Brad Kostoff's screen time is ridiculous (five points if you find the humor in that irony). Yet, we don't head out the door with our crusading hearts so much as wonder what James Walker's obsession about a Bengals fan that sold his allegiance to the Pittsburgh Steelers through an auction on eBay.
Last week ESPN's James Walker provided an update on Kostoff who said, "I actually dislike the Bengals as a whole and it may just be the 20 years of torment as a fan they put me through." As if shocked that such a statement could rile up an entire community, Walker goes on to give Kostoff another medium to respond to those comments. He goes into a rant why he's no longer a fan:
As far as never being a fan? I find it comical. Honestly, if you are/were a true fan for the past 20 seasons of the Bengals and haven't contemplated "What am I doing?" or "Why don't I just don't cheer for another team?" then you must not have been a true fan. I owned season tickets since Paul Brown Stadium opened in the first row of the stadium/ I guess all the "fair-weather" fans own those. I was still watching games in December between 1998-2002 when they had a combined 19-61 record. I was at games in December in 15 degree weather when they were finishing up those 4-12 seasons, while all these "so-called" true fans were at home. I cared so much, that when you feel like the owner doesn't care as much as you, something has to give.
Personally. Steelers fans. You can have him. He's all yours. Quite honestly if this were about Joe everyday fan, who wouldn't be nodding their heads? If the Middle East were Bengals fans, protests would shift from inequality and persecution to asking Mike Brown to step down. It's not that we care about Kostoff shifting opinion, which isn't dissimilar to the Ohio weather, what to have for dinner or figuring out if Lady Gaga is attractive after your 20th adult beverage. Rather it's Walker's indirect criticism on Bengals fans, ranging from reminders of Bengals fans offseason enthusiasm to the more recent Kostoff caricature of Bengals fan disgruntled. We probably shouldn't be insensitive about such things and normally we're not. But when you enter a phase in the offseason where you're contemplating the attractiveness of Lady Gaga then you're certainly needing someone to desperately hit the reset button.