02-11-2022, 09:10 AM
(02-11-2022, 09:00 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: The so-called bandwagon fans are EXACTLY what I have been saying the NFL needed to realize. I think there is a major misconception at a high level in the NFL on fandom.
It started for me years ago when I was at a bar (think the Bengals must have been on a bye) and there were TONS of guys at the bar with....laptops? They weren't wearing jerseys, and they were cheering....uh, scores? Receptions? But they were cheering for all different teams?
It was fantasy football, and now I realize how huge this thing has become. Sure, it is just a form of gambling, and I enjoyed a couple leagues at one time. My favorite was a family league where the kids had teams, too. My proudest moment was immediately after the "auto draft" (because there was just no way) on the transactions list showed every pittsburgh steeler was released...even guys like Piggy, Bell, and Brown. Very proud moment, indeed, as the family knew better than to have turds in our punch bowl.
Back on topic: I think a HUGE number of "fans" are just fans of the game. They feel like the same four or five teams have a shot and the others just don't, either from bad officiating or just bad luck.
Enter the 2021/2022 Bengals. Young, fun, energetic....full of personalities, and not the kind you DON'T want around.
This team is earning fans that might be with them for lifetimes. Burrow is building a brand. People love the confident, quirky, and talented individual.
I think the NFL would do well to start celebrating teams and individuals like this and try to get more fans that care about the game, as in the TEAM, and not just the fantasy points.
Jim and Pat were talking about this very thing in their 3rd hour yesterday, minus the fantasy aspect. Talking about the Rams and the Bengals, and how each got to the Super Bowl. They basically said LA has gone all in and"rented" a Super Bowl team they will not be able to keep together because they know the fans in LA won't wait, they'll move on, while the Bengals have built mostly though the draft with young players who will be around a long time. According to Kirwan, this is how the NFL wants teams to do it. They do not want to hear about players like Beckham refusing to play for certain teams and forcing his way out and onto a championship team. They acknowledged fans do not like that stuff. I'm starting to think the Bengals might just be the recipient of a lot of love from the league in the next couple of years as the team they want as their model. Who'da thought that 3 years ago?
