What can fans do to turn this around?

James Walker's Voice of the People actually included a Bengals fan! We're still not sure if there's absolutely zero Bengals fans chiming in, or Bengals fans don't drip with compliments as many of the entries seem to introduce themselves. That Bengals fan asked the generic all-purposeful question that every Bengals fan seems to end up asking: "What needs to happen to turn this around?"

Tom from Reading MA writes: From one of the "pins dropping" Bengal fans, I think this comment sums it up, from Pete King's MMQB blog. The story was about Dick LeBeau's candidacy for the HOF: ...and also because he had a lousy record (12-33) as a NFL head coach, with Cincinnati from 2000 to '02. I've had a long history with the Bengals, and I can tell you Vince Lombardi, with Bill Walsh and Bill Parcells as his coordinators, wouldn't have built a great team there. I've even noted your off handed remarks about the Bengals, so you should know why we are depressed. So I ask you, what really needs to happen to turn this around? You'll note that I now live in New England, and have experienced the turnaround of the Pats, so is it as easy as wishing for a new owner? And knowing he won't sell, what can we as fans do to "turn this around"?

In truth, fans can only do so much. Boycotts of merchandise and season tickets were the start. A public campaign to show the general fan's frustration followed, garnering responses from Greg Aiello and even Dan Rooney. However the timing couldn't be more unfortunate because in the mind of Mike Brown, it's the economy hurting the team, not the fan's displeasure.

I could, at this point suggest that fans fill the stadium, cheer the players that just want to play in front of a packed house of rabid fans. Maybe the 12th man fires the team enough to pulled out 2-3 more wins; playing in front of a packed house has to be more motivational than a half-empty stadium where prospective free agents would see and be like, "I'm not going there, the fans don't even support them". In other words, make it about the players and not the owner. However, I hardly think that I'd make it through the week without being lynched.

In truth, it's not the reality. Decades of miserable results tends to make a fan base smaller, the passionate ones angry. Now the most popular question is what can fans do to make this change, when the NFL and the contemporary owners support Browns direction rather than offering a push for change.