Toad in the punch bowl take: I hope the good people of Hamilton County think of the recent good vibes supplied by their NFL team as services rendered for the riches we’ve already heaped upon them, and NOT as a commodity we need to pay off for the next 25 years.
I’m 67 and my Bengal memories go back to Virgil Carter in 1970 (after Greg Cook’s devastating injury). THESE ARE THE GOOD OLE DAYS ... thanks Joe B for bringing them to life.
As someone who was sitting in the stands at Nippert in 1968 when the new Cincinnati Bengals began their exhibition season, I have been through a lot of pain and suffering over the last 54 years. Even though i am now retired and live in Gainesville, Georgia, where DeSean Watson has a street named after him, I am still a diehard Bengals fan and will always be until I'm gone, regardless of their record. Sure am enjoying the current team. Hope the lousy weather forecast in KC today doesnt affect the outcome of the game. WHO DEY!!!!!!
Doc, you words ring true! The agony and suffering I have endured will make this day so much sweeter! We have suffered for 50 years and THIS IS OUR TIME! The sweetness of victory will be enhanced by the decades of struggle! WHO DEY!!!
I turn 60 this year, fan since 3rd grade/‘73 season. All I can think thru the first dozen paragraphs is, I just want one before I die. But of course Paul already knew that.
Jan 29, 2023·edited Jan 29, 2023Liked by Paul Daugherty
My family moved to Arizona from Cincinnati in 1996 at the urging of my allergist. Cincinnati's weather spent most of my early life trying to kill me through debilitating asthma that routinely landed me in the hospital. Had we not moved, I probably wouldn't have made it to my 21st birthday (I'm 39 now). I needed to be in a dry climate, away from the Midwest's mold and humidity to live. The irony of moving to one of the least-sustainable places on earth isn't lost on me.
The hell does that have to do with the Bengals?
One random weeknight in the early 1990s during one of my many asthma-induced hospitalizations, a group of players came to visit sick kids at Children's Hospital Medical Center. Being a tiny, weak, sheltered child, their size scared the shit out of me and if memory serves, neither of my parents were present.
I didn't show it at the time, but I never stopped appreciating a random group of players visiting a bunch of sick kids. The players weren't assholes, either!
But hell if I can remember who were any of the players that visited!? Or what positions they played?
Maybe it was all a dream and nothing of this sort ever happened? That too feels oddly appropriate: Supporting a sports franchise because of something you thought might've happened but really didn't over 30 years ago.
They were there for me once when I least expected it. Or at least, that's how I remember it.
Sports are a wonderful distraction from real life. I've seen nothing but "Who deys" on Facebook most of the week. None (or at least not much) of the usual negativity. Instead of turning on the political shows this morning, I turned on Game Day coverage. And my attitude is better for it! In a few weeks, we'll be back to "normal". But for now, it's a great ride!
I've been in Cinci since 1991, and have always been an avid Bengal Fan. It's "football" for me. I lived in Colorado for 17 years and was a Broncos fan during the John Elway years. The Orange Crush, front line turned Elway into a Hero. He struggled at first, was teased because he had a great smile with great teeth. And when he was a rookie, he had to wear his plays on an arm band. Most fans, at least the guys (cause the girls thought he was cute) made fun of him because he had to read his plays off his arm band, which is common practice, today. John took Denver to the Super Bowl and won two seasons. It was worth waiting for and the best time ever, while hanging out at chili and beer parties and celebrating with friends. These are times I don't forget. And, here they come again, in just a few hours. Tension builds, for sure.
I've been at Bengal games here in the past where the only cheer from Riverfront Stadium was for a cherished "First Down". If you waited long enough back then, we made that our goal for the day. It was sad, but true. I drank a lot more beer back then...and it was a little cheaper.
Yesterday I went to Kroger's, which I rarely do on a Saturday. I was there Bengalized in orange. Everyone who had a any Bengal garb, be it only a hat or socks, either gave, or received from me, a big "Who Dey!". Big smiles and even some high fives all around. Best day I ever spent at Krogers! This town is electric and we all need this now more than ever, in this unsettled Country, just to keep our brains sane. Football has brought us together once again. WHO DEY!!
I've never been in an NFL guy, even in the good days before the Lost Decade. I observed and kept abreast enough to be conversant, though mostly by osmosis. (If anything is more inevitable than JoeB, it's the inescapability of NFL coverage.) But I've always given my heart to other sports - in order of introduction, if not loyalty: Reds baseball, Muskies hoops and Buckeye football - and other passions & hobbies - theater, writing and photography among them. But for my sister, my brother-in-law and my late grandfather - and for many friends and colleagues - who not only endured the lonely cold and never wavered, but also managed to enjoy it, I ferevently hope today brings them the penultimate joy of hoisting the Hunt again. And by the time they get to Phoenix... well, we can talk about that another time.
Winter quarter, 1995. I was in a very dark place, mentally. I’d stopped attending classes at Wright State. I was drinking heavily. I felt like I was cut off from everyone I loved. I was living a secret life (secretly drinking, secretly not attending school). Funny thing is, I was living at home!! I was looking to run away from all of it and the Bengals drafted Ki-Jana Carter. I thought, I can’t run away to Cali or North Dakota, or Nashville, because I want to see him play for the Bengals.
Well, I talked to my folks, I quit drinking, I got back on the road to finishing college and got my mental health mostly straightened out for awhile. By the time Ki-Jana blew his knee out, things were getting better for me.
The Lost Decade helped this Lost Soul find the right path at that one moment in time. Funny how God moves in mysterious ways.
Who Dey! Go Bengals.
PS: if you are reading this and you are in a dark place, you are not alone. Somewhere, somebody loves you.
For those who somehow fail to understand, Doc just defined it - P E R F E C T L Y! Well done Doc. After all, Fan is short for fanatic. It is THE reason for sticking with "our" team(s) through thick and thin. I've never heard it said (or seen it written) better than Doc just described it here...today. Somehow, when "our team" is playing it does mean everything. Methinks Doc, it is the answer to the question you often ponder: "Why, with television coverage and high-def images today (not to mention concession prices), do people still pay high prices to attend a game in person in a stadium or arena where the comfort is far short of home?" WE LOVE OUR TEAM. We Love (name the sport)! Simple as that. You called it Doc. As always, well said.
Toad in the punch bowl take: I hope the good people of Hamilton County think of the recent good vibes supplied by their NFL team as services rendered for the riches we’ve already heaped upon them, and NOT as a commodity we need to pay off for the next 25 years.
I’m 67 and my Bengal memories go back to Virgil Carter in 1970 (after Greg Cook’s devastating injury). THESE ARE THE GOOD OLE DAYS ... thanks Joe B for bringing them to life.
As someone who was sitting in the stands at Nippert in 1968 when the new Cincinnati Bengals began their exhibition season, I have been through a lot of pain and suffering over the last 54 years. Even though i am now retired and live in Gainesville, Georgia, where DeSean Watson has a street named after him, I am still a diehard Bengals fan and will always be until I'm gone, regardless of their record. Sure am enjoying the current team. Hope the lousy weather forecast in KC today doesnt affect the outcome of the game. WHO DEY!!!!!!
WHO DEY Doc.
WHO DEY!!!
Wow. Just wow. You know how to friggin write Doc. Your Pal, Captain Obvious.
but the joy that comes from winning is the balm for all the losses 😎🌴
Doc, you words ring true! The agony and suffering I have endured will make this day so much sweeter! We have suffered for 50 years and THIS IS OUR TIME! The sweetness of victory will be enhanced by the decades of struggle! WHO DEY!!!
Three years in Colorado hasn’t taken the black and orange away from us!
And… this is why we subscribe.
I turn 60 this year, fan since 3rd grade/‘73 season. All I can think thru the first dozen paragraphs is, I just want one before I die. But of course Paul already knew that.
Everything indeed.
My family moved to Arizona from Cincinnati in 1996 at the urging of my allergist. Cincinnati's weather spent most of my early life trying to kill me through debilitating asthma that routinely landed me in the hospital. Had we not moved, I probably wouldn't have made it to my 21st birthday (I'm 39 now). I needed to be in a dry climate, away from the Midwest's mold and humidity to live. The irony of moving to one of the least-sustainable places on earth isn't lost on me.
The hell does that have to do with the Bengals?
One random weeknight in the early 1990s during one of my many asthma-induced hospitalizations, a group of players came to visit sick kids at Children's Hospital Medical Center. Being a tiny, weak, sheltered child, their size scared the shit out of me and if memory serves, neither of my parents were present.
I didn't show it at the time, but I never stopped appreciating a random group of players visiting a bunch of sick kids. The players weren't assholes, either!
But hell if I can remember who were any of the players that visited!? Or what positions they played?
Maybe it was all a dream and nothing of this sort ever happened? That too feels oddly appropriate: Supporting a sports franchise because of something you thought might've happened but really didn't over 30 years ago.
They were there for me once when I least expected it. Or at least, that's how I remember it.
Sports are a wonderful distraction from real life. I've seen nothing but "Who deys" on Facebook most of the week. None (or at least not much) of the usual negativity. Instead of turning on the political shows this morning, I turned on Game Day coverage. And my attitude is better for it! In a few weeks, we'll be back to "normal". But for now, it's a great ride!
I've been in Cinci since 1991, and have always been an avid Bengal Fan. It's "football" for me. I lived in Colorado for 17 years and was a Broncos fan during the John Elway years. The Orange Crush, front line turned Elway into a Hero. He struggled at first, was teased because he had a great smile with great teeth. And when he was a rookie, he had to wear his plays on an arm band. Most fans, at least the guys (cause the girls thought he was cute) made fun of him because he had to read his plays off his arm band, which is common practice, today. John took Denver to the Super Bowl and won two seasons. It was worth waiting for and the best time ever, while hanging out at chili and beer parties and celebrating with friends. These are times I don't forget. And, here they come again, in just a few hours. Tension builds, for sure.
I've been at Bengal games here in the past where the only cheer from Riverfront Stadium was for a cherished "First Down". If you waited long enough back then, we made that our goal for the day. It was sad, but true. I drank a lot more beer back then...and it was a little cheaper.
Yesterday I went to Kroger's, which I rarely do on a Saturday. I was there Bengalized in orange. Everyone who had a any Bengal garb, be it only a hat or socks, either gave, or received from me, a big "Who Dey!". Big smiles and even some high fives all around. Best day I ever spent at Krogers! This town is electric and we all need this now more than ever, in this unsettled Country, just to keep our brains sane. Football has brought us together once again. WHO DEY!!
I've never been in an NFL guy, even in the good days before the Lost Decade. I observed and kept abreast enough to be conversant, though mostly by osmosis. (If anything is more inevitable than JoeB, it's the inescapability of NFL coverage.) But I've always given my heart to other sports - in order of introduction, if not loyalty: Reds baseball, Muskies hoops and Buckeye football - and other passions & hobbies - theater, writing and photography among them. But for my sister, my brother-in-law and my late grandfather - and for many friends and colleagues - who not only endured the lonely cold and never wavered, but also managed to enjoy it, I ferevently hope today brings them the penultimate joy of hoisting the Hunt again. And by the time they get to Phoenix... well, we can talk about that another time.
Winter quarter, 1995. I was in a very dark place, mentally. I’d stopped attending classes at Wright State. I was drinking heavily. I felt like I was cut off from everyone I loved. I was living a secret life (secretly drinking, secretly not attending school). Funny thing is, I was living at home!! I was looking to run away from all of it and the Bengals drafted Ki-Jana Carter. I thought, I can’t run away to Cali or North Dakota, or Nashville, because I want to see him play for the Bengals.
Well, I talked to my folks, I quit drinking, I got back on the road to finishing college and got my mental health mostly straightened out for awhile. By the time Ki-Jana blew his knee out, things were getting better for me.
The Lost Decade helped this Lost Soul find the right path at that one moment in time. Funny how God moves in mysterious ways.
Who Dey! Go Bengals.
PS: if you are reading this and you are in a dark place, you are not alone. Somewhere, somebody loves you.
For those who somehow fail to understand, Doc just defined it - P E R F E C T L Y! Well done Doc. After all, Fan is short for fanatic. It is THE reason for sticking with "our" team(s) through thick and thin. I've never heard it said (or seen it written) better than Doc just described it here...today. Somehow, when "our team" is playing it does mean everything. Methinks Doc, it is the answer to the question you often ponder: "Why, with television coverage and high-def images today (not to mention concession prices), do people still pay high prices to attend a game in person in a stadium or arena where the comfort is far short of home?" WE LOVE OUR TEAM. We Love (name the sport)! Simple as that. You called it Doc. As always, well said.