02-01-2022, 08:20 PM
Well said!
I'll chime in for my 800th post.
I was born in 85 so I have some memories of the SB in early 89, but didn't watch it. Mostly I remember how excited the city was, and I think it was definitely the first seed that planted a love for the team. I recall in probably 91 or 92 asking Santa (at the Cincinnati Zoo's Festival of Lights) for a Bengals uniform with Boomer's jersey. Santa laughed at me. In front of all the people waiting in line, telling me I'd be better off asking for a jersey for a team that would ever win a Super Bowl. That Santa was a dick, but it didn't dampen my spirits. I got that jersey and loved it for years.
The 90s were brutal. I had to listen to the games on the radio so often because the tv broadcast was blacked out so much. The highs of every year hoping they'd get better turned into disappointment after disappointment. I hate running, but started running sometime in the later 90s because I needed an outlet from the frustration on Sundays. I saw my first game in person in 1998 against the Elway-led Broncos at Riverfront. The Bengals almost won that game. And the energy of seeing that in person was amazing. So was losing my voice for the first time at a sporting event. I remember the excitement when Marvin Lewis came in and turned the team around. I was in college in 2005 when I thought they'd win a playoff game and go all the way (I still have a shirt from that AFC North Champs season). 2005, 2009, 2015... so many more disappointments. I emotionally distanced myself from the team a bit because I couldn't handle the heartbreak of investing every week and every season just to have it crumble. 2015 really broke me.
But I couldn't stay away. I lurked here for years, keeping tabs on the team and the community but not committing myself to really engage too deeply. Two years ago I changed that and finally joined the board. I remember some of you from the old Mothership board, and others I felt I already knew from seeing posts for years. But I was willing to give it a shot again. ZT said all the right things, had the locker room, but I was worried that once again the Bengals had someone whose pride was going to get in the way of their success. Since I left Cincinnati in 2004, I've lived by 9 other NFL team cities. But kept rooting for the Bengals and getting embarrassed for wearing their gear in public. Would it ever pay off?
And then this season. Watching the games each week (on replay if I couldn't catch them live), allowing myself to get excited about the future. And then the future became the present. This run has been special. Special because it's been waited for so long. Special because I've invested again in the team. Special because they're back in the Super Bowl. And when they win? It's going to be amazing for the team, amazing for the city, and amazing for the little boy who Santa himself told it would never happen to.
Who Dey indeed. This is a special time. I'm so glad I'm here for it. Anyone who's been a fan of this team for a long time and through the pain feels a lot of really new and amazing emotions right now, and I'm all in for them.
I'll chime in for my 800th post.
I was born in 85 so I have some memories of the SB in early 89, but didn't watch it. Mostly I remember how excited the city was, and I think it was definitely the first seed that planted a love for the team. I recall in probably 91 or 92 asking Santa (at the Cincinnati Zoo's Festival of Lights) for a Bengals uniform with Boomer's jersey. Santa laughed at me. In front of all the people waiting in line, telling me I'd be better off asking for a jersey for a team that would ever win a Super Bowl. That Santa was a dick, but it didn't dampen my spirits. I got that jersey and loved it for years.
The 90s were brutal. I had to listen to the games on the radio so often because the tv broadcast was blacked out so much. The highs of every year hoping they'd get better turned into disappointment after disappointment. I hate running, but started running sometime in the later 90s because I needed an outlet from the frustration on Sundays. I saw my first game in person in 1998 against the Elway-led Broncos at Riverfront. The Bengals almost won that game. And the energy of seeing that in person was amazing. So was losing my voice for the first time at a sporting event. I remember the excitement when Marvin Lewis came in and turned the team around. I was in college in 2005 when I thought they'd win a playoff game and go all the way (I still have a shirt from that AFC North Champs season). 2005, 2009, 2015... so many more disappointments. I emotionally distanced myself from the team a bit because I couldn't handle the heartbreak of investing every week and every season just to have it crumble. 2015 really broke me.
But I couldn't stay away. I lurked here for years, keeping tabs on the team and the community but not committing myself to really engage too deeply. Two years ago I changed that and finally joined the board. I remember some of you from the old Mothership board, and others I felt I already knew from seeing posts for years. But I was willing to give it a shot again. ZT said all the right things, had the locker room, but I was worried that once again the Bengals had someone whose pride was going to get in the way of their success. Since I left Cincinnati in 2004, I've lived by 9 other NFL team cities. But kept rooting for the Bengals and getting embarrassed for wearing their gear in public. Would it ever pay off?
And then this season. Watching the games each week (on replay if I couldn't catch them live), allowing myself to get excited about the future. And then the future became the present. This run has been special. Special because it's been waited for so long. Special because I've invested again in the team. Special because they're back in the Super Bowl. And when they win? It's going to be amazing for the team, amazing for the city, and amazing for the little boy who Santa himself told it would never happen to.
Who Dey indeed. This is a special time. I'm so glad I'm here for it. Anyone who's been a fan of this team for a long time and through the pain feels a lot of really new and amazing emotions right now, and I'm all in for them.
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
