If we don't fire Marvin after this year I don't know how you continue watching

[Devils Advocate]

I don't care which team you root for.

We're all unhappy with the way this season has taken shape. We all have an opinion for changes.

However, they've lost a lot of close games this year. It happens.

Hell, the two teams in last year's Super Bowl aren't returning to the playoffs either and Carolin's had as miserable a season as we did.

It ain't easy being a fan of this team for sure but it says a lot about your character if you can stick through it without taking the easy road and rooting for the latest and greatest.

[BonnieBengal]

(12-26-2016, 01:25 PM)Devils Advocate Wrote: I don't care which team you root for.

We're all unhappy with the way this season has taken shape. We all have an opinion for changes.

However, they've lost a lot of close games this year. It happens.

Hell, the two teams in last year's Super Bowl aren't returning to the playoffs either and Carolin's had as miserable a season as we did.

It ain't easy being a fan of this team for sure but it says a lot about your character if you can stick through it without taking the easy road and rooting for the latest and greatest.

I'm a 35 plus year fan.  At some point you have to wonder if we fans haven't reached the definition of insanity.  (Doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result.)  And for fans who have never seen one playoff win in their entire life, you have to think they must be wondering if it's time to know when to quit.  

[Devils Advocate]

(12-26-2016, 02:11 PM)BonnieBengal Wrote: I'm a 35 plus year fan.  At some point you have to wonder if we fans haven't reached the definition of insanity.  (Doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result.)  And for fans who have never seen one playoff win in their entire life, you have to think they must be wondering if it's time to know when to quit.  

That is Albert Einstein's interpretation of insanity. By no means is it the definition. I get your point though.

If you wanna abdicate your fan hood, do it at your new team's website.


As a fan since the 70's, I've been put through the ringer right along with the rest of you. Being a fan for so long, I don't need to hear about how fed up you are. I know all about it.

Still, as a longtime fan, I can't help but feel some level of abandonment personally when other fans yap about leaving. I don't care if anyone leaves, but don't be a freakin' Prima Donna about it.

So if you're gonna jump ship; do it with integrity -- in silence.

[*bengalfan74*]

(12-26-2016, 01:25 PM)Devils Advocate Wrote: I don't care which team you root for.

We're all unhappy with the way this season has taken shape. We all have an opinion for changes.

However, they've lost a lot of close games this year. It happens.

Hell, the two teams in last year's Super Bowl aren't returning to the playoffs either and Carolin's had as miserable a season as we did.

It ain't easy being a fan of this team for sure but it says a lot about your character if you can stick through it without taking the easy road and rooting for the latest and greatest.

Don't you see the difference there ? Super Bowl teams ? We can't get a single playoff win !!!!

We've had Marvin Lewis and the merry band of tenured bums (Wyche saying) for years and MB refuses to change and put winning as the goal. Loyalty and money are his goals.

Sorry major difference. You're comparing apples to oranges.

[Devils Advocate]

(12-26-2016, 03:52 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: Don't you see the difference there ? Super Bowl teams ? We can't get a single playoff win !!!!

We've had Marvin Lewis and the merry band of tenured bums (Wyche saying) for years and MB refuses to change and put winning as the goal. Loyalty and money are his goals.

Sorry major difference. You're comparing apples to oranges.

I disagree. Fans are upset the Bengals aren't going to the post season. Had they finished 12-4 this year, optimism would be abundant. So it's really apples to apples.

Nevertheless, trust me, I get the frustration. I am frustrated too. But they've lost several close games this year -- it happens. There's no reason to be pessimistic for next year.

[fredtoast]

(12-26-2016, 03:52 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: We've had Marvin Lewis and the merry band of tenured bums (Wyche saying) for years

We have a first year OC, a second year DC, and had to replace 4 coaches from our staff last year (Hue Jackson, Vance Joseph, Jay Hayes, Matt Burke)

[BonnieBengal]

(12-26-2016, 03:09 PM)Devils Advocate Wrote: That is Albert Einstein's interpretation of insanity. By no means is it the definition. I get your point though.

If you wanna abdicate your fan hood, do it at your new team's website.


As a fan since the 70's, I've been put through the ringer right along with the rest of you. Being a fan for so long, I don't need to hear about how fed up you are. I know all about it.

Still, as a longtime fan, I can't help but feel some level of abandonment personally when other fans yap about leaving. I don't care if anyone leaves, but don't be a freakin' Prima Donna about it.

So if you're gonna jump ship; do it with integrity -- in silence.

I didn't say I was jumping ship.  And no you don't get my point at all. Your reply tells me that.  I said there is a danger of younger people who have never seen any playoff victories giving up on this team.  Mike Brown needs to realize his fan base is going to die out.  I know a lot of younger people from Cincinnati who have already given up and are rooting for other teams. I've been rooting for this team as long or longer than you, and yes, sometimes I do think I'm crazy to do it, but I'm not jumping ship. I can feel for those, however, who didn't get to see a single playoff win, and see how they might jump ship, and I get it.

[Devils Advocate]

(12-26-2016, 09:23 PM)BonnieBengal Wrote: I didn't say I was jumping ship.  And no you don't get my point at all. Your reply tells me that.  I said there is a danger of younger people who have never seen any playoff victories giving up on this team.  Mike Brown needs to realize his fan base is going to die out.  I know a lot of younger people from Cincinnati who have already given up and are rooting for other teams. I've been rooting for this team as long or longer than you, and yes, sometimes I do think I'm crazy to do it, but I'm not jumping ship. I can feel for those, however, who didn't get to see a single playoff win, and see how they might jump ship, and I get it.

I used 'you' as a general statement to obviate my already lengthy reply. I didn't mean you personally.

I think you're over reacting about the fan base dying out. As soon as this team wins 11 or 12 games again, they'll be back in mass; if they ever left at all.

[BonnieBengal]

(12-26-2016, 11:21 PM)Devils Advocate Wrote: I used 'you' as a general statement to obviate my already lengthy reply. I didn't mean you personally.

I think you're over reacting about the fan base dying out. As soon as this team wins 11 or 12 games again, they'll be back in mass; if they ever left at all.

They need more than 11 or 12 games.  They need a playoff win, and Marvin has whiffed on that opportunity multiple times.

[fredtoast]

(12-26-2016, 09:23 PM)BonnieBengal Wrote: I know a lot of younger people from Cincinnati who have already given up and are rooting for other teams.

Nothing Mike Brown can do about fans who only root for winners.  No team is going to win every year, so those type of fans are not going to stick with their "other teams" very long.

Being a fan of the home team is about an emotional attachment not about winning championships.  If this were not true then the Cubs would have had zero fans, but we all saw that that was not true.

Screw bandwagon fans.  They are not real fans anyway.

[BonnieBengal]

(12-27-2016, 10:20 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Nothing Mike Brown can do about fans who only root for winners.  No team is going to win every year, so those type of fans are not going to stick with their "other teams" very long.

Being a fan of the home team is about an emotional attachment not about winning championships.  If this were not true then the Cubs would have had zero fans, but we all saw that that was not true.

Screw bandwagon fans.  They are not real fans anyway.

There's a difference between fans who only root for winners and fans who have not seen the Bengals win a playoff game in their entire lifetime, and also see the owner refusing to make changes.  And now  I suppose you will tell me about coaches who had to be hired last year because better coaches left and tout that as "change".  Meanwhile, Marvin doesn't get it done and nothing changes.

[wolfkaosaun]

Because I chose to root for this team years ago.

I became a fan because I played football games with my dad. I picked the Bengals because they were tigers. I was really young. My dad was a Steelers fan, as is my whole family. But I was always the underdog in life and saw the Bengals as it.

I started watched football around 2003-4 and that was during the Chad Johnson era. He got my hooked to the team.

Since then, I have stuck with the team no matter what. I am surrounded by Steelers fan but I root hard for the Bengals no matter what. I always want them to compete and win.

Marvin needs to go, but my loyalty is to the Bengals. Not to him. I may root for other teams and hope they win, but Bengals always were and always will be my #1

[Bengalholic]

(12-26-2016, 04:22 PM)Devils Advocate Wrote: I disagree. Fans are upset the Bengals aren't going to the post season. Had they finished 12-4 this year, optimism would be abundant. So it's really apples to apples.

Nevertheless, trust me, I get the frustration. I am frustrated too. But they've lost several close games this year -- it happens. There's no reason to be pessimistic for next year.

I think for many, it's really not just about missing the playoffs.

They did finish 12-4 last year. They did make the playoffs. There was optimism, just as there has been in previous seasons, but it ended - yet again - in an utterly embarrassing and disappointing fashion. 

To varying degrees, the last 26 years have been a continuous exercise in futility of some fashion...from the complete ineptitude that was the '90's to the complete ineptitude in the postseason under Marvin.

When you say there's no reason to be pessimistic going into next year, I respect your opinion, but I can also see good reasons why other people may not share it. 

[*Awful Llama*]

(12-27-2016, 07:29 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: I think for many, it's really not just about missing the playoffs.

They did finish 12-4 last year. They did make the playoffs. There was optimism, just as there has been in previous seasons, but it ended - yet again - in an utterly embarrassing and disappointing fashion. 

To varying degrees, the last 26 years have been a continuous exercise in futility of some fashion...from the complete ineptitude that was the '90's to the complete ineptitude in the postseason under Marvin.

When you say there's no reason to be pessimistic going into next year, I respect your opinion, but I can also see good reasons why other people may not share it. 

Agreed.  I'll elaborate a bit more and say that at this point my optimism is limited to the regular season.  Outside of this year, I expected them to do well enough in the regular season to qualify for the playoffs.  It's been like clockwork.

Now, the playoffs are a different matter.  Even if they do finish 12-4 and host a playoff game, at this point I'm going to expect them to **** it up and lose.  I'll go to the game, I'll root for them, and I'll hope like hell that I'm wrong, but I'll still expect them to choke.  Being 0-7 in the Lewis era I've been conditioned to at this point.  

[Fan_in_Kettering]

The Bengals are light years away from being competitive. I watched lots of other teams this year just to compare and as much as I love Cincinnati -- and I'll always love my hometown Reds and Bengals -- I have to sadly admit not even the best Marvin Lewis teams had a chance in the playoffs. None.

[*bengalfan74*]

(12-27-2016, 06:13 PM)BonnieBengal Wrote: There's a difference between fans who only root for winners and fans who have not seen the Bengals win a playoff game in their entire lifetime, and also see the owner refusing to make changes.  And now  I suppose you will tell me about coaches who had to be hired last year because better coaches left and tout that as "change".  Meanwhile, Marvin doesn't get it done and nothing changes.

Fred takes it to the extreme to ruffle feathers and argue. Ignore him

And yes I totally agree the fan base is in a mass exodus ! I've heard several longtime Bengal fans say they're fed the hell up. And like you say the youth LOL at the Bengals or any thoughts of being a fan.

(12-27-2016, 07:29 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: I think for many, it's really not just about missing the playoffs.

They did finish 12-4 last year. They did make the playoffs. There was optimism, just as there has been in previous seasons, but it ended - yet again - in an utterly embarrassing and disappointing fashion. 

To varying degrees, the last 26 years have been a continuous exercise in futility of some fashion...from the complete ineptitude that was the '90's to the complete ineptitude in the postseason under Marvin.

When you say there's no reason to be pessimistic going into next year, I respect your opinion, but I can also see good reasons why other people may not share it. 

It is about way more than just not making the playoffs.  It's about not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. Even the younger fans see with MB it's just wash, rinse, repeat. They understand winning the Super Bowl is not his true goal, not his real focus.

(12-27-2016, 10:29 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: The Bengals are light years away from being competitive. I watched lots of other teams this year just to compare and as much as I love Cincinnati -- and I'll always love my hometown Reds and Bengals -- I have to sadly admit not even the best Marvin Lewis teams had a chance in the playoffs. None.

Agree, Marvin Lewis will never take this team to a Super Bowl win. And he's not leaving any time soon.

Until MB is no longer involved in running things - we have no chance.

[Murdock2420]

If the question is "How do you continue watching if Marvin Lewis returns?" Well the answer is simple, with enough alcohol to kill an elephant pumping through your veins. The blackouts make the bad play calls and crap coaching much easier to tolerate since you only have to read about them after the fact. But, that's just my strategy for dealing with Marvin and Mike Brown's bumbling, fumbling ways it may not be for everyone.

[*bengalfan74*]

(12-28-2016, 12:21 AM)Murdock2420 Wrote: If the question is "How do you continue watching if Marvin Lewis returns?" Well the answer is simple, with enough alcohol to kill an elephant pumping through your veins. The blackouts make the bad play calls and crap coaching much easier to tolerate since you only have to read about them after the fact. But, that's just my strategy for dealing with Marvin and Mike Brown's bumbling, fumbling ways it may not be for everyone.

If I can somehow talk myself in to watching another season of the two stooges, I seriously doubt I can. I might have to take your advice and step up to Jim Bean or something. Beer just ain't enough.

[Devils Advocate]

(12-27-2016, 10:29 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: The Bengals are light years away from being competitive. I watched lots of other teams this year just to compare and as much as I love Cincinnati -- and I'll always love my hometown Reds and Bengals -- I have to sadly admit not even the best Marvin Lewis teams had a chance in the playoffs. None.

This is patently false.

The consensus around here is; that without CP's injury in '05, the Bengals likely go far into the playoffs, if not all the way. Furthermore, since the arrival of AD and AJ, they haven't missed the playoffs. That is far from being light years away of competitive.

They have their problems but don't make stuff up.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(12-26-2016, 04:45 PM)fredtoast Wrote: We have a first year OC, a second year DC, and had to replace 4 coaches from our staff last year (Hue Jackson, Vance Joseph, Jay Hayes, Matt Burke)

That OC is one of the tenured bums  ......then there's Piano Man....the Hayes Bros - 1.....there was ol what's his name at RB coach who RETIRED.....Simmons been here a minute (although he at least appears to be competent )......and all of the cats you named left on their own accord...not fired....well not sure on Burke...and don't really care.