I live in Lubbock, TX so I can only project but there is a lot in common between my college team Texas Tech and the Bengals.

For TTU we have a coach in his 6th year whose only home Big 12 win has been Kansas in the last 2 years. When Leach was coach we would consistently upset the better teams in the conference at the home games. Lubbock used to be considered the Bermuda Triangle of college football. Every since Tubberville and now KK has more or less run the program into the ground we can't even get more than 25% of the fans to stay after the half. In general the excitement for the team is low and it has been for the last 4 years. I go to a game at least once every year but we stopped getting season tickets the third year of the Tubberville years and after the third year of the KK years as well.

With Cincy it is very much the same. There was signs that this Bengals team was different, coming up with the plays to win the game in the 2nd half crunch time. But then they fall short again against Pitt and although that was an admirable effort, it suggested that things were the same as always. The Sunday night game against KC absolutely confirmed it. The team just looked like it flat out quit.

Nobody would be hailed as Nostradamus for predicting any of these second halves: 1. The Bengals go 2-6 or 3-5 and miss the playoffs. 2. They need to beat the Steelers in the last game to make the playoffs and get beat. 3. The Bengals make to playoffs and are done in 1. How many years has it been since the results were better than that???? Fans want more! This will be like the 3rd year in a row that I refuse to make the long drive without results. Many people even turn down free tickets, I did last year! I still watch every game but many people are tired of decades of mediocrity. The Reds are in the same boat. A fan base gets burnt out if they don’t win in 30 years. You have to be like 35 or 40 to have ever seen a playoff winning Bengals or Reds team. Why would a fan base not shrink if fans never ever get to see this????

(10-29-2018, 08:46 PM)Bengalsrob Wrote: I think there were more Packer fans in attendance in Los Angeles than there were Bengals fans at a home game here, and it's pathetic. It's nothing new either, and I believe if we were undefeated, it still wouldn't be full. We have probably the most unappreciative fans in the nation, and in a way, they remind me of Marvin; the dumb excuses are endless. One such excuse would be the old "but we're a small market team." That doesn't fly, the NFL uses a 75 mile radius to determine primary and secondary markets, and that puts us squarely in the middle of fanbases, actually slightly ahead of Baltimore and Pittsburgh who don't seem to have attendance problems. Only Cleveland has a bigger market in the our division. Green Bay is a smaller market, a worse record, and they don't have that problem. That doesn't mean I don't think we have coaching problems, I do. I have been wanting Marvin out for years, but even there fans don't agree; and point to the team and coach's record before Marvin got here. I don't care about that, I remember us being in 2 Super Bowls before him; and zero playoff wins in the many years with him, but that doesn't mean the fans shouldn't support what are essentially young kids out on the field, crowd support means a lot to them. Check out attached for market size breakdown:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/wt1sr/list_of_nfl_teams_by_media_market_size/?ref=share&ref_source=link

I agree with you. And im a conspiracy theorist myself. I think the more fans a team has the refs will favor that team. And also if your home games arent loud and intimidating then you dont have homefield advantage..the other team shouldnt deel comfortable in our stadium at all. But at the same time i know why they dont want to go and invest their money,and time because they dont believe in the coaches or management ,they think we are just doomed if we even make the playoffs. And i agree we can probably go to the superbowl and wed still have fans bad mouthing something.

(10-29-2018, 08:46 PM)Bengalsrob Wrote: I think there were more Packer fans in attendance in Los Angeles than there were Bengals fans at a home game here, and it's pathetic. It's nothing new either, and I believe if we were undefeated, it still wouldn't be full. We have probably the most unappreciative fans in the nation, and in a way, they remind me of Marvin; the dumb excuses are endless. One such excuse would be the old "but we're a small market team." That doesn't fly, the NFL uses a 75 mile radius to determine primary and secondary markets, and that puts us squarely in the middle of fanbases, actually slightly ahead of Baltimore and Pittsburgh who don't seem to have attendance problems. Only Cleveland has a bigger market in the our division. Green Bay is a smaller market, a worse record, and they don't have that problem. That doesn't mean I don't think we have coaching problems, I do. I have been wanting Marvin out for years, but even there fans don't agree; and point to the team and coach's record before Marvin got here. I don't care about that, I remember us being in 2 Super Bowls before him; and zero playoff wins in the many years with him, but that doesn't mean the fans shouldn't support what are essentially young kids out on the field, crowd support means a lot to them. Check out attached for market size breakdown:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/wt1sr/list_of_nfl_teams_by_media_market_size/?ref=share&ref_source=link

It’s all about winning.” Small market” is a cop out excuse. If the Bengals were a team that won 2-3 Super Bowls over the last decade and had a history of success, that stadium would be full every game day..........but reality.

You can't look at Green Bay and compare them to anyone. There is NOTHING to do in the whole state except go to the football game. Other than that, I guess you can watch cheese grow. ….

Was at 2 games this year and they had good crowds. I think people were drinking the coolaid thinking things were different this year until Marvin said "hold my beer" the last 2 weeks.

The thrill of attending a live game just isn’t there anymore. Too much time waiting for TV timeouts to end, ridiculous prices and docile fans. I’d rather watch from the comfort of home with my 75 inch TV, laptop and NFL redZone a click away.

(10-29-2018, 10:02 PM)ArmyBengal Wrote: The thrill of attending a live game just isn’t there anymore. Too much time waiting for TV timeouts to end, ridiculous prices and docile fans. I’d rather watch from the comfort of home with my 75 inch TV, laptop and NFL redZone a click away.

Army!  Still hang out in Bengal Zone?

(10-29-2018, 03:27 PM)Big Boss Wrote: Easy enough to explain.

1) Back-to-back losing seasons
2) Marvin Lewis re-signed after everyone was convinced he was finally gone
3) The NFL sucks

Yes, and the NFL isn't exactly inspiring fans to watch. The national anthem is just one issue that has turned off millions of fans. Another is the new rules and extra penalties.

And, of course, the big issue for Bengals fans is that Mike Brown is an awful owner and always has been.

(10-29-2018, 08:01 PM)Gamma Ray Tan Wrote: 2026 showdown between Mike Brown and the city of Cincinnati will be epic, a new stadium will be on the table for the taxpayers to pay for....Again, and get fleeced.....Again. Not happening this time....Goodbye Bengals. HELLO XFL FRANCHISE!

Not to be morbid but I hope by then he is senile in a care home and at least the City has a chance with Katie

How much are the tickets? or...rather how many hours of work must i have to work to enjoy 3 hours of a football game at the stadium with a snack and drink???

(10-30-2018, 12:10 AM)BengalChris Wrote: Yes, and the NFL isn't exactly inspiring fans to watch. The national anthem is just one issue that has turned off millions of fans. Another is the new rules and extra penalties.

And, of course, the big issue for Bengals fans is that Mike Brown is an awful owner and always has been.

The NFL has made it abundantly clear lately that certain teams are allowed to hold and others are not.  It has also made it abundantly clear that certain QBs are worth protecting with superfluous rules while others are not.  Why would anyone pay for that?  That's a shitty product.  

(10-29-2018, 02:41 PM)Millhouse Wrote: The Bengals attendance numbers are basically the worst in the league this season. Yesterday was the lowest league-wide for a game excluding Chargers games at StubHub, and the lowest at PBS since 2011. Even last year's Christmas Eve game had slightly more people. Yikes.

But to be a tad bit fair, if the Bengals did fill every single seat, they would still be 21st overall, as PBS only holds 65,535 fans.

Yesterday's attendance -> 45,134 out of 65,535 (68.9%)
Yearly average thru 4 home games -> 52,113 (31st) ((Chargers are 32nd in a 25k stadium))
% of seats filled -> 30th at 79.5% (Rams and Skins are 31st and 32nd, but play in larger stadiums)

But yesterday was bad. As Shake noted in gameday thread, not surprising coming off of those two losses. Perhaps the weather scared a few folks off as well.

With 4 home games left, see how attendance plays out win or lose. Again, yesterday was the lowest number since 2011, and they were 4-3 going into that game.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/attendance
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/blogs/daugherty-blog/2018/10/29/daugherty-blog-cincinnati-bengals-fc-cincinnati-world-series-uc/1806579002/

Any wonder why the NFL officiating seems biased against Cincy?  Jacksonville?  Cleveland?

(10-30-2018, 03:53 AM)Bilbo Saggins Wrote: The NFL has made it abundantly clear lately that certain teams are allowed to hold and others are not.  It has also made it abundantly clear that certain QBs are worth protecting with superfluous rules while others are not.  Why would anyone pay for that?  That's a shitty product.  

Beat me to it. 

If those dumb asses only realized they would GROW their product if all teams felt like it was a fair game.  Instead, they cater to large markets and think that will add revenue.

It isn't like these people were genius business men.  Goodell and those morons are just stupid lucky that people love fantasy football and gambling because that is why a large number of people tune in.  The product sucks. 

The Steelers and Bengals game was packed out

Re-signing Marv was the nail in the coffin. They had a prime opportunity to get alot of fans back into the seats, but they fudged that up.

(10-30-2018, 08:00 AM)Hoofhearted Wrote: Re-signing Marv was the nail in the coffin. They had a prime opportunity to get alot of fans back into the seats, but they fudged that up.

No doubt this hurt some, I bet they lost over 5k season ticket holders with the bonehead decision 

(10-29-2018, 08:46 PM)Bengalsrob Wrote: I think there were more Packer fans in attendance in Los Angeles than there were Bengals fans at a home game here, and it's pathetic. It's nothing new either, and I believe if we were undefeated, it still wouldn't be full. We have probably the most unappreciative fans in the nation, and in a way, they remind me of Marvin; the dumb excuses are endless. One such excuse would be the old "but we're a small market team." That doesn't fly, the NFL uses a 75 mile radius to determine primary and secondary markets, and that puts us squarely in the middle of fanbases, actually slightly ahead of Baltimore and Pittsburgh who don't seem to have attendance problems. Only Cleveland has a bigger market in the our division. Green Bay is a smaller market, a worse record, and they don't have that problem. That doesn't mean I don't think we have coaching problems, I do. I have been wanting Marvin out for years, but even there fans don't agree; and point to the team and coach's record before Marvin got here. I don't care about that, I remember us being in 2 Super Bowls before him; and zero playoff wins in the many years with him, but that doesn't mean the fans shouldn't support what are essentially young kids out on the field, crowd support means a lot to them. Check out attached for market size breakdown:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/wt1sr/list_of_nfl_teams_by_media_market_size/?ref=share&ref_source=link

We have a larger metro area than cleveland, Cincy is the largest metro area in the state. So i am guessing that 75 miles pulls in akron.

(10-29-2018, 09:35 PM)Sled21 Wrote: You can't look at Green Bay and compare them to anyone. There is NOTHING to do in the whole state except go to the football game. Other than that, I guess you can watch cheese grow. ….

As a guy who lives on the Iowa Wisconsin border I can tell you that's not factual. That might describe Iowa and their Hawkeyes obsession as there really isn't another team in the state. Wisconsin has the Bucks, Brewers, Badgers and Packers .Happening cities like Milwaukee and Madison. Vacation spots like Door County. The people there just love sports. But I'm just old enough to remember pre-Favre and I can say that the excitement around the Packers was minimal. People went to Lambeau for the experience and history, not because of the current team. After Favre they've had a HOF QB for 26 straight years now. Dudes who got Favre jerseys at 10 years old now have kids in Rodgers jerseys. Generations of plexcited fans with SB hopes every year .That to me is the difference. Bengals don't have that hope usually. And when you do, you're let down drastically. Since Favre showed up in GB, this franchise hasn't even won a playoff game. 

(10-30-2018, 12:54 PM)Brimey Wrote: As a guy who lives on the Iowa Wisconsin border I can tell you that's not factual. That might describe Iowa and their Hawkeyes obsession as there really isn't another team in the state. Wisconsin has the Bucks, Brewers, Badgers and Packers .Happening cities like Milwaukee and Madison. Vacation spots like Door County. The people there just love sports. But I'm just old enough to remember pre-Favre and I can say that the excitement around the Packers was minimal. People went to Lambeau for the experience and history, not because of the current team. After Favre they've had a HOF QB for 26 straight years now. Dudes who got Favre jerseys at 10 years old now have kids in Rodgers jerseys. Generations of plexcited fans with SB hopes every year .That to me is the difference. Bengals don't have that hope usually. And when you do, you're let down drastically. Since Favre showed up in GB, this franchise hasn't even won a playoff game. 

Well I don't know about Bucks or Badgers, but I'm pretty sure the Brewers are not playing baseball during most of the football season... Haven't been to Milwaulkee, but I have been to Madison last year. Like I said, not much to do up there. I suspect not too many vacation in Wisconsin in the winter...