FanPost

Stop paying for this crap

I'm old. I have been a fan for a long time. I sat through the 90's without hope, never really caring because it was clear that this team was lost.

Then something happened. We hired Marvin Lewis and drafted the traitor and suddenly a glimmer of hope arose (see the Browns this year...just give them a coach next season, btw). Chad was running wild around the NFL being one of the best (and most enjoyable to watch) players in the NFL. Things were looking up for Cinci.

Then the traitor got hurt. He never really seemed to recover after his injury, but we knew that the Bengals were going to keep trotting him out there because that's what we did with Marvin. We stuck with the guys we had and just hoped something would change.

Traitor got hurt again, Chad moved on & it seemed like the end of an era. My interest had been piqued - I would go to a game or two a year and watch and paid attention to what was going on. Then something wonderful happened - the traitor left and we had an amazing draft where the Bengals picked up one of the top receivers in the NFL AND a starting caliber QB. It was magic, if only we could get over the hump.

My passion was back for this team. I started watching even more, paying attention even more - reading articles...commenting on the articles, etc.

But every year ended up exactly the same. We beat the bad teams, lost to the good teams. There were always the excuses...we need another stud receiver, we need a starting caliber center, we need another safety, we need a big bruising running back, we need more 1st round cornerbacks, we need we need we need...we were always that one magical piece away.

It didn't matter - I knew, in my heart, that things were changing. Despite all the playoff losses, I kept on.

Then it happened. The playoff game versus the Steelers. I KNEW going into that game that we were going to win. The Steelers were pretenders that year, and we had a good team. I KNEW we were going to win. Less than 2 minutes to go, we had the lead - it was so wonderful. I was there, in the stands - just hugging everybody, finally the drought was over.

Jeremy $&*@ing Hill...

Vontaze %^&*ing Burfict...

Adam Mother !#&^ing Jones...

I broke. Literally...I broke. I don't know how else to explain it. The second Hill fumbled, I knew...I just knew. OH MY GOD, WE ARE GOING TO LOSE THIS.

I could have won that game. Literally - Andy Dalton could have handed me the ball & I could have fell on my butt and won that game for us...by simply being uncoordinated and falling with the ball firmly wrapped up in my arms. I just paid hard earned money to watch some athlete crap away something I could have done better.

I didn't know what to do. I sort of watched the next season...but it never has felt the same. Then I just stopped...and I'm happier for it.

This team will NEVER be a good team. This team will NEVER be a real contender. We let our best players leave (see Whitworth, Zeitler, etc) and replace them with absolute drivel. We can never have enough talent to surround Dalton. We will always be one injury away, one call away, one (insert cliche football thing) away from being a good team.

Our draft picks will continue to sit on the bench doing absolutely nothing. Let's draft another 1st round CB. Let's trot Willis out there next year - he's shown absolutely nothing after 3 years...might as well give him another 3 years of futility before we admit he's worthless and move on. Let's keep trotting Ross out there...let's NEVER draft a linebacker. I digress...

The worst part? This team doesn't care. Mike Brown doesn't care. After that playoff game...EVERYONE should have been fired. I never should have had to endure one more second of Jeremy Hill in stripes. I should not have had to endure one more second of Marvin Lewis with his befuddled look on the sidelines. I should not have had to endure one more off-season incident with Pacman being labeled a Bengal. I shouldn't have to hear about how terrible Burfict is with a picture of him in a Bengals uniform on the top. They all should have been gone.

But they weren't...

This team DOES NOT CARE.

DOES.

NOT.

CARE.

You know what - neither do I. Sure, I guess I'm a Bengals fan...but I won't spend one more red cent on this team until there are MASSIVE CHANGES...and neither should you.

I am so much happier with my Sundays back. I work nights, and today I woke up, looked at the score in the second half, chuckled, rolled back over in bed & went back to sleep. It was nice not caring - knowing the outcome before the game even started.

Thank you, Bengals, I have my Sundays back.

I still read the articles, and I watch the comment section, because I find it entertaining. But no...I won't really be back. I suppose maybe one day something magical happens again. Maybe another AJ Green ends up in stripes, and maybe we happen to strike gold somehow...but I doubt it. I have seen too much of this team to really care again.

I broke after that playoff game...and I think I'm broken for good.

So this is just a PSA. If you want change, start with yourself. I feel better, and am generally happier after I stopped caring. I'm not wasting money on a shoddy product and I'm not supporting this broken system.

I don't know why I felt the need to write this - but thanks for reading. Maybe I'll be back one day...I'll keep reading the articles, because I just can't stop...but my heart isn't in this anymore - and it hasn't been for a while.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan, which is as important as the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors.