Thirty Years

[*Awful Llama*]

Yes, Bengals fans, tomorrow, January 6, marks the 30th anniversary of the last Bengals playoff win: a 41-14 drubbing of the Houston Oilers (Hate ya Blue!) at Riverfront Stadium on January 6, 1991. The following week they lost to the LA Raiders, 20-10, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now, I don't want to rehash all of the Mike Brown incompetence, downright bad luck and whatever random RB curses may have doomed us to this football purgatory. I simply wanted to mark the occasion (as I have in my sig for years) and ask everyone to reflect for a moment on that day and that win now three decades in the past. Where were you that day? Were you at the game? Were you even born, yet? Did you have any inkling it was the end of the "golden years" of this franchise? Please share your thoughts.

[MileHighGrowler]

I was 6 years old. I remember watching the games that season. My one grandpa was a Steelers fan which haunted me the rest of the 90s as he already rubbed in my face what poor decisions I made in team selection (I was born and raised in Cincy, but he grew up in PA). The '91 season I asked Santa for a Bengals uniform for Christmas and even Santa made fun of me because the team was so awful that season and apparently he could see the future...

But the 90/91 season I watched Boomer and the guys and that was probably the real start of my love affair with the team and football in general (I only vaguely remember the SB appearance prior and mostly from the hype around the city and how everything was in stripes more than the season or SB itself).

FWIW, 1990 was the first year I really followed the Reds, too. Went to my first game that summer with my dad, which is something I'll never forget. I didn't see a Bengals game in person until 1998. Neil O'Donnell vs John Elway. And the Bengals hung with them most of that game.

I can't even fathom sometimes how much life has passed since that playoff win. It's ridiculous.

[*Awful Llama*]

(01-05-2021, 10:02 PM)MileHighGrowler Wrote:  I didn't see a Bengals game in person until 1998.  Neil O'Donnell vs John Elway.  And the Bengals hung with them most of that game. 

I was at the game as well.  My mom was/is a huge Denver fan, so every time they came to town I tried to take her to the game.  It was a late loss, if memory serves, and I was stuck behind this dancing Denver idiot.  But, revenge came a couple of years later when Corey Dillon dropped 278 on them.  I hope that guy was there for that game, too 

[impactplaya]

I had a house built a mile from Kent State University
I thought Id invite some friends over to watch the game
As it being a year anniversary of moving in and
Me being a Bengals fan.
One of the friends that came over was a actual
Playboy Playmate.that attended KSU.
She made really good homemade wings that day.

[*jason*]

I was a sophomore in high school. I don't even slightly remember that game. I guess I took it for granted that the Bengals would always be pretty good, and get to the Super Bowl every coupla years. I definitely do remember that team being dismantled, and Wyche and Boomer leaving.

[*jason*]

(01-05-2021, 11:01 PM)impactplaya Wrote: I had a house built a mile from Kent State University
I thought Id invite some friends over to watch the game
As it being a year anniversary of moving in and
Me being a Bengals fan.
One of the friends that came over was a actual
Playboy Playmate.that attended KSU.
She made really good homemade wings that day.

That's your best poem yet.

[GreenCornBengal]

I turn 30 this year AKA I joined the club right after our last playoff appearance. Sorry guys, this is all my fault. My existence has crippled the Bengals.

[guyofthetiger]

I was not much of a Bengals fan in the 90's. I was too disappointed by the 49ers in the Super Bowl. Hard to believe it was that long ago. Years go by fast.

[BFritz21]

I was 6, already loved football, and loved just watching the Bengals in their glory.

Don't remember much about the game or anything just because, unless something is really important, it has been deleted from my mind since the wreck or just buried very deeply into the parts of my brain that barely function anymore.

[*bfine32*]

I was defending your freedom in Desert Storm. I don't remember the game other than Bo Jackson replays but we did get to listen to the Superbowl that year on AFN radio. I remember "wide right".

To give you a sense of how much things have changed since then:

I got to make 1 phone call home during that deployment, we had to get in the back of a truck, travel hours across the desert to a place where they had a communications station set up. We then had to wait about 2 hours in line to enter the tent and make your 10 minute collect call. My family was not home when I called.

Today I can call deployed folks on a cell phone to ask them trival questions about their applications

[Fan_in_Kettering]

I remember that game. I was almost 21 and the Bengals looked so strong in every aspect of the game that day. You have no idea how much I wish I could develop a time machine and take younger fans back to the 1980s in the early 1990s. The Bengals were good. I mean good! Super Bowl good! Back then the sports media talked about Cincinnati the way they talk about Kansas City, Buffalo or Tampa Bay today.

[ElkValleyBengal]

James Brooks' dislocated thumb is the one memory I take from that game. Assuming I'm not misremembering.

[*bengalfan74*]

It was the day after my oldest daughter was born. I watched bits and pieces at the hospital but I was distracted.

[MileHighGrowler]

(01-06-2021, 01:13 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: It was the day after my oldest daughter was born. I watched bits and pieces at the hospital but I was distracted.

When my oldest was born, the wife turned on the TV in the room right before the nurse came in, and it was set to ESPN2 or something.  It was a WNBA game.  Right away, the nurse lights into me about being an asshole for turning on sports while the mom is in labor.  And I just looked at her and said you think I turned this on?

[Browns Town Bengal]

(01-05-2021, 10:02 PM)MileHighGrowler Wrote: I was 6 years old.  I remember watching the games that season.  My one grandpa was a Steelers fan which haunted me the rest of the 90s as he already rubbed in my face what poor decisions I made in team selection (I was born and raised in Cincy, but he grew up in PA).  The '91 season I asked Santa for a Bengals uniform for Christmas and even Santa made fun of me because the team was so awful that season and apparently he could see the future...  

But the 90/91 season I watched Boomer and the guys and that was probably the real start of my love affair with the team and football in general (I only vaguely remember the SB appearance prior and mostly from the hype around the city and how everything was in stripes more than the season or SB itself).  

FWIW, 1990 was the first year I really followed the Reds, too.  Went to my first game that summer with my dad, which is something I'll never forget.  I didn't see a Bengals game in person until 1998.  Neil O'Donnell vs John Elway.  And the Bengals hung with them most of that game.

I can't even fathom sometimes how much life has passed since that playoff win.  It's ridiculous.

I was at that '98 game too.  I think the broncos were undefeated and the bengals were like 2-5 and they damn near beat em.  It was the first time i ever saw the banner fly over the stadium..."Mike Brown, step down"  Alas, we all know that didnt happen but we were hopeful that in a few years it would become a reality.  WHo knew that 22 years later MB would still be active?

[Browns Town Bengal]

(01-05-2021, 10:10 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: I was at the game as well.  My mom was/is a huge Denver fan, so every time they came to town I tried to take her to the game.  It was a late loss, if memory serves, and I was stuck behind this dancing Denver idiot.  But, revenge came a couple of years later when Corey Dillon dropped 278 on them.  I hope that guy was there for that game, too 

I also happened to be at that denver game as well.  That one had a better ending than the '98 version although it was very clear by that point that akili was not gonna be the answer.  When you are benched for scott mitchell, its over

[Rubekahn29]

I was approximately 4 months old. So I've lived my entire life unable to see a playoff win, and I am beginning to think I never will. LOL

[Sled21]

(01-05-2021, 09:45 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: Yes, Bengals fans, tomorrow, January 6, marks the 30th anniversary of the last Bengals playoff win: a 41-14 drubbing of the Houston Oilers (Hate ya Blue!) at Riverfront Stadium on January 6, 1991.  The following week they lost to the LA Raiders, 20-10, and the rest, as they say, is history.  

Now,  I don't want to rehash all of the Mike Brown incompetence, downright bad luck and whatever random RB curses may have doomed us to this football purgatory.  I simply wanted to mark the occasion (as I have in my sig for years) and ask everyone to reflect for a moment on that day and that win now three decades in the past.  Where were you that day?  Were you at the game?  Were you even born, yet?  Did you have any inkling it was the end of the "golden years" of this franchise?  Please share your thoughts.

I was 31, policing in Lexington, and thoroughly enjoyed that game. Never liked the Oilers.

[TecmoBengals]

I was a teenager and recall watching this game on TV. I became a hardcore Bengals fan as a kid growing up in the Cincinnati area during the '88 - '89 season. I thought the Bengals were going to win the Super Bowl up until Joe Montana took over in the 4th quarter. I thought the Bengals franchise was one of greatness like the S.F. 49'ers. I was so completely wrong.

It's crazy, when they won the last playoff game, you never stop to think, "That's the last one they'll win for the next 30+ years."

[Wes Mantooth]

I was in 6th grade. A lot "old things" I think of from back in the day were either brand new, or weren't even out yet. Which is pretty wild.

Here's some random things, to help put that time into perpective:

---Nike Airs would still have been a pretty new thing then.
---Remember the black Reebok Pumps Dee Brown wore? That dunk contest was one month after this game.
---Starter jackets weren't even a big thing yet, not the classic ones. (I think Apex jackets might have been more popular???)
---Use Your Illusion wasn't even out yet. (Was probably listening to Appetite, Poison, Def Lepard, or Ice Ice Baby)
---Terminator 2 didn't release until that summer.
---Silence of the Lambs hasn't come out yet.
---Andrew Dice Clay was still selling out theaters.
---The Richard Gere "Gerbil story" may or may not have been a thing yet.
---If you knew someone who had the Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. card they were rich.
---Brian Bosworth was one year removed from being one of the biggest busts of all time.
---That was Tony Mandarich's first year starting for the Packers.
---It was 7 years before Frank Sinatra's death.
---It was 4 years before Mickey Mantle's death.
---Dan Quayle had yet to mispell "potato".
---A CD player was something your rich uncle had.
---Andrew Whitworth was 9 years old.
---The "I'm so excited" Saved By the Bell came out two months before this playoff game.

And last, but certainly not least, my family's cable remote looked like this: