NFL 2011 (or how I gave up on the Bengals and am learning to love football again

[foolsgold]

For years, I've said that I had enough of the Bengals, but always went back.  This year, they might as well not exist for as much as I know.  It feels great really terrific reading about Sunday's game or the latest drug bust and really not having any sort of reaction.  It's so nice to watch football on a Sunday without any sort of attachments or expectations.  That said, I am a Lions and Bills bandwagon fan at the moment and will be until someone else grabs my attention.  I also will watch any game Peyton Hillis plays in and that final drive yesterday was so much fun to watch. 

A friend, before the season started, tried to get my loyalties with KC.  Pretty glad I kept my options open.

[Dan]

I lived in Cincy for 5 years and people asked if I would become a fan, as I did with the Reds. The answer was a resounding no...not until they changed ownership, changed front office policy (read: nepotism) and actually hired professionals based on skill and/or experience. And they hired a scouting department.

I have never regretted this decision.

[cuddlyevil]

I still get crap within my family for not changing my team loyalties to the "home team" (aka: the bengals). That would make me nothing more than a fair weather fan.

I'm really proud of how my Bills are doing so far this season and if we could swing it, we'd be at the game on Sunday.

[c-lando]

That said, I am a Lions and Bills bandwagon fan at the moment and will be until someone else grabs my attention.

You gotta love the Lions being at 3-0 for the season already. Good ties to GA keep them on the radar on all the sports coverage down here.

[rva]

Yeah, even as a Bears fan I'm kind of pulling for the Lions.  I even liked them last year.  You could see the level of talent and attitude had completely changed.  They just needed one more season to gell.  And they had shitty luck, too.  They lost a bunch of games that could have gone either way, including the one to the Bears that they actually did win and got screwed on a technicality.

They should be able to finish second in that division and snag a wildcard.

[Poolio]

I still get crap within my family for not changing my team loyalties to the "home team" (aka: the bengals). That would make me nothing more than a fair weather fan.

You would not have believed the amount of crap I got when I moved to Nashville about switching to the Titans (this is was 2000) as they were doing very well, still relatively new to town and so Titans crap was everywhere. Funny thing, a couple years of whizzing it down their legs in the playoffs and some notable personnel implosions and people didn't give me crap about switching loyalties. It's nice to be back in Ohio where people appreciate/understand being a fan of a historically crummy team.

[foolsgold]

Between the two, the Lions look like the real contenders to me.  With the Bills lousy defense and Ryan Fitzpatrick behind center, I just think they are punching way above their weight.  Just a gut feeling more than any insight, though.

That said, from a purely underdog standpoint, I'd love to see those two teams duking it out in the Superbowl. 

[Poolio]

With the Bills lousy defense and Ryan Fitzpatrick behind center, I just think they are punching way above their weight.  Just a gut feeling more than any insight, though.

Well, that lousy defense caused Brady to have 4 interceptions (equal to his 2010 season total) and harassed him enough to cause the mistakes in the first place. Just sayin'. 

It would be awesome if the Lions and/or Bills (or Browns) made it pretty far into the post-season but it's a little too soon to start hoping for that. If we have learned anything over the years, it's that there are few teams who have a greater capacity to whizz it down their legs just as things start going great than the Bills.

[Dan]

The Browns have an historically easy schedule, so their win-loss record might look pretty good, but I will state here and now that they are NOT that good. They have a couple of pieces in place, which is more than they've had in the past, so we're all optimistic about the future... but right now it's just not here yet. Do not put your eggs in their basket.

I will enjoy the ride, and 8-8 is a reasonable but hopeful goal for this crappy team.

[va_vacious]

I'm still giving my co-worker, a life-long Steelers fan (but grew up in Buffalo), loads of grief for switching loyalties to the Panthers. He explained that his wife made him (!!!) since they have kids who "should" be Panthers fans because they live in NC. I told him to ADD the Panthers, but you can't give up on a twenty year support of a team.

Though I don't care about professional ball, I do love some college football. And even though I have lived in ACC country for almost 12 years, I will never give up on my Tennessee Volunteers, and I will never seriously support UNC, Duke, or VA Tech.

[Butter]

The Bengals are actually playing reasonably well so far this season.  I figured coming into the season, that 2-14 was a reasonable expectation, and they are 1-2 and have been in all 3 games.  I am way less tightly wound about this season than I was about last season, when I expected them to contend and they actually were awful.

[Butter]

Clemson has been infinitely more fun to watch than the Bengals this year, so I am focusing on college anyway.

[Poncho]

changed front office policy (read: nepotism)

As an avid Bengals fan, with all the woes that come with it, I will agree with everything you said EXCEPT this point.  I used to feel this way until I saw Hard Knocks and read several interviews with Katie Blackburn. 

First... this is never an issue with Jimbob's Bait Shack.  Who else does Jimbob trust to run his family's company?  His family.  Who else does Jimbob groom to take over his business?  His kids.  Who else does Jimbob look to for advice?  His closest friends and relatives.  Duh.  Why would the Bengals be any different?  It's a family business.  How can I criticize what I'd probably do myself?

Second... Katie isn't nearly as much like her old man as people want to paint her.  She's aggressive without being pig-headed.  She wants scouts.  She wants a "practice bubble" to be built.  She wants to spend money to save money.  She wants the pain and suffering to end.  She seems to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.  I have become a mild fan.

I didn't actually believe that until I started paying better attention.

[rva]

Though I don't care about professional ball, I do love some college football. And even though I have lived in ACC country for almost 12 years, I will never give up on my Tennessee Volunteers, and I will never seriously support UNC, Duke, or VA Tech.

I was in Gatlinburg a couple weeks ago and I thought it was weird that VA Tech seemed to have so much support there.  I mean, nowhere near the level of the Vols of course, but it seemed to be like the (distant) #2 team.  Every store's college-y merchandise would be like 80% Tennessee crap, 10% Tech crap, and 10% all others.

In fact, if I were to rank Gatlinburg, Tennessee's top 10 favorite things it would be:

1)  Airsoft guns
2)  UT Volunteers
3)  Weird, fake martial arts weaponry
4)  Candy
5)  RC helicopters
6)  Old Time photos
7)  Hot sauces
8 )  Hunting
9)  Gambling
10) Virginia Tech Hokies

Also receiving votes:  Dolly Parton

[Dan]

changed front office policy (read: nepotism)

As an avid Bengals fan, with all the woes that come with it, I will agree with everything you said EXCEPT this point.  I used to feel this way until I saw Hard Knocks and read several interviews with Katie Blackburn. 

First... this is never an issue with Jimbob's Bait Shack.  Who else does Jimbob trust to run his family's company?  His family.  Who else does Jimbob groom to take over his business?  His kids.  Who else does Jimbob look to for advice?  His closest friends and relatives.  Duh.  Why would the Bengals be any different?  It's a family business.  How can I criticize what I'd probably do myself?

Second... Katie isn't nearly as much like her old man as people want to paint her.  She's aggressive without being pig-headed.  She wants scouts.  She wants a "practice bubble" to be built.  She wants to spend money to save money.  She wants the pain and suffering to end.  She seems to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.  I have become a mild fan.

I didn't actually believe that until I started paying better attention.

That's good to hear. Again - I don't pay attention to them as I'm not a fan, and I'm totally willing to believe that someone in the family and front office actually does know what they are doing. And I'm also willing to believe that Katie will lead them places. But having practically your WHOLE front office being either family or family-in-law? That's taking it too far. JimBob's Bait Shack certainly has JimBob's sons involved, but they also have other employees and lawyers and department heads that are good at their jobs. In the end, though, I think that a company as large as the Bengals and any professional team shouldn't be compared to a small Bait Shack but rather a Fortune 500 company. How many of those have their top 15 executives all in a position because of blood?