Best Bengals Team of All Time

Sllllooooowwww. That's how things are for Bengals fans right now. I'm not a soccer or tennis guy. I'm happy that the US men's team won today but that doesn't mean I'm going to watch the next game (match?). Sorry. There is a tennis game (match?) going on right now that I hear is breaking records for how long it is lasting. My TV is tuned to The King of Queens... and it's a rerun that I've probably seen three times. So, as you can see, football guys such as myself are struggling during the (ridiculously) hot days of June.

Did you know there was an earthquake in Cincinnati today? I didn't even get to feel it. Boring. So what's a fella to do?

Since the Bengals aren't lighting up the news with stories of steroid use, being really hated in the NFL or doing whatever Ben Roethlisberger likes to do in the restrooms of bars, I have to write about this: the greatest Bengals team of all time.

Remember 1988? There was conflict between the United States and Iran, George Bush Number 1 defeated Michael Dukakis in the presidential election, the greatest action movie ever, Die Hard, was released in theaters, Yasser Arifat recognized Israels right to exist and, oh yeah, the Cincinnati Bengals went to the Super Bowl.

Boomer Esiason was the quarterback, Anthony Munoz watched his back, Eddie Brown caught his passes, James Brooks took his hand-offs and Ickey Woods did the shuffle.

James Walker of ESPN writes:

Cincinnati's explosive offense led the NFL in scoring with 448 points and in total yards in '88. Esiason threw for 3,572 yards and 28 touchdowns, and the Bengals nearly had two 1,000-yard rushers in Ickey Woods (1,066 yards) and James Brooks (931 yards).

The Bengals lost the Super Bowl that year to the San Francisco 49ers. Joe Montana led the 49ers on a 92 yard drive in the last minutes of the game and scored on a pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds remaining in the game to win 20-16. We'll see who gets the last laugh when California drops into the ocean in 2012, Golden Gate City.... yes, we shall see. Man I'm mad I missed the earthquake.

One of the more memorable games of the season was the AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills which turned into a defensive battle.

The Bengals had to win with toughness, holding the Jim Kelly-led Bills to 181 total yards in a 21-10 victory. Cincinnati held Buffalo to 45 yards rushing and forced three turnovers. The Bengals also ran the ball 50 times for 175 yards in the win to set up their Super Bowl showdown with San Francisco.

That year, the Bengals had seven Pro Bowlers. Esiason, Munoz, Brooks, Brown, Holman, Fulcher and Krumrie all made the trip to Hawaii that year.

Do you remember? I personally don't because I was five at the time and spent my time playing with action figures and discovering new ways of getting in trouble. I would love to say to my grand kids one day, though "Yes, I remember when the 2010 Bengals did *insert something awesome here*."

1988 was 22 years ago. Cincinnati is due for a new best Bengals team of all time. Maybe some cool kid will write about it on this site 22 years from now.