As a fan, I don't care that they lost. I'm used to that. I was prepared for it. The Jeremy Hill fumble was awful, but that (unfortunately) happens. But the way they responded in that last minute, by caring more about dirty/cheap shots and bitching to the refs than actually winning the game, infuriates me. I know it's unfair to lump in guys like AJ Green and Andy Dalton with guys like Pacman Jones and Vontaz Burfict, but to me, the latter outshines the former. It's sad, and it's all I'll be able to remember.
I kept thinking about what if my son was old enough to watch the game. I would have been horrified telling him that grown men, at the pinnacle of their careers playing in the most important game of their lives, can't keep their composure and just do their job. We all want to go nuts at work sometimes But we don't. We put our heads down, keep our mouths shut, and do our jobs. Somehow, that doesn't apply to some professional athletes.
Many said they feel bad for Marvin Lewis. Please. He was nowhere to be found when his players were going off the rails. It starts at the top, and the lack of discipline was present all season, not just in the last minute of the final game of the season.
I don't care if my thoughts are viewed as an overreaction or jumping ship on your team. That's fine. When the players care more about themselves than the team, why should I care about the team as fan? I don't. I'm not going to root for another team in particular. I'm not going to say "Hey, I'm a Giants fan now." Nope. I'm just not going to root for the Bengals. I'm not. I can handle losses on the field. I can't handle a team behaving the way they did on Saturday night.
Therefore, I thought I'd show some Bengals cards for the last time. One batch came from Uncle Tiny, and the other from JBF. While I appreciate their gestures, I hope they no longer go out of their way to send me Bengals cards as a result of Saturday night. These guys also sent me awesome Yanks, which I'll show off later. I appreciate that they always find some Bengals to send my way, but I just don't have the heart anymore.
From Tiny:
It's tough when a team you're a fan of has players on it that seem to ruin it for everyone (fans and the team itself). Players like the aforementioned have always been apart of sports all the way back to the early days. If the Bengals clean house, then I won't tell anyone when you jump back on the band wagon.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy the Cubs front office has put a priority on character guys . . . especially after dealing with Michael Barrett, Carlos Zambrano, Sammy Sosa, and Milton Bradley in the last decade.
If you saw the stories that came out the next day, those Bengals players still don't realize what they did.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you -- I'd be pretty horrified and embarrassed if that was my team.
Pac Man is a WVU guy. Always embarrassed when he does stupid stuff. Like NO said above, the Bengals players refuse to accept responsibility. Instead they are just saying Antonio Brown faked the severity of the hit. Either way it was still illegal.
ReplyDeleteNow you should just put all your love into Syracuse sports.
Man I totally feel for you on that loss. Not a Bengals fan... but even I let out a "yelp" when he coughed up that ball. And I don't blame you for being upset about those penalties. I personally believe the Steelers egged them on (which is kinda cheesy), but every Bengal should have known that and bit their tongue.
ReplyDeleteSuch a sad outcome. I couldn't believe how pathetic the entire organization was that night, and I don't blame you one bit for jumping ship. Sorry man.
ReplyDeleteIf it helps... there's always extra room on the Jets bandwagon! ;)
DeleteI get where you are coming from, I watched with my 11 and 8 year old sons and had a hard time explaining.
ReplyDelete