It’s not like any of us were actually rooting for the Chiefs. We were just very much rooting against the Bengals.
While the football world felt an immediate sense of pride in how the Cincinnati Bengals handled themselves during Damar Hamlin’s frightening near-death experience, much of the franchise and its fan base worked rapidly to give that goodwill right back. The NFL’s plans for how to handle the impact of the game’s cancellation were far from perfect but appeared to be created in good faith.
The response from Cincinnati included a rather bizarre amount of victimhood creation, particularly distasteful given the almost tragic circumstances that set the plan in motion. Yet perhaps the sheer terror of a potential coin flip truly really worked to inspire Joe Mixon (to 56 combined rushing yards over two games) against the Ravens. And he was surely right to be triggered by the league doing its due diligence should there be a neutral site AFC championship game. Weirdly, that may have actually worked to inspire him since he did rush for over 100 yards against the Bills.
And then things just kinda got weirder from there. The Bengals’ strange attempts to create victimhood started to pivot towards something a bit more braggadocious. Suddenly there was a Burrowhead Stadium and a mayor attempting to trash talk the man who is, quite possibly, the most talented quarterback of all time and also whatever Eli Apple’s entire existence is.
So the target was squarely on the Bengals’ backs. It’s actually quite a pity we won’t be able to enjoy two more weeks of their antics as they depart the playoffs. No. Really. I mean that. I truly wish the Cincinnati Bengals had advanced to the Super Bowl. Hear me out.
I’m imagining you might be planning to watch the upcoming ESPN 30 for 30 “Bullies of Baltimore” on Sunday, Feb. 5. When you do, you might be reminded that for as cocky as the Cincinnati Bengals might have been, in comparison to the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, they were practically cub scouts.
I had an opportunity to screen the documentary last week. I won’t give away everything, but that cockiness hasn’t gone anywhere. In new footage, tight end Shannon Sharpe described the team’s legendary defense by saying “if you’re a quarterback and you finished the game, that was your Super Bowl.”
The star of the doc is the late Tony Siragusa, who we are reminded responded to his controversial hit on Rich Gannon in the AFC championship game by saying, “You know, Rich Gannon was crying about me hitting him and having all my weight on him and I said, ‘You know, Rich, my wife is 5-2 and she has me on her once a week and she don’t complain.'”
And while you might have been turned off by Zac Taylor sarcastically apologizing for screwing up Chiefs and Bills fans’ travel plans, let’s remember that Brian Billick literally dropped all pretenses and subtlety in the immediate aftermath of the team’s divisional-round win against the Tennessee Titans. If you don’t remember, you’ll most certainly enjoy reliving it in the film.
My point is that I don’t really mind all of the talking. I kinda love it. (My other point is that you’re going to love the 30 for 30. It’s wonderful. And you get a reminder that John Madden once said, “The Goose either needs a little less head or a little more helmet,” and I would be willing to watch another entire 30 for 30 about that comment alone.)
I think football is better with characters. Most football fans (and Steve Young) were openly rooting against the Ravens during the 2000 postseason. They were overbearing. And we didn’t mind that one bit here. I think it’s fun when we can have guys to root for and guys to root against. What separates this year’s Bengals and those 2000 Ravens is that the Ravens, of course, were able to back it up. The Bengals are getting their deserved comeuppance. That’s how this all works. If you lose, you get everything thrown back in your face. It’s how the game goes. You can suffer through it in Punta Cana or wherever you wanna go.
Admittedly, I now have next to no rooting interest in the Super Bowl at all. I love Brandon Williams, and each team has a Baltimore native (the Chiefs’ Joshua Kaindoh and the Eagles’ Zech McPhearson), but I don’t feel particularly strongly about either team. Between the Bengals’ antics and the burgeoning rivalry they’re building with the Ravens, they would have given me a major rooting investment in the Eagles (or the 49ers had they managed to keep a single quarterback on two feet this season).
During the NCAA Tournament, I like to joke that the worst part about Duke suffering an embarrassing loss to Lehigh or Mercer or whoever is that it means the Blue Devils can’t suffer another embarrassing loss again two days later. And that’s sort of how I feel today. I greatly enjoyed seeing the Bengals lose. But damn if I don’t wish I could see them lose again.
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox