Five Stages of Grief for Bengals Fans: Bargaining/Depression

by Jason Garrison on Jan 8, 2012 5:00 PM EST

HOUSTON, TX - JANUARY 07: Arian Foster #23 of the Houston Texans scores a 42-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals during their 2012 AFC Wild Card Playoff game at Reliant Stadium on January 7, 2012 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Alright, I'm not angry anymore. I kind of wish I was, though, because now I'm just sad. I would do anything to change the outcome of Saturday's game. Literally anything. I would trade all the Bengals seasons for the next decade to send them to New England where they would have a shot to go to the AFC Championship and maybe the super bowl.

What does it matter, though? The Bengals haven't won a playoff game since 1990 and I'm beginning to think that they never will, at least not while I'm alive or while they're in Cincinnati. That would be my luck. I die and they win or they move away and they win. I'm sure it won't happen while I'm alive or while they're in town because I'm just not that lucky and the football gods obviously don't like me very much.

Since I'm probably never going to see the Bengals win the super bowl, I'm just going to curl up in this dark hole, grow a beard (which will literally take me like 50 years) and take the insults from all the imaginary friends that I'm sure to create. Hell, maybe I'll adopt 30 or 40 cats and be that weird cat guy that doesn't talk to anybody. How else could I react to my favorite team losing to the Texans in the playoffs? This is a team that the Bengals allowed to win in Week 14 and then came out on Saturday and just got destroyed on both offense and defense. Andy Dalton couldn't throw because he was running for his life, Cedric Benson couldn't run because he can't run, their defense couldn't stop Arian Foster or T.J. Yates.

So I'm going to go get in my hole because the Bengals broke my heart on Saturday. Man, I really wish that I would start to feel better soon and that I would accept what happened and move forward with my head held high (foreshadowing).

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The only stage I think is important is the replacing Lippincott stage

it’s amazing how little discussion that has generated. The guy ran the football operations here for two mostly losing decades. Now he’s supposed to go. Who replaces him?

Meanwhile, In Oakland:
The Raiders said Friday they have reached an agreement with Green Bay Packers director of football operations Reggie McKenzie to become their new general manager. They scheduled a news conference for Tuesday to introduce McKenzie, who will fulfill many of the duties handled by iconic owner Davis until his Oct. 8 death at age 82.
McKenzie has had the support of former Raiders executives Ron Wolf, Ken Herock and John Madden, who were assisting the team in its search for a new general manager.

“Reggie’s a tremendous evaluator,” Wolf told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday. “He can tell you who can play and who can’t play. That’s what it’s all about. Some can write reports but can’t tell you who can play. Whatever that is, he has that. He has a feel.”

That’s the move — what the Raiders just did — that was actually badly needed in Cincinnati. The two headed monster of Lippincott/Brown needs to be vanquished. The death of Al Davis has actually set in motion something could end up with Raiders being a very good team.

by occams_tiger_teeth on Jan 8, 2012 5:22 PM EST reply actions

Headline

Houston Third String Qb Wins the Battle. Dalton looks Silly!?

by Chili Dog on Jan 8, 2012 5:28 PM EST reply actions

Sad thing about that Chili

you are so right.

by James Schmid the great on Jan 8, 2012 5:34 PM EST reply actions

I don't know about depression....

but I sure feel better watching Denver make the Steelers look bad. Too bad there is so much time left.

"Next season will be better" circa 1990

by Yarin on Jan 8, 2012 5:44 PM EST reply actions

0-3

I think proves Marvin doesn’t know how to prepare a team for playoffs.
Line play was awful yesterday and dalton looked terrible as a result
D line play was awful making the entire defense
Look awful.
Fix the lines and the bengals win a couple more games next year only to fail under Marvin’s playoff prep.

by BENGALS69 on Jan 8, 2012 6:03 PM EST reply actions 1 recs