A few hundred yards down from PBS last night, the Reds secured a playoff berth for the first time in 15 years...about the same amount of time it took Mike Brown to secure his first playoff berth as owner/GM/assclown. That's where the similarities end. The way the two organizations conduct business are so fundamentally opposite that it's impossible to ignore. And it should embarrass, humiliate and disgrace Bengals ownership - even though we all know it won't. Here's a list off the top of my head of all the ways these organizations differ:
The Reds ownership publicly announced a commitment to winning a World Series from day one when they took over 5 years ago, the Bengals ownership never committed to anything.
The Reds ownership said they understand fan support wouldn't come until they proved they could produce a winner, and they spent the money to win anyway. The Bengals won't even spend other people's money to win for their fans.
The Reds ownership is willing to run the team at breakeven or small loss to win, the Bengals wouldn't even dream of it.
The Reds do everything in their marketing arsenal to make games affordable and fun for fans, the Bengals take their entire fanbase for granted.
The Reds moved first and more proactively to help ameliorate the stadium lease burden - most notably funding a $10 million scoreboard upgrade they could have asked the county to pay - the Benagls offered a take it or leave it deal that perhaps benefitted them more than the county.
The Reds ownership invests in player development and scouting, the Bengals - if we're generous - have like 4 scouts total.
The Reds ownership made the playoffs in 5 years in a league where the odds are stacked against them. The Bengals took 15 years to make the playoffs in a league that gives losers the advantage.
The Reds take responsibility for their on field and off field performance, the Bengals make excuses.
The Reds make changes when performance doesn't meet standards, the Bengals keep the same guy as offensive coordinator for over a decade.
The bottom line: the Reds deserve fan support far more than the Bengals. What support and passion that does exist for the Bengals can be exclusively attributed to the wildly successfull model the NFL created. The Benagls have literally done not a single thing to deserve their own fans. The Bengals "succeed" despite themselves, the Reds flourish despite the system. I hope the fans reward the Reds for their earnest dedication to providing Cincinnati a winner. I love the Reds. And I love them even more now for how fucking stupid they make Mike Brown look.
I have a feeling, though, the Bengals will continue to remain immune from their abominable management and the Reds will not reap the benefits of their excellent management.
Mini Project Mayhem - take every dollar you planned to spend on the Bengals over the next year (tickets, merchandise, concessions, whatever) and spend it on the Reds instead.
Update: of course, commenter Mockenrue makes a good point as far as popularity goes, people just seem to like the sport of football more than baseball by quite a large margin at this point...football became the real national pastime in America awhile ago. I definitely prefer football, but I still would be spending money on the Reds and not the Bengals if I lived in Cincy. Also, fun videos after the jump.