I for one as a diehard Bengals fan know my heart doesn't give me a choice in the matter, but the more I think about it and for some reason feel positive moving forward, granted their isn't much evidence to support my intoxication of optimism but I for one will be "staying the course". :andy:

Stay the course...

Falter in Primetime
Get beat up and abused by the Steelers. Mocked by them all season with td celebrations etc.
average 7/8 win seasons.
Sticking with Vets past their prime (Johnson, Jones, and Lafell).
Ideal of Free Agency is singing a MLB (but hey at least they went young this time).
Losing all the good coaches we ever had and being left once again with Marvin.
Empty stadium, unable to even sell out primetime games against the Steelers.
Undisciplined team.
No championship poise.
Unable to control players.
No accountability unless your Ross.
Draft injured players in the first round (or a CB).
Blowing halftime leads.

This course leads to a cliff and we all know it.

(01-04-2018, 10:41 AM)jj22 Wrote: Stay the course...

Falter in Primetime
Get beat up and abused by the Steelers. Mocked by them all season with td celebrations etc.
average 7/8 win seasons.
Sticking with Vets past their prime (Johnson, Jones, and Lafell).
Ideal of Free Agency is singing a MLB (but hey at least they went young this time).
Losing all the good coaches we ever had and being left once again with Marvin.
Empty stadium, unable to even sell out primetime games against the Steelers.
Undisciplined team.
No championship poise.
Unable to control players.
No accountability unless your Ross.
Draft injured players in the first round (or a CB).
Blowing halftime leads.

This course leads to a cliff  and we all know it.

(01-04-2018, 10:41 AM)jj22 Wrote: Stay the course...

Falter in Primetime
Get beat up and abused by the Steelers. Mocked by them all season with td celebrations etc.
average 7/8 win seasons.
Sticking with Vets past their prime (Johnson, Jones, and Lafell).
Ideal of Free Agency is singing a MLB (but hey at least they went young this time).
Losing all the good coaches we ever had and being left once again with Marvin.
Empty stadium, unable to even sell out primetime games against the Steelers.
Undisciplined team.
No championship poise.
Unable to control players.
No accountability unless your Ross.
Draft injured players in the first round (or a CB).
Blowing halftime leads.

This course leads to a cliff  and we all know it.

Now now......there could be a new whipping boy soon enough.  Changes, we got 'em!

I'm gonna hang around and see if they're finally, really gonna try and win. Or if they're just blowing our skirts up.....again.

If they're really gonna get some top tier FA's, if they're really gonna cut the deadwood, if they're really gonna play the best players or let the coaching/owner favorites stink it up. And on and on

But I'm from Missouri from here on out, they're gonna have to show me

I'm still here. This is my team 'til one of us dies... officially.

(01-04-2018, 10:39 AM)740Bengal Wrote: I for one as a diehard Bengals fan know my heart doesn't give me a choice in the matter, but the more I think about it and for some reason feel positive moving forward, granted their isn't much evidence to support my intoxication of optimism but I for one will be "staying the course".   :andy:

Yeah, me too.

I would say I'm more intrigued than optimistic (not allowing myself to get optimistic next season unless we start 6-0!!!)

Been a strange season and I would never have thought we would actually can an OC 2 games in, can Alexander ever, Marv leak a story nationally saying he was leaving and then stay, maybe a new DC.....I know it will probably end up the same next year but at least there is the promise of a slightly different journey to failure!!  

.... hows that for positive thinking

(01-04-2018, 10:39 AM)740Bengal Wrote: I for one as a diehard Bengals fan know my heart doesn't give me a choice in the matter, but the more I think about it and for some reason feel positive moving forward, granted their isn't much evidence to support my intoxication of optimism but I for one will be "staying the course".   :andy:

Who is "staying the course"? The Bengals are, of course!

Let's see what their first game in 2018 is like.

(01-04-2018, 11:38 AM)Interceptor Wrote: Let's see what their first game in 2018 is like.

DILLY DILLY!

I will always stay the course. How interested and how much I pay attention is yet to be determined. We shall see what happens in FA.

Battered fan syndrome is real.

You guys are surely making MB proud.

I'm taking names, and none of yall bet not say a word when we get destroyed by the Steelers, lack half time adjustments, and falter in primetime again. Mods pin this thread.

Let's "stay the course" with a head coach who:

1) Has a 0-7 playoff record in 15 years.
2) Has never gotten a 1st round bye in 15 years.
3) Has only won the division four times in 15 years.
4) Has a pathetic record in prime time in 15 years.
5) Has an even more pathetic record against a heated divisional rival in 15 years.
6) Thought it wasn't his job to motivate players for the last 15 years.
7) Has been condescending to the media and (by extension) the fanbase for 15 years.
8) Could not make halftime adjustments in 15 years.
9) Could not manage the clock in 15 years.
10) Was unwilling to give rookies a chance in favor of old, broken-down veterans for 15 years.

Gee, I'm on pins and needles trying to predict how the next two years are going to go.

(01-04-2018, 10:39 AM)740Bengal Wrote: I for one as a diehard Bengals fan know my heart doesn't give me a choice in the matter, but the more I think about it and for some reason feel positive moving forward, granted their isn't much evidence to support my intoxication of optimism but I for one will be "staying the course".   :andy:

Well, I'll always be a Bengals fan if that's what you mean by staying the course.

However, I don't support the move to bring Marvin back. It was a lazy, uninspired move by Mike and Katie. They literally looked at the playoff record, primetime record, Steelers home record, back to back losing seasons, and all the second half meltdowns over the last 15 years and said 'Yup, good enough for us. No need to change'.

It's great that you're still optimistic though. I just don't share that optimism right now.

I am. I can't help but cheer for the team in tiger stripes. It's a compulsion that goes back to something that was ingrained in me at a very young age. Even the last four games when I knew that draft position was going to be negatively impacted by winning and a good showing meant Marvin was more likely to come back I still couldn't not pull for them. They're my team for whatever reason.

I'm staying the course for 3 specific reasons:

1. In my personal real world life the crappy management of my favorite football team is small in the grand scheme of things. I follow the Bengals (and Reds and Blue Jackets) because they're sometimes fun and even when they're not they're an ultimately unimportant distraction from real world BS. Even griping about something trivial like a football team, venting to friends about how stupid they are, while ignoring actual problems is fun in its own way. It's important to keep perspective. I used to get so angry at Bengals losses that I was basically useless until Tuesday. The ONE good thing about the loss to the Steelers in 2015 is I just stopped caring so much. I was a wreck for days, but it sort of broke me from caring. Ever since, win or loss, I just haven't been as emotionally invested and I move in a matter of minutes.

2. I love the city of Cincinnati, my adopted home town. I grew up in Columbus, I've lived in Seattle and Atlanta, and I travel a lot for work. Cincinnati is the easiest place I've ever lived. It took me living elsewhere and moving back to realize that we really do have it pretty good here. At the very least, it’s not worse than anywhere else and it’s getting better all the time. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. In my life right now this is the best time to be a Cincinnati resident. I bring all of that up to say that it’s really cool that this nationally ignored middle-sized city in the middle of the country has an NFL team. When I lived in Seattle people had an understanding of where I was from because of the Bengals. Just having a team legitimizes us because only 30 cities in the world have a team. The clock is sort of ticking and counting down to 2026 and who knows what happens then. We may have a hard deadline to win a Super Bowl.

3. Going through these bad times makes us better than Steelers fans. Do you have any respect for Steelers fans? What about Patriots fans? I don’t. Every season they get to watch, at worst, very competitive football. They never have to question their loyalty, they never have to say things like “I can’t keep giving money to this crappy team”. They never feel the hopelessness of a bad owner. None of us have any control over what happens on the field, but things always work out for them so for them it's just easier and I can't respect that. Being a fan of those teams is a playing the game on Rookie Mode. We’re playing the game on All-Madden. I have respect for Browns fans, Bills fans, Lions fans, and fans of regularly crappy teams because I know what they go through. Look at the Bills fans right now. They're so happy just to be in the playoffs they've raised almost 300K for Andy Dalton's foundation. Can you imagine Patriots fans or Steelers fans raising any money for Andy Dalton just for getting them to the playoffs? No way. They’re too jaded and spoiled. No, wear these bad times like a badge of honor. We’re better fans because we’ve been through the suckage.

(01-04-2018, 12:16 PM)Striper Wrote: I'm staying the course for 3 specific reasons:

....

3. Going through these bad times makes us better than Steelers fans. Do you have any respect for Steelers fans? What about Patriots fans? I don’t. Every season they get to watch, at worst, very competitive football. They never have to question their loyalty, they never have to say things like “I can’t keep giving money to this crappy team”. They never feel the hopelessness of a bad owner. None of us have any control over what happens on the field, but things always work out for them so for them it's just easier and I can't respect that. Being a fan of those teams is a playing the game on Rookie Mode. We’re playing the game on All-Madden. I have respect for Browns fans, Bills fans, Lions fans, and fans of regularly crappy teams because I know what they go through. Look at the Bills fans right now. They're so happy just to be in the playoffs they've raised almost 300K for Andy Dalton's foundation. Can you imagine Patriots fans or Steelers fans raising any money for Andy Dalton just for getting them to the playoffs? No way. They’re too jaded and spoiled. No, wear these bad times like a badge of honor. We’re better fans because we’ve been through the suckage.

Most Steelers fans born past 1980 are bandwagon jumpers. 
My sister has been a Patriots fan since 1981 - ugly helmet and all. And yet, the rings....

Most fans are front runners, especially the younger Steeler fans, they don't have the mental toughness to root for anyone else.

Just from a roster and talent standpoint i don't see how a quick turn around is possible. We need a RT, RG, Center, LT, a WR 2 and WR3 that can get consistently open, a DT next to Geno , at least 2 linebackers, Burfict gets hurt all the time in game and is always one hit away from being suspended for the year, and we need a safety that can actually cover and make a play on the ball. Sorry not getting all worked up about what I saw from two games at the end of the season. Not going into an off season confident thinking Tyler Boyd while be able to get open based off two games at the end of the year when he was MIA all season long , or that Clint Boling can be a LT , or that Westeman and Redmond can be quality starting guards sounds like the perfect Hobson fluff article to me. Pacman will probably get arrested again this off season and still start over Jackson III and Dre will cover the other teams best WR and get burned all day while clapping after making a tackle 12 yards down field. The free agent linemen class is not great plus i still don't believe we'll sign any free agents of worth. Now factor in Marvin not being able to manage the clock or make adjustments or win big games. Also if you add all these new players and coaches it will take them time to adjust playing with each other and in a new system.

I'll take my cue from Otis:
"Looks like nothings gonna change
everything still remains the same.
I can't do what ten people tell me to do,
so I guess i'll remain the same."

For good or bad, the Bengals are the only team I have a real passion for, i'll just have to dial down expectations. The only other team that really moves the meter for me at all is whoever plays the Steelers. For that reason alone, I will never hate the Patriots.

Now yall taking shots at championship winning teams and their fanbases? Sad! If you choose to accept mediocrity, don't slam fans of championship teams.

Something tells me they don't care what you think about them as they prepare for the AFCC.