DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk The Smack Shack The End of an Era....bungle style.

You have as much room to show your face here as the Bengals have Championships...

ZERO, ZILCH, NADA, ZIP, ETC.

You talk a big game, your team sucks it up, and you go into hiding during the meantime. I mean, you used to constantly show your face around here when the Bengals were winning. Where have you been?

It's funny living in Mason, too. No more black and orange anywhere. I see more Browns fans down here than Bungle fans. As of last weekend, I see the Browns playing more often than the Bungles too. It's great.

Ohhhh, Bungle fans, fairweather 'til the end. Look on the bright side, though, if Hamilton County declares bankruptcy, maybe you can redo that deal you made with Mike Brown where he essentially pillaged your city to put poor product on the field.

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All the Medman bashing on this thread says differently.

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Don't worry Hemorroid,you run a close second for noone caring what you think either.

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P.S. - I do know one thing, BOTH the Bengals & the Browns will be watching the playoffs

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I'm glad you were able to finally figure that out my slow minded friend. You were still claiming that the Bunglers would make the playoffs when they were 2-4.

You sound a lot like that old poster ...... what was his name ..... driveway or something?

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Yet you replied.

Btw...its "no one" not "noone".

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How else are you going to find out "KNOW 1"cares....DUH!!!!!!
And as you can see,I could care less about your grammar lesson also.

Paul Daugherty
Cincinnati.Com » Paul Daugherty
Updated: 8:00 am | December 11, 2010
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101211/COL03/12120359
Now Bengals really infuriating
Fans' disappointment has turned to anger

CINCINNATI -- As the Bengals wind down another fruitless season on the way to Draft Day, there is a tangible sense that things are different, and not in a good way.

You could argue that fan disaffection is as traditional in Cincinnati as chili on spaghetti, and you'd be right. But this time is different. This time is like no other time.

"I used to get fired up by bad play calling or insane personnel moves. Now I shrug them off and spend Sunday with my wife. I still hope they win, but I'm not emotionally invested."

Sound familiar? Know anyone like that? Is he/she in the mirror?

That was a post to my blog, The Morning Line on Cincinnati.Com, Wednesday. I had asked why fan disaffection was more acute this year. I've been here since 1988. I've never experienced the anger toward the Bengals I've felt this year. Hate is not too strong a word.

Why this year?

Relations between the organization and the fans have never been good. That rarely affected attendance. The Bengals sold out 57 games in a row. People complained, but they voted with their wallets, over and over. So why does 2010 feel like a tipping point? Why, after 18 non-winning seasons in the last 20, just two playoff games and zero playoff wins, is the base suddenly rising up in this most recent, discontented winter?

It feels like a critical juncture in the history of the team. Not in the sense that the Bengals will leave; they have nowhere to go. Not in the sense that they can ransom the region again; they did that already. But in a deeper, more grass-roots way.

Earlier this month, a lifetime Bengals fan wrote this to team president Mike Brown, and shared it with me:

"In January, I'll turn 60. I'm retiring any sense of Bengal affiliation after 42 years. I've finally gotten it through my thick skull that the team will never be competitive ... because the front office is not competitive."

It could be a perfect storm of bad economy, lopsided stadium deal, contraction of city services and deeply dashed expectations on the field. The perception exists that We are hurting and They are not. It could be a perceived lack of accountability. Three NFL teams have fired their coaches midseason for performances not unlike what we've witnessed here.

Some have suggested that in this instant information age, fans now have access to facts and figures previously unavailable to them. Media heathens whining about poor management could not be trusted or believed. Now that fans have their own eyeballs in play, personal judgments are being made. The results aren't pretty.

Ironically, the Bengals are not run much differently now than they were 20 years ago, or 30. That's part of the issue, of course, but it never caused an insurrection before. The region's budget woes are several years old. We bought the Reds a playpen, too. And watching bad, semi-NFL football isn't a recent development.

Mike Brown was aggressive last offseason. You might not have liked the signings of Terrell Owens and Adam Jones. But they showed an owner willing to make a run for what he believed could be a Super season.

Ultimately, the Bengals did what the Bengals do. A culture of complacent mediocrity doesn't win in the NFL, which is forever a win-now operation. Despite the best efforts of Marvin Lewis, complacent mediocrity has won again. Lewis has been asking for years for an indoor practice facility. It would be as much a symbol of ownership's commitment to winning as it would be a convenient place to go to work in December. I don't see one yet. Neither does Lewis.

Ownership's reaction has been and will be predictable. Essentially: It's our team and we will run it the way we like.

"The Brown Family takes the fans of their team for granted."

"I think overarching sense is that Cincinnati has a team to a lesser extent than the Brown family has a team."

Ideally, pro sports teams foster a pride and a spirit in their cities that would be missing without them. This is the intangible good of spending hundreds of millions of dollars to keep them in your town. In the best cases, an identity comes along for the ride. Pittsburgh comes to mind. In Cincinnati, the Bengals have inspired a loathing that has crested this fall. Does this happen anywhere else?

"In many cities, the pro sports organizations have a palpable positive relationship with their fans. I've sensed it in Buffalo, Green Bay, KC. I've seen it in most NFL cities I've visited. It does not exist in Cincinnati."

Letter after letter to the editor offers the same message: Go away, Bengals. You're not worth our money and, more importantly, our time. The disdain is astounding. And sad.

After seven-plus years of sellouts, the Bengals might not sell out again this year. They don't release information on the number of luxury boxes currently leased. Eyeballs on binoculars make it obvious more than a few boxes are vacant. Man On The Street says, more than ever, that he is done spending money at Paul Brown Stadium.

The Golden Goose Era is over.

I could be wrong. Maybe next season - if there is a next season - The Family will have made changes sweeping and sufficient enough to lure the faithful back to church. No telling what might happen when The Family wallet is threatened, as it is now.

But Brown already has written to disgruntled ticketholders that he will not hire a general manager. Chances are excellent he will not lure a big-name coach. What else is there? Free tap water when the bottled stuff runs out?

This, then, is a plea to The Family: Stop being tone deaf. Leave the isolation your wealth and power bring you. Understand that while the Bengals are your business, they are our team. It's not hard to be loved in this town, if you are a part of the sports establishment. Show that you care about your customers. Win occasionally. That's it. You will be loved. Or at least not despised in the manner you are now.

Listen to the people who pay your bills. Once in awhile, show a little gratitude. It wouldn't take a lot. Fans here have been conditioned to accept average.

I hesitated to write this, because I've written it before and believed it a waste of time. And maybe I've misread the public mood. Staying hissed at Mike Brown is a local tradition.

But this time seems different. It does seem like no other time. It's a crucial moment for the Bengals, who are losing support from fans who have lost faith.

"Remember, the opposite of love is not hate. It is cold indifference."

Last year for the Browns was the first year I started feeling that way. It was the first time that I wasn't mad the team was so poor. I just kind of started thinking "maybe it's just not worth my time." And that's a tough thing to think when you live and breathe a team.

Luckily for us, we have an owner who is willing to shell out any amounts necessary to get the team going in the right direction. He might not always make the right decision, but it's not for lack of trying.

they make perfect sense Im the one who authored the content what I cannot understand is when fan's of teams in the same division come up with the w schedule excuse. with the exception of 2 teams based on your finish the year before its the same exact schedule between all the team can you comprehend that... sit at your computer and correct my grammer make yourself feel important there champ... because I could give a crap... i'll enjoy my beer and my life cheers


read this outloud to yourself see if it makes any sense

Grammar smack is the lowest form of smack. It's like a "knock knock joke" in stand up comedy.

Bengals' incentive for season ticket holders? A box of popcorn

Dear Season Ticket Holder:

The Cincinnati Bengals want you back.

Actually, they wanted you back before now, before a promising season erupted like a Whoopee cushion, giving you every reason not to come back, ever. They wanted you back, back in August, just after they'd signed Terrell Owens to marry Chad Ochocinco in a civil ceremony aired live on Dancing With The Stars. Or maybe it was the T.Ocho Show. Whatever.

To that end, the Bengals put together an incentive package so overwhelming we hesitate to publish it for fear the country's wireless network might collapse under the call-now strain. In August, before the Bengals were 2-11, losers of 10 straight and owners of a team-town relationship the envy of Bob Irsay and Baltimore, the Bengals offered their lapsed season ticket holders a voucher good for a million dollars, a new Cadillac and a month on Bora Bora.

They did not.

It was a voucher for a new vacuum cleaner, a multi-tool and a Tuesday night in Jersey City.

Not even.

How 'bout a box of popcorn?

From a letter sent by the team, to former season ticket holders:

"After another excellent draft class, the addition of Antonio Bryant, and arrival of Terrell Owens, the 2009 AFC North champions are looking to have an even better 2010 season, and we would love for you to join us again! For a limited time only, if you purchase new Season Tickets, you will receive a voucher for a free box of popcorn. ..''

Imagine the insanity in the Queen City the day those letters arrived. Erstwhile Season Ticket Guy, slamming redial, hoping beyond hope to get his free box of popcorn. Sobbing silently when he finally gets through and is told all the vouchers are gone. Pondering the afterlife. Leaving a note:

"All I wanted was my free box of popcorn.''

Insiders tell me if the Bengals had upped the ante to a box of Cracker Jack, the city would have declared martial law.

Let's see if we understand: In August, the Bengals hadn't won a playoff game in 19 years. In that span, they'd had two winning seasons. The cheapest season seats went for $60 a game. That's $480 for the season. For that, popcorn.

Last August, Forbes magazine judged the Bengals franchise to be worth $905 million. A decade ago, the team moved into a $600 million publicly financed stadium. It sold out 57 games in a row, which brands the fans as loyal or dull or both.

Let them eat popcorn.

Not unlimited popcorn.

One box.

For a limited time only.

Not long after the letter went out and the club got laughed at again, it issued a pronouncement that it was merely hopping on the T.O. hypewagon, playing on Owens' slogan, "Get your popcorn ready.''

Well, of course. The point was, with any other organization you could name, no explanation would be necessary. With the Bengals the explanation was not only instructive, but required.

Understand: Cincinnati is a civil burg. It is Philly, if Philly were Sunday morning in the confessional. 'Nati fans have been bludgeoned for a generation, Reds and Bengals, to an extent that when their teams accomplish mediocrity, the fans plan parade routes. It takes a lot to make them mad.

The popcorn letter really didn't help things.

Of course, it wasn't the first faux pas from the Bengals, whose definition of "fan experience'' is somewhat different than most. In the early 90s, in the locker room immediately after another 3-13 season, Bengals staffers distributed a press release announcing an increase in ticket prices.

Last season, on a sweltering September day when the concession stands ran out of bottled water, they began offering tap water for $3 a cup.

In 2004, a group of season ticketholders sued the team, claiming they were being forced to buy tickets they didn't want. Nothing says GO TEAM! quite like fans suing to get out of buying tickets.

Several years ago, the team sent a letter to its fans, seeking input on their "experience'' at the stadium -- paraphrasing here -- not including the game action itself.

The video the Bengals show just before the game has not been changed since the stadium opened. Other places, team greats are acknowledged around the facility. At Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, part of the concourse is devoted to a shrine to Steelers greats. No such luck in Cincinnati. You can buy stuff at the gift shop, though. Two weeks ago, when the gametime temperature rested beneath freezing, they were offering $5 off short-sleeved T-shirts. For real.

When the Bengals drive inside the opponent's 20-yard line, it is announced they have "entered the Heinz Red Zone,'' which is wildly amusing to the thousands of Pittsburgh Steelers fans routinely in attendance.

And so on. Right now, Bengals fans love their team as much as Al Capone loved auditors. Things are not good. Probably, not even free popcorn (one box, limited time) would help.

One longtime fan posted on my blog this week, "No recognition, other than a cheesy bumper sticker, [for] being a 25-year season ticket holder. Wouldn't some kind of acknowledgement of their most loyal [customers] be kind of cool?''

To which a later poster replied, "Twenty-five-year season ticket holder? Come down to the Bengals main office, tell them your situation and let [them] brand 'I'm a complete idiot' on your forehead.''

Wrote another, "The answer to end this madness involves following the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King. The fans should walk onto the field, lay down and start singing 'We Shall Overcome.'''

That could be good. Get your popcorn ready

link

Bet that box of popcorn is either outdated or it's an off brand product.

Is this for real? Did they really send out that letter?

If you want another good chuckle..

Get yer tickets!

Entering the 2010 season, the Bengals have sold out 53 consecutive regular season and postseason games, dating back to November 2003. Be sure to get your tickets early before the best seats are gone!