Dear Bengals Fans: YOU'RE WELCOME

Most Bengals fans don't realize it, but I am personally responsible for the team's success this year. 

Reaching the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years is a big deal. But then again, I was personally responsible for THAT trip to the big game too. 

Let me explain. 

We moved to Cincinnati from Louisville in the summer of 1988. I wasn't much of a football fan, but my father and sister were, so they were excited to have a hometown team to root for. As a result, I watched a lot of football that season - something I'd never done much of before. 

My Dad and I showing off our Bengals shirts
Christmas 1988

Of course, you know the story. The Bengals were good that year and made it to the Super Bowl in January of 1989. They came up 34 seconds short when Joe Montana connected with Jerry Rice in the end zone to seal the game for the 49ers. 

After that big year, the Bengals never quite lived up to expectations again and I lost interest. I spent the next 33 years playfully insulting my friends who liked football and generally feeling superior to all the rubes who lived and died over it every year. I never watched another Super Bowl or even another football game all the way through. 

Then came the fall of 2021. We sold our house and had to move in with in-laws while awaiting our new house to be finished. My father-in-law is a huge Bengals fan. My daughter has also, just this year, gotten into football too, thanks to her boyfriend. So watching football with the in-laws became a thing this year, and I got interested in the game for the first time since that 1988 season. 

Well, again, you know the story. The Bengals have been good and have made it to the Super Bowl. 

So twice in my life I've unexpectedly developed a temporary interest in football because of moving. And both those years, the Bengals have been good and have gone to the Super Bowl. And those are the ONLY two times they've gone to the Super Bowl in the last 40 years. 

So, Bengals fans, YOU'RE WELCOME.