“The Way Out is Through” – Why We Should Root for The Bengals
Written By: DP | Category: Cleveland Browns | Comments: 37
You read the title right. It’s time for Browns Nation to get on the Bengal bandwagon. And, rent “Swamp Thing” or listen to “The Fragile”.
Any of you that read my work here consistently probably know that I can be a bit of a wise-ass. But, in this case, I’m dead serious. I don’t believe in curses. No, wait… I didn’t believe in curses. Until I really started thinking about it. We all want to believe that the Browns can climb their way out of this giant hole with a few shrewd FO hires, some solid drafts, and a consistent and effective coaching approach. If only it was that simple.
It all comes back to The Haunting of Paul Brown’s Surly Ghost. The Browns won one title after Brown’s dismissal in 1963 (1964, remember?). But, as of 1967 when Brown incarnated the Cincinnati Bengals into the AFL, there has been no chance of the Browns winning a championship until AFTER the Bengals win one. That’s just Karma, people.
But, there’s more to it than that. Art Modell learned it all the hard way. Their rift began right after Modell bought the team with the entire Ernie Davis Situation (Brown’s trading for Davis’s rights without consulting Modell, followed up by Brown’s refusal to play Davis after his lieukemia diagnosis despite doctors’ insistences that Davis could play and Modell’s desire to have him play). Modell finally realized in the late 1980’s that there was no way he could win a title in Cleveland while Brown was still karmically haunting this franchise. After Brown’s death in 1991, perhaps Art thought the curse was over. It was not. Not until he moved his team to Baltimore, changed its name, and created a new team history was he finally able to taste another championship victory.
As Browns fans, sadly we are not immune to this suffering. The Haunting of Paul Brown’s Surly Ghost is attached to the Browns’ franchise. Our equation for redemption is not solid hires, shrewd drafting, and consistent coaching. It’s much, much worse than that. I mean, how else can you explain the ways the New Browns (i.e., post-1999) have been able to lose? Dwayne Rudd’s Helmet. Hank Poteat’s Interference. Dennis Northcutt’s Dropped Pass. Derek Anderson’s 4 INTs To Keep The Browns Out Of The Playoffs (doubly creepy considering the opponent that day). Nevermind the personnel moves…
But, as we will see below, we’re not that far away from redemption after all.
It’s sad enough that there are at least two stadiums that I know of in Ohio bearing his name (Paul Brown Stadium in the ‘Nati, and Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massilon), and the Browns do not play in either of them. But this runs Even Deeper (sorry, more NIN/Fragile for you).
The Haunting Of Paul Brown’s Surly Ghost will not end until the Browns’ rivals all win a championship, including Brown’s second franchise: The Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens have won. The Pittsburgh Steelers have won SIX. So, we’re almost home. The only remaining piece to the puzzle: The Cincinnati Bengals must win the Super Bowl.
Only then will our long, national nightmare be over.
So, friends, Romans, countrymen… it’s time. Jump on the Bengals’ bandwagon. Root for them. Other than the Colts, there isn’t a truly dominant team in the AFC. The Bengals finally have a decent defense and a running game. This could be their year. And, as we can now look and see, if it is their year, our pain and suffering will finally be behind us and we can finally move forward and do what normal teams do to win games and build a successful franchise.
So, let me be the first to say: WHO DEY!!
Author: DP
DP is a native north-eastern Ohioan who has been living in Columbus since 1999. DP's main area of concentration here at WFNY is the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey team, and you can catch his weekly 5-Hole columns each Tuesday. During the summers, you can also catch up on all the Columbus Clippers news that's fit to print in his Clip Show columns. In his spare time, he works in publishing, plays the drums, and wastes hundreds of dollars on Browns season tickets.DP has written 305 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
They probably want us to stay far far away from their bandwagon.
Nice read, love the NIN references.
At this point, I am willing to try anything. The fact that the Bengals just picked up Larry “the homophobe” Johnson doesn’t help however.
I’ll bandwagon it up. I just moved down here and I dont know what else to do. Sigh… Who Dey…
Sorry, guys, but I cannot bring myself to jump on the Bengals bandwagon. In fact, we have a post planned later this week at NoLogoNeeded.com on which bandwagon team Browns fans need to hop on… the Bengals are not that team.
It’s not as bad in northeast Ohio, but in central Ohio Bengals fans come out of the woodwork when they start to win. Suddenly, around the Buckeye state’s capital city, you’ll see brand new Bengals hats, jerseys, sweatshirts and T-shirts.
In fact, we refer to them as the Minnie Pearls, because most of Bengals fans gear they wear still have tags on it. (If you don’t get the reference, Google it.)
I loathe the Bengals and their suddenly cocky fans. The same thing happened in 2005. Go away, Bungals fans. You have a inferiority complex with Browns and Steelers fans and it shows.
I’m with Don on this one.
DP. Are you out of your mind? I can forgive an NFC team. Maybe even an AFC outside of the North. But never, NEVER Cinci-tucky, Pittspuke, or Balti-whore.
(+1 on the Minnie Pearl ref. for Don. ‘HOOOOWWWWDEEEEE!’)
Good post. I wish I thought the Bengals had a chance to beat the Colts or Patriots. I’d be glad to pull for the in-state rival.
But if the Bengals do end up winning, and the Browns keep losing, along with every other Cleveland team, then will you finally believe in the Curse of Chief Wahoo?
As a resident in the Ohio capital city, Don is dead on. Last year, every Sunday I’d venture out in my Browns gear and not a Bengals fan was in sight. When I first moved here I was amased at how few Bengals fans were in C-bus, that is untill this year. And now all of a sudden they’re everywhere, and extremely cocky about how awesome they think they are. I just can’t get on this wagon, Bengals “fans” are an insult to NFL fans around the country, excluding NE Ohio steelers fan of course. They’re the biggest insult of all.
And here I thought it was just lousy ownership.
Somewhere, right now, a young business-savvy weenie is building his fortune and plotting his rise to fame through the purchase of a woebegone NFL franchise and his transformation of it into a dynasty. Oooh – oooh! Pick us!
I also loved the NIN reference, especially because a friend of mine (Bengal fan) and I had taken to calling Dennis Northcutt “The Fragile” while he was in Cleveland. On another note, I rooted for Cincy when the Browns were out to lunch (96-98) because I was brought up to root for the home team…but I do agree with the other poster’s regarding the Cincy fair weather fans, especially in C-Bus, where I live. Die Minnie Pearl, Die!! Oh yeah, Let’s Go Cavs!! and Bucks!! Professional football is over for me, at least until next year’s torture begins again.
Unrelated to this post, but related to the title, if I was stranded on an island and could take only 1 album with me, it would hands down be The Fragile. Not saying it’s my favorite album of all time, but it’s the one I would want to be stranded with.
/dons tin foil hat
CURSES!
No and Never.
And here I thought everybody like Swamp Thing. Nope, more NIN fans, apparently.
If (or because) the Browns won’t be winning the division, I’d much rather the Bengals take it than the Ravens or Squeelers.
I was okay with the Browns losing yesterday because of it, and if the Browns can somehow beat the Squeelers in a few weeks, that’ll help the Bengals even more.
It’s bad enough that you’re a U-M fan DP…but to openly root for something from that city? Bad form. I don’t care what kind of supposed curse it would lift (and I don’t believe in them either).
I would never root for anything from that city in a million years. I root for Baltimore first. I’m insulted it’s even in Ohio.
Eff Cincitucky.
Can’t do it. Since moving down to C-Bus I have realized how fair weather those [WFNY Edit: not-so-nice-slang] are. Don is dead on.
Who Dey be rooting for during basketball season? Thats right THE CAVS. Go home fair weather fans. Browns for life!
Any of you that read my work here consistently probably know that I can be a bit of a wise-ass.
Come on, guys. You didn’t expect me to write the entire post in all caps, did you?
If I’m jumping on a bandwagon, it’s going to be that of a proven winner. Gimme Indy or NE or Philly…someone who’s always in the mix.
I don’t believe in curses.
In all seriousness, why would any logical Browns fan root for the Steelers or Ravens over the Bengals? That makes no sense to me. I live in Columbus and deal with the fair weathered Bengals fans all the time, but that’s what makes them laughable. They’re harmless. I say let them have their fun. At least they’re keeping the Steelers and Ravens out of the top of the division.
know several(5-6) bengals fans that sold their season tickets before this season started. Up until about a month ago all they could talk about was UC being the best football team in Ohio. Coventon Convicts Cincin-tucky what ever you want to call them the majority of benglas fans are fairweather.Have any of you ever lived in Cincinnati? Ohio should give it to Kentucky people have a different line of thinking down there.
I thought Denny was the WFNY-designated wise-ass? Hmm.
I agree with Rock’s comment above. I was in Cinci back in ’05 – and while their fans, both bandwagon and diehards, were unbearable at times – I still rooted for them against the Steelers. I’d take their team atop the AFC North any day over the other two.
I won’t ruin it for them; that’s what the Colts are there to do.
@19, 21: I guess we come from different perspectives. Only Boston (1) and New York (2) are higher on my hate list.
That hole of a city may as well be in another state, as they have nothing in common with the rest of Ohio, let alone Cleveland. I get the PIT hatred, but at least we have more in common with them than the dump that gave us Jerry Springer.
From my experiences over the years, Clevelanders take pride in not just NE Ohio, but the rest of the state as well. Cincituckians care about Cincitucky, and that’s it. They have easily the most overbearing and parochial fans in the state, and they’re even worse when they travel up to NE Ohio for the H.S. state football finals (thank God Elder got beat last weekend)…and that’s just the H.S. football fans!
UC football is a passing fad. It’ll be nice when Kelly takes the ND job though…then again, it’ll just be an excuse for them to jump back on the ND bandwagon. But the Gals success is unbearable, especially since the organization is anything but respectable.
F THE BUNGELS
Go Browns
Anthony, I am nothing of the sort.
I have been a Browns fan since 1968 and will remain a Browns fan. Go Browns!
I went to the Falcons game yesterday and they almost lost to the Bucs while losing Ryan and Turner in the process. I was told my Browns curse was carrying over to the Falcons and never come back. No bandwagoning for me so I am stuck with the Browns.
Brad, that might explain Carson Palmer’s injury in the 2005 playoffs, as I know most of the Browns faithful probably wanted to see Cincinnati win that playoff game over Pittsburg.
We have no idea the power we wield as a fanbase!
KILL. THAT. NOISE.
I’m in. Any team that was formed primarily to spite Art Modell I can get behind. I’m completely indifferent to the city itself.
I’d root for Feline AIDS before I rooted for Cincinnati.
@ Clown Baby – Would you root for feline AIDS if the cats were all wearing Kitten Mittons?
Does your cat make too much noise? Try Kitten Mittons!
While I don’t despise the Bengals quite as much as the Steelers and Ravens, I could never do this. Curse the curse!
[...] Well, the Bengals beat the Browns to improve to 8-3. They completed a sweep of their division rivals. They also had a 100+ yard game from Larry Johnson, who they just picked up after he was released from the Chiefs. He filled in nicely with Cedric Benson being out. They’ll really be in good shape when Benson returns. This teams has turned out to be a very good team. But even though I don’t despise them as much as the Steelers and Ravens, I still cannot bring myself to root for them. [...]
Grew up in Cleveland and lived through all of the ups and downs of the 80′s and 90′s. I live in Cincy now and the Bengals fans are frontrunners. I can’t blame them totally as they have no real history or record of success to build on. they are annoying though. I am following the Bungles as it is hard not to when they are doing well, but while happy for them, I can’t every really root for them.
Never will I cheer for them. Are you kidding?