathan Joseph's remark when he went to Texans about having ammentities on site)
-West Coast Hotels (Marvin had to fight for years to arrive a day earlier so they players could adjust. Mike didn't want to pay for another night)
-HDMI cables (Infamous Hard Knocks scene where players had to rent HDMI cabled for their TV's for like $10)

These are just some off the top of my head.  Again, you debate some of them, but all of the above go into the narrative this is a cheap franchise.

None are as bad as the used random jock straps in the hamper story. I think Ashley Ambrose told that one.