Bengals.com is running a poll asking fans for their predictions on the number of wins the Bengals will win in 2008. As of 7:30am today, over 12,000 fans had voted - and 79.9% think the Bengals will win 9 or more games. A full 60.6% believe that the Bengals will win 10 games or more - essentially guaranteeing a playoff birth!
Albert Einstein once said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Unfortunately, Bengals fans seem to be proving Einstein's point. What has changed from the last 17 seasons that would cause Bengals fans to expect a playoff run this year? Cheap ownership with a death grip on player personnel, a coach who does not have full control of his team, a disgruntled star WR, a husky aging RB and perhaps an incrementally improved defense - and this is going to lead the Bengals to the playoffs?
This sentiment is EXACTLY why Mike Brown is able to to continue with his penny-pinching and refusal to loosen his grip on the team's management. The team can go 8-8 or 7-9, make incremental improvements, state: "We'll get 'em next year!" and Bengals fans buy into it. EVERY YEAR.
It seems like Bengals fans want to support a winner so bad they ignore all the evidence that sadly, this year, again, isn't the teams year. Bengals fans grudgingly accept that Mike Brown isn't going to change and are resigned to another year of blind optimism.
Do I hope that the Bengals go 12-4 and make the playoffs this year and win a Super Bowl? OF COURSE. But if they do, it will not be because of rational decisions by management, but because of either sheer luck or divine inspiration.
If you have had enough, sign the WDR manifesto and tell the Bengals ownership AND Bengals fans that you DEMAND a winner - not that you hope for one.
Well, it looks like we are actually blaming the fans for something, which is certainly not a popular position. But here at WDR we are about the truth, not about what's popular. Thus, assuming the fans misguided enthusiasm manifests itself in the purchasing of apparel and tickets then I do suppose the fans are indeed enabling Mike Brown.
There's a lot more to this though and it is way too simple to say that this inflated level of expectations allows Mike Brown to get a free pass year in year out (I'd say it's his monopoly status on Cincy pro football). At the very least, we can try to draw some conclusions about the Bengals fans who read the team website:
1. Every teams fans might vote that way preseason, so they are no different than the average fans
2. They are really astute and see something we here at WDR don't (like maybe Carson refusing to let us lose)
3. They are hopelessly naive
I'd bet my money on a combination of a 1 and 3 with 3 being more prevalent.
Posted by: Todd | July 01, 2008 at 01:30 PM
Naive? Maybe. But basically it is the fans desire to see some reward for their fan support, regardless how bad Mike Brown is as an owner. I agree as much as everyone that he is the single worst owner in major sports but this doesn't require the fans to root for failure to support that point.
Posted by: Bekim Swolb | July 01, 2008 at 04:29 PM
Check out ESPN.com's SportsNation poll on virtually any day and you'll see true Homerism at its finest. This isn't a Cincinnati only thing. It's a national thing. Sometimes I think the poll should just say, "what state do you live in?"
Posted by: Tom Pellegrino | July 01, 2008 at 04:39 PM
You're both right, perhaps I'm being a little harsh. I certainly hope we win 10+ games but I just think we're going to have one disappointed fan base if they truly believe that is the most likely outcome for the season. And again, it makes me think the fan base may not be aware of just how bad Mike Brown is. Carson masks his ineptitude.
Tom, hilarious point about SportsNation...they are the least informative polls imaginable.
Posted by: Todd | July 01, 2008 at 10:13 PM