After the rallying season of 2005, the Cincinnati Bengals had their 2006 season explained away with suspensions and knee braces. Everyone, myself included put their hope in this season.
2007 will be our year. You could hear it echoing off the Ohio River as thousands poured into Paul Brown Stadium. The city was alive as Monday Night Football kicked off the season in the Queen City and as the Bengals brought home the win. While the team struggled a bit on offense, we all headed to work on Tuesday with our heads held high, trusting that the necessary adjustments would be made by Sunday against the Browns.
It didn’t take long, though, for Anderson and the rest of the Browns to encourage those bandwagon Bengals fans to don their brown paper bags, scurrying out of the stadium with four minutes left in the game. Not only do Cincinnatians seem to be questioning their team, but the national media is having a field day. Even in Virginia, where I have since moved, I was still bombarded with article after article, broadcaster after broadcaster saying our team was imploding; saying Chad Johnson was just too selfish to help this team.
Here’s where my heart starts to break, and maybe it’s because I have a love for this team and it’s players like some people have for their children. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never even met Chad Johnson, but I have watched him since we picked him up and he seems like the kind of guy I would want to be friends with; and more importantly, the kind of player I would want on my team. Sure, he’s angry when he doesn’t get the ball, but that’s because he is sure he could’ve completed a play that would’ve moved the chains, raised the score, or won the game. So yes, I have never asked his motives, but from my standpoint, I see a guy who loves the game. A student of the game who is never content with his current skill level. A player who loves to win and also loves to entertain. A NFL Pro Bowler who walks away from his teammates jokes to shake a six year-old’s hand before a game. A kid who dreams of giving his family a better and more stable life.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m just naïve. But I’d rather believe what I believe than what the critics say because it’s just too important to me and, I’d venture to say, to Chad. Like my friend Jamie said, “Never give up on our children, it’s a growing year.” And growing year or not, I’d always rather stand by their side then throw them under the bus.
Football is more than a game on those Sundays when the jets fly over as the resonance from the National Anthem fades, and the captains meet in the center of the field. This isn’t just entertainment anymore. This isn’t about one man, it’s about 53 men with 53 families and one big city with one big hope. Maybe it’s time to stop reducing it to just a game and just one man. Maybe it’s time to stop being critics and start being fans. Who Dey!
