08-07-2017, 11:29 PM
(08-07-2017, 07:41 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: Life in perspective doesn't even apply where i'm concerned. I'll get over a bad Sunday afternoon game shortly after it's over, simply because i'm not going to be a sulking prick around my family.
Old year erased always applied to me when, actually before, training camp arrived in the past.
But, if it makes any difference in appearance, i can still have doubts/reservations while enjoying the ride as it's happening. And i do just that.
Maybe i just don't explain my position well enough. I will be there every game, enjoying the ride and getting over the bad after it happens. I will still jump out of my seat when big plays happen and high five everyone around me. But i won't predict, look forward to, talk about how player X is going to rock this year or "hope" (i hate that word so much when it comes to the Bengals) any more. The expectations is what takes the hit. I just refuse to believe or participate in the hype. And that's exactly what Marv and Co. have earned over the 27/14 era.
My new fan-stance is 'i'll believe it when you show me'. But i'll be there from the beginning to see if it happens. Not just at the end.
Very well said, and this is exactly how I feel. I'll watch every game I can and I'll still cheer like mad when they score or win...I just know what to expect in the end based on a mountain of evidence. Mike/Marv/Alexander and co are among the most tenured in their positions in the NFL.
I know the Patriots are a likely SB candidate. I know the Browns are going to suck. I know the Bengals' ceiling is likely as a swift first round playoff exit. I'm past "hope" with this crew. There's just too many years and too much evidence to fool myself.
I respect that others may feel differently, and I used to get that preseason optimism myself. This is just where I'm at with this group in 2017.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
