A Toast to the Old Guard

[*pally*]

It is 5:00 somewhere...right?

You guys know who you are...you were there at the beginning. You saw the team through growing pains all the way to the Super Bowl. You were there during the lost years of revolving door QBs and coaches, of draft picks not working out, trades not made, and losses...year after year of nothing but losses. You were there when the only news coming out of Cincinnati was how many players had been arrested and how cheap Mike Brown was. You were there the last time the fans had real hope heading into the playoffs only to see it crash with a QB being carted off after a cheap shot. You were there for 5 straight years of playoff futility. And you are still here when a young man from Athens Ohio made us all believe.

So cheers to all of you, your love of the Bengals, and your faith that we are at the beginning of something special

[QueenCity]

Who Dey!!!

[TecmoBengals]

(01-14-2022, 06:14 PM)pally Wrote: It is 5:00 somewhere...right?

You guys know who you are...you were there at the beginning.  You saw the team through growing pains all the way to the Super Bowl.  You were there during the lost years of revolving door QBs and coaches, of draft picks not working out, trades not made, and losses...year after year of nothing but losses.  You were there when the only news coming out of Cincinnati was how many players had been arrested and how cheap Mike Brown was.  You were there the last time the fans had real hope heading into the playoffs only to see it crash with a QB being carted off after a cheap shot.  You were there for 5 straight years of playoff futility.  And you are still here when a young man from Athens Ohio made us all believe.

So cheers to all of you, your love of the Bengals, and your faith that we are at the beginning of something special

This is an awesome post! 

[magikod]

(01-14-2022, 06:14 PM)pally Wrote: It is 5:00 somewhere...right?

You guys know who you are...you were there at the beginning.  You saw the team through growing pains all the way to the Super Bowl.  You were there during the lost years of revolving door QBs and coaches, of draft picks not working out, trades not made, and losses...year after year of nothing but losses.  You were there when the only news coming out of Cincinnati was how many players had been arrested and how cheap Mike Brown was.  You were there the last time the fans had real hope heading into the playoffs only to see it crash with a QB being carted off after a cheap shot.  You were there for 5 straight years of playoff futility.  And you are still here when a young man from Athens Ohio made us all believe.

So cheers to all of you, your love of the Bengals, and your faith that we are at the beginning of something special

Who Dey!!

Cheers to all of the loyal fans who have stuck it out with this team through thick & thin! 




Screw bandwagon fans!!! 

[Sled21]

Thanks, now get off my lawn....

[magikod]

[*bengalfan74*]

Good post pally

There's many on here like me who have been Bengal fans going way, way back.

[QueenCity]

I just turned 30 last month... haven't seen 1 playoff win. We are over due.

All Hail the Mighty Joe Burrow!

[Essex Johnson]

Thank you and yes I will be there tomorrow as I was there at Nippert watching Greg Cook light it up in 1969.
Who Dey

[BucketE]

50 years for me, I was seven when I boarded this nightmare train in 1971 lol

[magikod]

(01-14-2022, 06:54 PM)QueenCity Wrote: I just turned 30 last month... haven't seen 1 playoff win.  We are over due.

All Hail the Mighty Joe Burrow!

I turn 30 Feb 5th!!!!

Who Dey!! 

Last playoff win was before I was born....LETS GO!! 

[magikod]

[Shake n Blake]

Good post, but ya kinda stole my thunder.

I was gonna post a congrats to everyone who stuck by the team through the 90s - present, if we win tomorrow. Been a long time coming for some of us.

I'm 40 years old, became a fan in 1994 and don't remember any playoff wins.

[QueenCity]

My heart can't take another L and the wait of another season. It's gotta be NOW

[MasonDT70]

(01-14-2022, 08:25 PM)magikod Wrote: I turn 30 Feb 5th!!!!

Who Dey!! 

Last playoff win was before I was born....LETS GO!! 

IIm With you two, I'll be 29 this year. Would love to see some postseason success for the first time in my life. 

[Bengalitis]

(01-14-2022, 08:26 PM)magikod Wrote:

I'm doing tomorrow together with Chase and the gang!

[Goalpost]

I remember my childhood Bengal pjs where the helmet wasn't striped.

[fredtoast]

'73 is the first year I can really remember following the Bengals and knowing the players. I was 10 years old in 5th grade.  Howard Fest spoke at my Pee-Wee Football banquet.

The first Super Bowl was in my Freshman year of college.  The second Super Bowl was in my final year of grad school.  Bookends to a really incredible period of my life.

I spent the 90's in Colorado and Tennessee and there was no internet (for me) back then.  I followed the team the best I could but had no access to any  daily info or local coverage.  You may not like me now, but the 1990's Fredtoast would have been in therapy if he had had access to message boards.

I did not search out any message boards until the team started getting good under Marvin.  Then I also got Sunday Ticket so I could watch every game.

Did not attend a game at PBS until week 15 of 2007 when we upset the Browns to knock them out of the playoffs.  It was only their second winning season since their return in '99.  I was 2 rows from the endzone with Joe from Florence.

I attended 1 or two games every year until 2013.  I started having some trouble with one of my knees that made it very difficult to walk up and down the stairs at the stadium.  The San Diego playoff game was the last game I attended until this year.  I went to the Thursday night game and the Browns game with PAjwPhilly.  Then I saw the San Francisco game with my nephew who is a Niners fan.  Funny coincidence that he and Philly are both about the same age and ex-Marines.    

I think I am about to see my first playoff win in 30 years.  But I felt the same way in '05, '09, '12, and '13.  The '11 team was not really that strong, and they were playing an elite defense.  The '14 team was beaten up bad with injurie, and Dalton was missing in '15.  Looking back at the '09 team now I see that the offense was actually really bad once we lost Chris Henry.  But that season was so magical and exciting I really thought we could win it all.  People talk about how this years team thinks it can win every game, but that '09 team really seemed charmed in the regular season.

[StoneTheCrow]

Cheers. We need a hi sign, exclusive club. If you see me doing the Squirrel dance, you know.

Edit: oh you mean ooooold guard. I’ll squirrel dance on outta here!

[Murdock2420]

(01-14-2022, 08:43 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Good post, but ya kinda stole my thunder.

I was gonna post a congrats to everyone who stuck by the team through the 90s - present, if we win tomorrow. Been a long time coming for some of us.

I'm 40 years old, became a fan in 1994 and don't remember any playoff wins.

4 years older so I was able to barely remember the old Bengal glory days.

Have pictures as a kid with Kenny Anderson at training camp and still have an autographed thigh pad from Anthony Munoz. I was lucky enough to see Paul Brown in person as a kid and even at a young age was able to see the way he walked among the players and the way they all respected him. 

The 90s tested me like many others, be it the team destroying David Klinger behind a bad line which was my fear with Burrow last year to the mind numbing stupidity of the Akili Smith pick. I want to believe this year is different, I want to feel the hype that was around the team in the Icky Woods and Boomer days again, I just am so hesitant to jump full on in after 30 years of nut shots. But hey, I picked them to beat the Raiders and will be down there freezing and cheering.