Who Dey Nation must feel like it’s reliving the same day
over and over again when it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals. After a dreadful
season, the Bengals franchise announced that they had signed Marvin Lewis to another
contract. Again. A majority of the fan base feels disconnected from the
organization. Again. Many people want Marvin out of Cincinnati. Again. Mike
Brown pissed off the fans. Again.
If this sounds like a familiar tale, that’s because it is.
After the end of the 2010 season in which the Bengals finished with a record of
4-12, the franchise offered Marvin another contract that shocked many in
Cincinnati. I was a freshman in college at the time, and I remember the press
conference being awkward to watch. Fans of the team seemingly wanted to set
Paul Brown Stadium ablaze when the news was announced.
Fast-forward seven years to December 31, 2017. The Bengals defeated the Baltimore
Ravens after Tyler Boyd took an Andy Dalton pass to the house on fourth and
long to knock the Ravens out of the playoffs. It seemed like a nice way to send
Marvin off into the sunset. A few weeks prior to the game, it was reported by
Adam Schefter of ESPN that Marvin was going to leave the franchise. Although
Marvin neither confirmed nor denied the report, the general consensus was that
for the first since 2002 the Bengals would have a new head coach. Optimism was
felt by Who Dey Nation. The Bengals won their final two games of 2017, and a
new, bright future for the franchise was on the horizon. That optimistic
feeling did not last long.
On January 2, 2018, the Bengals announced that Marvin would
be returning as head coach for two more years. Excitement turned into anger.
Optimism turned into despair. To say that Bengals fans were mad at the team’s
decision to bring back Marvin would be an understatement. I cannot remember a
time in which Bengals fans have felt more anger toward Mike Brown and the
Cincinnati Bengals organization. The disconnect between the team and the fans
is the largest it has ever been.
As Who Dey Nation prepares to endure two more years of
Marvin, one has to wonder if there will be any real change this time. It’s hard
to think there will be. I’m a diehard Bengals fan and love the team. I like
Marvin and respect what he did for the franchise. He turned the team around and
made them relevant again. Under Marvin, winning football games and making the
playoffs changed from a pleasant surprise to an expectation. He raised the bar
of professional football in Cincinnati.
However, he could never get over the bar. Seven playoff
appearances all ended in defeat. A lack of urgency and the inability to step up
in big games has characterized Bengals teams under his leadership. In my
opinion, the 2017 version of Marvin seemed uninterested and unmotivated. To me,
there was no way the Bengals could justify bringing him back. Leave it to Mike
Brown to defy logic and expectations. Maybe he knows something that us fans do
not. Maybe Marvin will prove all the naysayers wrong and actually win in the
playoffs or better yet, win the Super Bowl. Maybe we will look back at January
2, 2018, as the day that Bengals Super Bowl Championship dynasty was born. That’s
a big maybe. As for now, that day is looked at as déjà vu.
Who Dey…
No comments:
Post a Comment