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(Well, I began this piece prior to Sunday’s Super Bowl loss. Admittedly, I thought about just trashing it and forgetting about it entirely, but I feel that there is something important about this playoff run. So, even though it is bittersweet, I decided to keep it.)
Thirty-one years. Thirty-one years of pain.
I haven’t even lived thirty-one years, but I sure have felt their pain in my twenty. A few fumbles, a lot of interceptions, a broken finger and blown leads have been the only highlights for Bengals fans over the years. Year after year, every fan repeated the same old memo, “Oh, that’s just the Bungles.”
Of course, it was just the Bungles. From one red rocket to the next, year after year, week after week, just brought more disappointment. It became a running joke that Marvin Lewis just couldn’t get it done. He just couldn’t win a playoff game. We wouldn’t make moves in free agency. Mike Brown was too cheap for that. When the draft came around, we picked up an offensive linemen with a blown knee or a wide receiver with a good forty time. They barely touched the field. “Oh, that’s just the Bungles.”
Years of disappointment had squeezed the breath from Cincinnati Bengals fans. We came to accept mediocrity. We could only hope that one day we might win a playoff game.
That day is today. After thirty-one years, we won. In fact, we won three. And now we’re in the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl. The Bengals are in the Super Bowl.
Let me say that again.
The Cincinnati Bengals are in the Super Bowl.
Some of you may laugh at me for making a big deal out of this. But it is a big deal.
Sports have played a central sport in my life. Whether I was on the field myself or watching it on TV, it became something around which my community and my family gathered. The Bengals were the same. For better or for worse, we stayed fans. Every Sunday, someone had the game on their TV. And every Sunday, I watched it. (And I know that many communities share this same sentiment.)
So, I stuck through the disappointment during the 2019 season (they won two games that year.) when they got the chance to draft a young guy named Joe from LSU. Former Ohio State Backup, National Champion, Joe Brrrr, Joe Cool. You know the guy. First pick overall. Cincinnati breathed a little bit again. We got our guy.
Then he tore his ACL and took more sacks than Tim Couch in his first five games (another Kentucky legend whose career was derailed by injuries). Of course. The breath was squeezed right out of us once again. “Oh, that’s just the Bungles.”
So the next year we drafted his college wide receiver. And we hoped the offensive line would be fine. Most analysts had us going 4-13. Maybe 6-11. Another disappointing year for the Bungles.
But then something happened. They started winning. McPherson couldn’t miss a kick. Joe was scrambling (something he sadly has had to do a lot) like he had never been injured the year before. And Ja’Marr Chase had the greatest year for a rookie wide receiver since Randy Moss (and maybe ever).
And now they are in the Super Bowl.
I have to say this again.
They are in the Super Bowl.
And Cincinnati is alive. Buildings are decorated in orange. Restaurants are filled. People are traveling back home. Every day I get texts from old friends saying, “WHO DEY.”
The Bengals’ Instagram account has more than doubled its following in the past year. All of the sudden, people are following this small city in Cincinnati. And all of the sudden, this “small market” team is America’s team. And all of the sudden, Skyline Chili is making headlines. The people know of Cool Joe, of course, but they are also learning of things like “Skyline Chili,” “Mount Lookout,” and “Graeter’s Ice Cream.” (I know, I know it’s not FROM Cincinnati, but it is still part of the culture.) And for some reason, a few more people out there might have the audacity to try just a little bit of that watery, Cincinnati chili. And in those brave minds, one day, Cincinnati may become more than just “a bunch of fields” as Ja’Marr Chase once thought it was. And maybe, just maybe, they will learn just a little bit more about the area. And maybe they will care.
Excitement is building in Cincinnati, and I feel a genuine passion in the area that I have not felt in years. I know that sports can be trivial. I know that they can be a distraction, but in a way, if they are used correctly, they can be the very things that direct us toward the things that really do matter. See, sports can bind a community. They connect us. We have all shared in the Bengal’s disappointments, but we have also shared in their victories. It can cause us to scream and yell and cry. (Believe me, I have done plenty of that.) But we all share those feelings. We all follow the new signings. We all sit anxiously during the draft. We all come together to watch the games. And we all love it. Because it’s not just a game. It transcends the field.
It binds us. And it shows the love that we have for our city. For our community. And it is those things that you love that pull others towards you. It’s no wonder Cincinnati was America’s team.
That is why I love my Bungles.
Sawyer Depp is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2024. He is studying political science, history, and creative writing.