Friday, November 18, 2005

Who Dey Redux

As the only loyal Bengal fan among the bunch that I know of, I figured I would give my impression of Bengal fever that has been running rampant throughout the country and on ESPN TV and Radio. I was reading an article on CBSSportsline that was giving a comparison between Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning. I thought to myself, why are you comparing a player that is in his third year with someone that is in his 7th year and holds records in a wide variety of things. Do I think that Carson Palmer can become one of the best QBs in the game?? Yes. Do I think that Carson and Chad Johnson are one of the best offensive duos in the game? Yes. Is Carson on the same level as Peyton? Absolutely not. I think that Bengal fever is catching on because of the drought the Bengals have been in for the past 10 years. I mean this team had a combined record of 80-160 in the 90s and 2000s and haven't had a winning record since 1990. There was a point where two DJs of a local radio station decided to camp out on a billboard and wouldn't leave until the Bengals won. They ended up spending their Thanksgiving up on that billboard. I compare the Bengals to the Indians of the mid 90s. For quite a while the Indians had a shitty team and were the butt of jokes throughout the MLB. Then finally they got a new stadium, got new players and vaulted themselves to respectability. That year they went from the dung heap to a contender, people were crazy about the Indians and said they would win everything. Are the Bengals an extremely improved team? Yes. Will they make the playoffs this year? Probably. Will they beat the Colts this weekend? Maybe. Are they going to go to the AFC Championship game? Absolutely not.

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