Royal Riot 2015

Let’s all be thankful we are not Vince McMahon the day after the 2015 Royal Rumble pay-per-view. He and the entire creative staff of WWE must be pulling their hair out after the enormous amount of fan backlash that resulted from the Royal Rumble match ending with Roman Reigns outlasting 29 other men to earn a main event WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania 31.

Another Royal Rumble has come and gone, and once again, many wrestling fans feel that the WWE “royally” messed up in a huge way. Sound familiar? 2014 saw Batista win the event to a chorus of boos as many people did not think Batista deserved to win after being absent from WWE for nearly four years. 2013 saw John Cena win the Royal Rumble much to the chagrin of wrestling fans as his victory combined with the Rock’s WWE Championship win later that night turned their “Once in a Lifetime” match that headlined Wrestlemania 28 into round one of “Twice in a Lifetime” as they faced off again at Wrestlemania 29. In 2012, Sheamus won the Royal Rumble by eliminating Chris Jericho, which essentially wiped out what little momentum Y2J had left from his strange return. This pattern of controversial Royal Rumble winners continued into 2015 and made the road to Wrestlemania very bumpy.

Crowning Roman Reigns as the Royal Rumble winner sparked a huge outrage as people took to social media to voice their displeasure with the WWE’s decision. On Twitter, for example, a Cancel WWE Network hashtag was trending worldwide as people claimed to cancel their subscription to the WWE Network due to their unhappiness with the way the Royal Rumble ended and encouraged other WWE Network subscribers to do the same. Even mainstream media picked up on the alarming trending topic on Twitter as Time posted an article about the Royal Rumble outrage on their website.

The live crowd inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA, erupted in anger as chants of “bull shit” and deafening boos echoed throughout the arena during what was supposed to be the first step in making Reigns the next official top wrestler in the WWE. Not even the Rock, who made a surprise appearance to save Reigns from a beat down at the hands of Kane and the Big Show as well as symbolically acknowledge that Reigns is the next “man” of WWE, could change the mood of the audience.

So why are a majority of wrestling fans up in arms about Reigns winning the Royal Rumble match? They wanted Daniel Bryan to win, and I believe Reigns has not yet grabbed the “brass ring” that Vince McMahon talked about during his interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin. In my opinion, Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose have come the closest to attaining it, but Reigns really has not done anything to come closer than wrestlers I just named. Daniel Bryan on the other hand grabbed the ring long ago and has managed to hold onto it despite missing most of 2014 because of his injuries. Simply put, Roman Reigns is still reaching for the brass ring, and Daniel Bryan is still holding the brass ring.

WWE now finds itself in a difficult situation. How are they going to present the main event at their biggest show of the year? Adding another wrestler like Bryan to the Reigns vs. Lesnar match will draw criticisms because they implemented that solution last year. Should they choose to go forward with main event as is, then there is a huge possibility that the crowd will be cheering for Lesnar, the monster heel champion, and boo Reigns, the new up and coming face of the company. That would be catastrophic and embarrassing for the WWE if their new “top guy” gets booed out of the building at their trademark event.

One thing is for sure though: WWE will be must see television as Wrestlemania approaches, but not for the reason that Vince McMahon intended.

Royal Rumble 2015 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on the 2015 Royal Rumble.

A Plethora of Giveaways

With the arrival of baseball season comes the arrival of promotional giveaway items. I, like pretty much every everybody, love getting free stuff when I go to sporting events. It’s like being rewarded for taking the time to purchase a ticket and head to the stadium to cheer on your favorite team.

In my opinion, the Cincinnati Reds are the best when it comes to giving out free items at sporting events. The Florence Freedom, the Cincinnati Cyclones, and the local colleges in the Cincinnati area have giveaways as well, but the Reds have seemed to master the art of bribing the fans into purchasing tickets to games. Don’t believe me? Continue reading. I am going to list some of the giveaway items the Reds will have for the 2015 season. By the end of this post, you will probably want to go to at least one of these games to add the item they are giving out to your Reds memorabilia collection.

The first item the Reds will give out will be on Wednesday, April 8. Aside from it being Opening Night, the Reds will be handing out free 2015 team calendars. Is it the best giveaway? Far from it. Is it a cool item that would make any Reds fan happy? You bet.

Now while the calendar might not be the greatest of giveaways, there is no denying that everybody loves free t-shirts. This season, the Reds will be having T-Shirt Tuesdays. On these days, fans can purchase a Terrace Line ticket for $25. Included with this ticket purchase is a free Reds t-shirt that features a Reds player on it. T-shirt Tuesdays will happen on various Tuesdays throughout the season, so if you are interested, check the promotional schedule of the Reds to see when the Reds will have this promotion.

Also being given out this year is a Reds stein. Previous steins that the Reds have given out usually look great, and with this year being the season in which the Reds host the All-Star game, you got to believe that the stein will look incredible as well as be a great way to have a few beers during the game. The stein will be given out on Saturday, September 5.

If you are a fan of the Big Red Machine (and who isn’t?), then you will definitely want to buy a ticket for the game that takes place on Saturday, August 22. That will be “Tony Perez Day” as the Reds plan to unveil a bronze statue of “the Big Dog” as well as give out a smaller replica version of the statue to the fans in attendance.

The best giveaway items that the Reds give out are bobbleheads, and this season, the Reds will give out nine different nodders that feature both current and past fan favorite players. So far, seven of the nine bobbleheads have been announced. Personally, I am stoked for the Nasty Boys triple bobblehead and the first ever Reds nodder of the “Punxsutawney Powerhouse,” Devin Mesoraco. To see the complete list of bobbleheads, check the promotional schedule of the Reds by clicking here.

Those are some of the giveaway items the Reds will hand out to fans this season. They are great pieces of sports memorabilia to add to your collection, and they make going to the game much more exciting. I love going to Reds games, and I love collecting sports memorabilia so, you can bet that I will be attending some of these games. I hope to see you there.

Go Redlegs!

Jose Bautista Follows Me!

Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays follows me on Twitter! If a pro athlete follows me, then I must be tweeting some good stuff so you should follow me too @CincyFanZone!

Louisville Cardinal Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a University of Louisville Cardinal bobblehead.

Royal Rumble 2015 Predictions

The road to Wrestlemania officially starts on Sunday as the Royal Rumble takes place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. It is one of WWE’s “Big 4” shows and features the Royal Rumble match, a bout that occurs only once a year at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. It is one of the most exciting matches of the WWE year and is known for its shocking returns, surprise entrants, and incredible displays of athleticism that often leave the jaws of wrestling fans on the ground in amazement.

If you do not follow wrestling or are unfamiliar with the rules of the Royal Rumble match, allow me to explain. It is essentially a 30-man battle royal in which wrestlers attempt to throw their opponents over the top ring rope and to the floor below. When wrestlers are tossed over the top rope and both of their feet touch the ground, they are eliminated from the match. Two wrestlers start the match with a new combatant entering the ring every 90 seconds. The last wrestler standing not only wins the Royal Rumble match but also a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match in the main event of WWE’s biggest event of the year, Wrestlemania.

For this post, I will make three predictions for the Royal Rumble match. I will predict the first two combatants to enter the match, the final four wrestlers in the match, and the Royal Rumble winner.

For my first prediction, I believe that entrants number one and two will be the Miz and his stunt double, Damien Mizdow. The first entrant of the match usually always talks to the crowd before the Royal Rumble match officially starts, and that person is usually a heel that the crowd despises. The Miz is that the guy. A majority of wrestling fans hate the Miz for not being a heel but for simply being the Miz, and his appearance as the first entrant will elicit massive heat that can only be countered by the appearance of a wrestler that wrestling fans love to see. That man is Damien Mizdow. He is over with the crowd, wrestling fans cannot get enough of him, and with these two bound to part ways as a tag team, what better way to get the Miz versus Mizdow rivalry started than at the start of the Royal Rumble match.

For my second prediction, I think that the final four wrestlers in the ring will be Daniel Bryan, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns. These are four of WWE’s most popular wrestlers right now and everybody but Bryan has only had a taste of the main event picture. The Royal Rumble match is usually where the stars of tomorrow officially “arrive,” and with the exception of Daniel Bryan, Ambrose, Reigns, and Wyatt have yet to make their mark in the WWE. Last year, Bryan had the entire WWE Universe behind him with the “Yes Movement” and officially made his impact in the company by capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania. I believe that Wyatt, Ambrose, and Reigns are all on the cusp of being WWE’s next batch of main event wrestlers and being in the ring with an established star in the insanely popular Daniel Bryan as the final four Royal Rumble match participants will help elevate their status in the company.

For my third and final prediction, I believe that Roman Reigns will win the Royal Rumble match and clinch a spot in the main event WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania. Last year he set the record for most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match with 12 and won the Slammy for “Superstar of the Year” for 2014. WWE has been building him up as a main event star and potential future face of the company, and he is probably the odds on favorite to win. Personally, I want either Daniel Bryan or my personal favorite, Dean Ambrose, to be victorious, but all signs are currently pointing to Reigns as the winner.

Those are my predictions for the Royal Rumble match. It is one of the best matches of the WWE year and officially kicks off the Wrestlemania season. Hopefully this will be a memorable Royal Rumble that fans talk about for years to come. The road to Wrestlemania is about to begin, and I am pumped to go along for the ride!

Bobblehead Page Update

#BOBBLEHEAD PAGE UPDATE at http://t.co/UUcNAAXjl9! unboxing vid soon! #Louisville #gocards #NFL #NHL #UofL #Reds #Bengals #NCAA #MLB #NBA
— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) January 17, 2015

The Reds Retweeted Me!

Happy #NationalHatDay! I have plenty of @Reds hats to choose from for the 2015 season! pic.twitter.com/CsSv3Pof34
— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) January 15, 2015

To celebrate National Hat Day, the Cincinnati Reds asked citizens of Reds Country to tweet pictures of their Reds hats. They liked my assortment of Reds hats so much that they retweeted it! If the Reds like what I tweet, obviously you will too which is why you should follow me on twitter!

What To Do Until April 6

It has been one week since the Cincinnati Bengals made their early exit from the NFL postseason for the fourth straight year. Once the game clock had nothing but zeros on it, and the Bengals trotted off the field, feelings of anger, sadness, depression, and desperation among others engulfed me as my favorite football team would have to wait another year to try and attain that elusive first playoff win since the 1990 season. Then a thought occurred to me and a teeny, tiny bit of the anger, sadness, depression, and desperation disappeared. That thought: at least Opening Day is in about three months.

Now the big question is what to do during that three-month span? There are no more Bengals games to watch, and Cincinnati does not have an NHL team or an NBA team to root for during the winter sports season. The most obvious answer to this question is to watch the NFL playoffs. The only problem with that is the Super Bowl is February 1, 2015. That means the 2014 NFL season officially ends on the first day of February, leaving two months of inactivity of Cincinnati pro sports.

If I were fortunate enough to be able to purchase both an NHL franchise and an NBA franchise, I would obviously do it and bring back the Cincinnati Royals as well as establish a National Hockey League version of the Cyclones or the Swords or the Stingers. However, this is real life, not a fantasy world, and I cannot afford to purchase a professional sports franchise. So until more professional teams are established in the Cincinnati area, here are my suggestions on how to pass the time until Opening Day 2015.

While Cincinnati does not have an NHL franchise to represent the city, that does not mean there is a lack of hockey in the Queen City. The Cincinnati Cyclones are a hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League and are affiliated with the Florida Panthers and the Nashville Predators of the NHL. They play in US Bank Arena, and the games are a ton of fun to watch. Tickets are pretty cheap, and there are a good number of promotions and giveaways throughout the season. I have tickets for their bobblehead night on March 13, 2015, when they host the Orlando Solar Bears. The bobblehead is of Twister, the mascot of the Cyclones. It looks awesome, and you can see a picture of the bobblehead here. If you can’t make it to the Cyclones games, you can watch them online through the official website of the ECHL.

There is also plenty of basketball to watch in Cincinnati. The University of Cincinnati Bearcats, the Xavier Univesity Musketeers, the Louisville Cardinals, the Northern Kentucky University Norse, and the University of Kentucky Wildcats give people in the Cincinnati area something to root for on the hardwood. The NKU Norse are still adjusting to Division I basketball, but all of the other teams listed are usually guaranteed to be playing in March Madness, one of the most exciting sporting events of all time. I love the NCAA tournament and try to watch every game that is on at the same time. It has everything from buzzer beaters to Cinderella stories, and it really makes time fly when waiting for the Reds.

Another option is professional wrestling. Dean Ambrose, Cincinnati’s favorite wrestling son, has been tearing it up in WWE, and he gives Cincinnati wrestling fans a personal favorite to pull for in matches. Also, January through April is usually the time when WWE produces its best shows of the year as Wrestlemania, WWE’s biggest event, often occurs right before Opening Day.

Those are my suggestions on how to pass the time until the boys of summer take the field on April 6. Cyclones hockey, college basketball, and professional wrestling are great ways to pass the time until Opening Day, especially during the month of March as the Cyclones play multiple times a week, March Madness is off and running, and WWE delivers its biggest show of the year in Wrestlemania. I hope this helps numb the pain of another postseason loss by the Bengals and makes time fly as Opening Day 2015 approaches.

Go Redlegs!

Bengals Recap 2014

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone recaps the 2014 season of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Bobblehead Collection 2014

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone talks about his bobblehead collection and what he has added to it throughout 2014.

A Quarter of a Century of Waiting

Fans of Cincinnati sports are starving. The last truly great year for sports team in the Queen City was 1990. That was the year the Cincinnati Reds pulled off an improbable sweep over the reigning and defending champions of Major League Baseball, the Oakland Athletics, in the World Series. The 1990 season was the last time the Cincinnati Bengals were victorious in the postseason when they defeated the Houston Oilers by a score of 41-14 in the first round of the playoffs.

Since then, Cincinnati has known nothing but heartache when it comes to their professional sports teams. Aside from the Reds making it to the National League Championship Series in 1995 and the success of the Cincinnati Cyclones in the East Coast Hockey League, neither the Reds nor the Bengals have given the Queen City a reason to celebrate in the playoffs. There was hope that the Bengals would be able to break through and finally win in the postseason this year, but the Indianapolis Colts stomped the Bengals into the ground and out of the playoffs by a score of 26-10.

Things looked bright at the end of the first quarter as the Bengals and Colts were tied at 7 all, and it appeared that the Bengals were able to establish a running game, which was one of the key factors for the Bengals to be successful. Unfortunately that was not the case as the defense of the Colts suffocated the Bengals offense for the remaining three quarters.

The rushing attack was a nonfactor for the rest of the game as Bengals running back Jeremy Hill managed to only amass 47 yards on the ground off 13 carries with only one touchdown. The passing game was not much better for the Bengals either. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton threw for a total of 155 yards and no touchdowns. Bengals running back Giovani Bernard led the team with eight receptions for a total of 46 yards.

The Colts on the other hand were able to manhandle the defense of the Bengals. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck simply tore up the defense in route to throwing for 376 yards and a touchdown. Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton had 6 receptions for 103 yards. Colts running back Boom Herron had 10 receptions for 85 yards and ran the ball 12 times for a total of 56 yards and a touchdown.

While the ugly performance turned in by the Bengals can be attributed to their poor play, the injuries the Bengals suffered were no doubt a big factor as to why they lost. Bengals receiver A.J. Green, arguably the best player on the team, was out of the game due to a concussion that was the result of a vicious hit to the head last week when the Bengals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham was out with a back injury. Early in the second quarter, Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga left the game with what appeared to be a leg injury. The injuries were simply too much to overcome, and as a result, the performance of the Bengals suffered as well. Without Maualuga, the defense could not stop the offense of the Colts, and the lack of a running game as well as Dalton’s two favorite targets in Green and Gresham all contributed to a fourth straight loss in the playoffs.

So what does this mean for the Bengals? It means that the chip on their shoulder just got bigger. It means the pressure on this team to win in the postseason has increased tremendously. It means that the next opportunity the Bengals will have to end the drought will be 25 years, a quarter of a century, after their last postseason victory.

At least Opening Day is in 92 days. Go Redlegs!