Even with my brother on the phone after the game, being his normal bring down, sadistic, negative, horses rear end.

Much like the movie City Slickers : The Legend Of Curly's Gold. After it was over. As my brother on the phone trying to make it worse. I said like in the movie, " Why Don't I Feel Worse ".

Much like the movie, it was a great adventure. Back in summer I had hoped the Bengals would rise up from 4 wins and maybe get 8 wins. I hoped Joe Burrow would be OK after his surgery. I hoped the O Line wouldn't get him injured again. He did end up the most sacked quarterback in the NFL. Somehow he survived the season. The Bengals had a great season, made the play-offs. Then for first time in 31 years the Bengals WON in the Play-Offs. That nightmare streak ended. Then the Bengals won 3 Play-Off Games in all to WIN THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP. Then Bengals went to The SUPER BOWL. They had the lead in second half, but lost at end of game by 3 points. They played hard and gave it their all. Joe Burrow came out of the season pretty healthy, which was a huge concern of mine. The team went farther than anyone expected back last Summer.

Maybe at age 67, I'm just getting older. Maybe after my Mom and later my Wife dying, nothing is that bad. Still, that's NOT it. The real truth is that I enjoyed the season. The Bengals played 21 games, plus preseason. I really enjoyed this season. I just don't feel that bad after the Super Bowl. Much like the Legend Of Curly's Gold, I had fun, it was a great adventure, a fun season.

They slayed a lot of demons this year, and got way beyond the biggest dreamers expectations.

It was probably the worst I've felt after a Bengals loss in my lifetime, but this was the only Bengal SB I've been alive for. There's definitely a silver lining, but damn we had that game IMO

(02-16-2022, 10:18 AM)kevin Wrote: Even with my brother on the phone after the game, being his normal bring down, sadistic, negative, horses rear end.

Much like the movie City Slickers : The Legend Of Curly's Gold.  After it was over.  As my brother on the phone trying to make it worse. I said like in the movie, " Why Don't I Feel Worse ".  

Much like the movie, it was a great adventure. Back in summer I had hoped the Bengals would rise up from 4 wins and maybe get 8 wins. I hoped Joe Burrow would be OK after his surgery. I hoped the O Line wouldn't get him injured again. He did end up the most sacked quarterback in the NFL. Somehow he survived the season. The Bengals had a great season, made the play-offs.  Then for first time in 31 years the Bengals WON in the Play-Offs. That nightmare streak ended. Then the Bengals won 3 Play-Off Games in all to WIN THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP.  Then Bengals went to The SUPER BOWL.  They had the lead in second half, but lost at end of game by 3 points. They played hard and gave it their all. Joe Burrow came out of the season pretty healthy, which was a huge concern of mine.  The team went farther than anyone expected back last Summer.

Maybe at age 67, I'm just getting older.  Maybe after my Mom and later my Wife dying, nothing is that bad.  Still, that's NOT it.  The real truth is that I enjoyed the season.  The Bengals played 21 games, plus preseason. I really enjoyed this season.  I just don't feel that bad after the Super Bowl.  Much like the Legend Of Curly's Gold, I had fun, it was a great adventure, a fun season.

   

Because deep down you know in your heart with this team we'll be back....

(02-16-2022, 10:22 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: It was probably the worst I've felt after a Bengals loss in my lifetime,  but this was the only Bengal SB I've been alive for. There's definitely a silver lining, but damn we had that game IMO

If it wasn't for that bullshit call, I would've been slightly disappointed that we lost (we came so close) but recognized we had a helluva year. That call, though, makes it hard to swallow the loss. I'm getting to the point where I can celebrate our accomplishments this year (like Burrow said in his post-game presser), but I'm not quite there, yet.

(02-16-2022, 10:31 AM)PhilHos Wrote: If it wasn't for that bullshit call, I would've been slightly disappointed that we lost (we came so close) but recognized we had a helluva year. That call, though, makes it hard to swallow the loss. I'm getting to the point where I can celebrate our accomplishments this year (like Burrow said in his post-game presser), but I'm not quite there, yet.

Ikr. For 58 minutes the refs miss hard-to-see-realtime calls and call the obvious. The rest of the game they make their own calls.- If this is the case, I'd rather have the Sensitive Crew on the field to cut out all the bullshit and call the game evenly throughout.

I’m the same way. I was over it pretty much the second the clock hit zero. It was an amazing season. Far better than ANYONE could have imagined. This wasn’t supposed to be our year. We will be BETTER next year unless the FO completely sh!ts the bed. This team also EARNED our trust and the benefit of the doubt this year. This offseason and next season are gonna be an even better ride than 2021!

I feel like we're used to tempering our expectations as Bengals fans...

That said, once teams start playing for championships...like if somehow we wouldn't make the playoffs next year, it would feel bad. The bar is set high. Steelers/Chiefs/and some other fanbases expect a Super Bowl every year which is unrealistic. But, that's sports.

The loss stings a little less for me today. It was weird, all my friends that like the Steelers were rooting for us. And I was like, Not allowed on the bandwagon! Winning a SB would have gave us legitimacy for years. Losing, I don't know. I don't remember who lost the SB 2 years ago. I remember who won it.

(02-16-2022, 10:25 AM)Interceptor Wrote: Because deep down you know in your heart with this team we'll be back....

No that's not it. I wish that was it. If that works for you, more power to you.  Deep down I know how hard it is to keep a team together and get back to The Super Bowl.  I DID ENJOY THIS SEASON.  I just don't feel that bad after the Super Bowl.  I wanted to wait a couple days to post this, because I assumed most felt awful on Monday.  I Enjoyed This Season. I really don't feel that bad.

(02-16-2022, 10:22 AM)michaelsean Wrote: They slayed a lot of demons this year, and got way beyond the biggest dreamers expectations.

So True

(02-16-2022, 10:31 AM)PhilHos Wrote: If it wasn't for that bullshit call, I would've been slightly disappointed that we lost (we came so close) but recognized we had a helluva year. That call, though, makes it hard to swallow the loss. I'm getting to the point where I can celebrate our accomplishments this year (like Burrow said in his post-game presser), but I'm not quite there, yet.

I think we'll be back, and we'll be back soon. We swept the Chiefs last year and I do think they're the second best team in the AFC behind us. With an upgraded OL the offense shouldn't sputter like they did in the post season. I have really high hopes for this team and I really think this can be our decade, not even year. We've seen how having the best QB puts you in the SB more times than not in recent history, and I don't think anyone will be better than Joe the next decade 

The what-ifs are eating me alive.

The Jungle seems to be taking it ok. As far as getting any respect from outside of the Jungle. All seems lost as far as the opinions on the Bengals missing their only shot, not being real, returning to a more negative national discourse surrounding the team. Being so close to legitimacy is painful. But for many Bengals fans and our past, this season was certainly a highlight season.

For the rest of the NFL world, it has slowly reverted into the exception for the Franchise not the rule. Not some significant turnaround moment.

A win would have done more for the Bengals then almost any other team in the league as far as changing perception. And we were so close. That's painful, and still hard to come to terms with.

I was and am still pissed at the FO for letting this Oline go on like this. They did make some moves that enabled the team to reach the SB, but look at the price Joe paid personally for their stupidity.. Sure they picked up guys to shore up the D line down the stretch, but just kept gambling on Adeniji and Carmen knowing they might get Joe injured bad enough to miss an entire season..
As far as them losing ...ehhh.. I ran it over and over in my mind Sunday night trying to sleep so I was wiped out Monday, but I don't feel bitter and after having seen 3 go down the tubes it feels really Buffaloish anymore.. If it were anyone but Stafford tossing the winning pass I'd probably still be steaming, I don't know.. I do know I've been through far bigger disappointments in my life like a wife walking out on me and my kids.. I've reached the age when this kind of stuff just doesn't gnaw at me forever.. It takes a hell of a lot more than losing a game to get my goat and as far as my feelings? If I haven't murdered someone yet they're not trying hard enough to make me feel bad.. I just don't allow anyone to kick my emotions around like that anymore.. 
What I really hope is that Joe pounds on Mike Brown's door to let him know under no circumstances will he stay after his contract is up if the line isn't addressed. Hell, I wouldn't blame him if he pulled a Palmer move if they don't fix it.. 

(02-16-2022, 11:41 AM)jj22 Wrote: The Jungle seems to be taking it ok. As far as getting any respect from outside of the Jungle. All seems lost as far as the opinions on the Bengals missing their only shot, not being real, returning to a more negative national discourse surrounding the team. Being so close to legitimacy is painful. But for many Bengals fans and our past, this season was certainly a highlight season.

For the rest of the NFL world, it has slowly reverted into the exception for the Franchise not the rule. Not some significant turnaround moment.

A win would have done more for the Bengals then almost any other team in the league as far as changing perception. And we were so close. That's painful, and still hard to come to terms with.

No one knows what the future holds. But I like our chances to get back and win. and Honestly I could care less about perception. People will always find a way to dog us. Even if we won, it would have been because we were lucky and whatever.

(02-16-2022, 10:38 AM)kevin Wrote: No that's not it. I wish that was it. If that works for you, more power to you.  Deep down I know how hard it is to keep a team together and get back to The Super Bowl.  I DID ENJOY THIS SEASON.  I just don't feel that bad after the Super Bowl.  I wanted to wait a couple days to post this, because I assumed most felt awful on Monday.  I Enjoyed This Season.  I really don't feel that bad.

I'm there with you.  XVI and XXIII were much tougher pills to swallow, and I was crushed after both.  This one doesn't hurt as much.  I was upset Sunday night, but that has faded.  Optimism about the team might have a little to do with it, but I suspect age is a much bigger factor.  60 is dawning on my horizon, and the things that once seemed so important are less so.  I decided before the season to sell my seat licenses, so maybe that has something to do with it, just disconnecting a bit from the team.  I don't know.  But bottom line, I get where you're coming from.  

Our core players are still under contract for the foreseeable future with just a few exceptions. A lot of FA's will go like they always do, but there will be other FA's to pick up as well. There were unprecedented numbers of players on 1 year deals meaning there will be a lot to chose from and I have to assume a lot of them will want to play for Joe, Ja'marr and some others.. 

(02-16-2022, 11:59 AM)Awful Llama Wrote: I'm there with you.  XVI and XXIII were much tougher pills to swallow, and I was crushed after both.  This one doesn't hurt as much.  I was upset Sunday night, but that has faded.  Optimism about the team might have a little to do with it, but I suspect age is a much bigger factor.  60 is dawning on my horizon, and the things that once seemed so important are less so.  I decided before the season to sell my seat licenses, so maybe that has something to do with it, just disconnecting a bit from the team.  I don't know.  But bottom line, I get where you're coming from.  

That's because when we were kids we had to walk 15 miles in the snow, barefoot on broken glass with out brothers on our backs, uphill in BOTH directions with mad dogs at every corner just to watch a game on TV..and all the TVs had really crappy rooftop antennas..   

That doesn't even mention how Ma Bell would send three big guys to your house to break your kneecaps if you messed with one of their telephones bolted to the kitchen wall...and our mom's had no qualms about turning us in for it.. 

Same Kevin. What a ride this season was. It sucked to lose, but I was over it Sunday night as I hit the pillow. This team overachieved, and if they make the right moves this off-season, that should serve them well moving forward. One thing's for sure, they damn well knew we were there

(02-16-2022, 11:59 AM)Awful Llama Wrote: I'm there with you.  XVI and XXIII were much tougher pills to swallow, and I was crushed after both.  This one doesn't hurt as much.  I was upset Sunday night, but that has faded.  Optimism about the team might have a little to do with it, but I suspect age is a much bigger factor.  60 is dawning on my horizon, and the things that once seemed so important are less so.  I decided before the season to sell my seat licenses, so maybe that has something to do with it, just disconnecting a bit from the team.  I don't know.  But bottom line, I get where you're coming from.  

I was a little too young to recall the first one, but the second one hurt because of the way we dominated all year long. I just knew we had that one. This year was vastly different. We had to go on the road throughout the playoffs, minus the wild card. We weren't even supposed to have a winning season. These guys just kept finding ways to gut out wins. I think I was just so damn proud of them for even making it, that the loss just didn't linger as much as it did in the past. Also, we gave them all they wanted. I would have taken it harder if we had gotten blown out after so many comebacks to make it to the dance. They showed up, despite the shortcomings of the team vs a juggernaut. To your point, being older probably has some to do with it too.