Doc: 'The Cincinnati Bengals belong to you, the fans'

[Shake n Blake]

(12-29-2018, 01:43 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Robert Kraft does not give a shit about pleasing his fan base.  He has repeatedly unpset them by trading/releasing fan favorite players because he felt they were getting too old or expensive.

The only difference between Robert Kraft and Mike Brown is that Kraft is much better at his job than Brown.

Bengal fans need to stop acting like Mike Brown's incompetence is actually a personal attack on them.  He doesn't hate Bengal fans.  He is not evil,  mean, or heartless.  He just is not good at his job.

1. Kraft pleases his fans via winning. Most Pats fans don't care much when good players get traded because "in Belichick we trust" and "the Patriot Way". Does Kraft actually care about Pats fans? Hard saying. I do think he recognizes that winning pleases fans and fan happiness is crucial to NFL and franchise success. I think Mike Brown stubbornly cares more about his own personal ideals than fan pleasure or displeasure, and revenue sharing enables his stubbornness.

2. His incompetence IS an attack on fans. He cares more about his own (unique) ideals than the fan misery caused by years of losing and/or playoff failure. He cares more about righting some perceived wrong against his father than he is about embarrassing the city of Cincinnati.

(12-29-2018, 02:21 AM)fredtoast Wrote: I have never heard Mike Brown belittle the fans.

"But I think I understand what criticism really is. It's the opinion of others, and that opinion shifts. It reflects the emotion of the moment. I'm not going to make decisions in my life based on opinions other than my own." (2000)

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"I call them themes. They (fans and customers) like to talk about different themes when things dont go well." (2008)


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[b]"This league has a problem with the mathematical issue that only half the teams are going to win. That doesn't mean everyone else is incompetent or bad. It creates a lot of hand wringing and heartbreak at the end of the year as we kaleidoscope-like re-do the direction of the team and that includes the coaches. I think probably people do too much of this, owners react in response to the public pressure... The way to handle the public pressure is to can the coach and it's his fault and he's the scapegoat... I think the league would be better off if there were fewer firings and we were more patient with our coaches." 
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On honoring former Bengals greats: 


"I understand the players," Brown said at the team's annual media luncheon. "They want to be remembered. I think it is a good thing to do that. We have never traded here on nostalgia. That's probably my fault. Because a little of it is a good thing. Fans like that sort of thing."


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You don't think some of his quotes (there are plenty more) have been a tad condescending towards fan opinion? I created a thread once for dumb Mikey quotes, and depthchart had a great response:

(01-22-2018, 06:41 PM)depthchart Wrote: In short, Mike is in a constant state of Tweaking things from season to season.

Don't expect a Major Over-haul of the O-line this offseason.

It will only need a Tweak and any fans that think otherwise will be listened to and then Mike will follow his own opinion, as he said he would.

Fan opinion is a side note that seems to amuse Mike.

The uninformed masses' opinions are heard and then the informed Bengal's Front Office does as they please anyway.

Has a hint of the famous phrase "Let them eat cake" to it.

More of a King to his subjects quality to it, than a Business Owner to his customers quality.

That's exactly how Mike comes across, whether you - Fredtoast - see it or not. Most see it that way.