Bass: Why Bengals, Joe Burrow leave us feeling ‘strangely good’
Savor this moment in Bengaldom.
“Mmm,” as Ron Burgundy once said, “drink it in.”
After a calf-induced 1-3 start, this is right where you hoped you would be at halftime of the 18-week season. Joe Burrow is Joe Burrow again. The Bengals are the Bengals again. An emotional Sunday night return of the Buffalo Bills and Damar Hamlin provided a nationally televised coda to a four-game winning streak.
“I would think the entire fan base is re-energized & hopeful for the rest of the season,” @NaughtonArt posted on X (ex-Twitter). “Good to see a healthy Joe Burrow again!”
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At 5-3, life is good.
Can you feel it?
We get so obsessed about the endgame that we sometimes forget to enjoy each game along the way. Not this time. The journey from 0-2 and 1-3 provides a moment to appreciate if not celebrate. At 5-3, we have a team capable of following up a Super Bowl and a second straight AFC title game with another long run.
Whether the Bengals will is about tomorrow.
Today, anything is possible.
In our day-after-game X session, I asked, “How does it feel to be a Bengals fan now?”
“Awesome,” @DianePo07845834 posted.
“Amazing,” @UrbansLandscape posted.
“Greaaaaaaaaat!!!,” @JeffATrennepohl posted.
“SO SO SO SO GOOD!!” @WHODEYYFANATIC posted.
Whatever you feel now, you feel now.
“SERIOUSLY? ‘...NOW,’ ” @imnotaminion posted. “#HUH! SINCE 1968 I HAVE BEEN A PROUD @Bengals FAN WITH THE ACCEPTION (exception) OF ABOUT 5 MINUTES WHEN MIKE (David) SHULA WAS HEAD COACH! ‘I AM NOT A FAIR WEATHER FAN!’!”
Greatest run in franchise history
I get it. If you read “now” as challenging your commitment as a Bengals fan, as implying a win could change the depth of your feelings, this could seem like an affront. But what if “now” is a chance to bask together in our Bengaldom, be you recently striped or iconic supporter, as the greatest run in franchise history continues?
“Mike, nothing has changed since the season started, love this team and organization,” posted @TonyDaTiger96, aka 2023 Bengals Fan of the Year Anthony Brooks. “From the great football we are playing to the engagement of the fans! Did you see the 68,000 fans stripe the jungle, wow just so proud of the team and fans! Let's Go!”
Fandom is never simply about wins and losses. If it were, Bengaldom could not have survived.
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“It has always felt great to be a Bengals fan,” @mkuhnheim posted. “A win makes it super sweet, but does not change my feelings for the team.”
“Same as it feels when they are not winning - AWESOME!” @daylekny posted. “I am a @Bengals fan no matter what they do, however the winning is wonderful 🧡🖤🧡🖤.”
Face it. Winning is super sweet and wonderful. Winning is better. More winning can be better still. Other fan bases have felt it. This feels different for Bengaldom.
“So much better than it did in the 90’s,” @fluhartz11posted. “Have always loved them though. It’s super awesome right now.”
Bengals success reward for lean years
“I have been a fan for 20+ years,” @Mamalor_ky posted. “Even the crappiest of years I stayed the course. This is the best hang in there reward we could ask for! 😆❤️”
Just hanging in there after the rough start this season felt rewarding.
“I told my son week two,” @redmcmanus14067 posted, “wait till he (Joe Burrow) gets healthy. If we make (t)he bye week (at) .500 we will be good.”
The Bengals made it to 3-3. They were 5-4 at the bye each of the last two seasons. Earlier was right on time this time. Burrow could rest. A win over Houston on Sunday would mean the best nine-game record in the Burrow Era.
“Joe Burrow ... is truly like a Palm Tree 🌴,” @joyfulcincygal posted, “he bounces back after a storm ⛈️ I knew he could do it🧡🖤🐅🖤🧡.”
Burrow is making a run into the MVP conversation. The Bengals are moving up toward the Super Bowl favorites. Remember how angry you were at oddsmakers the last couple of years? Isn’t this more fun?
Doesn’t this feel great right now?
“Feels really great! I was at the game (my first ever in person after 44 years of being a fan!!),” @JNJournalist posted, with a photo of her outside Paycor Stadium before the game. “It wasn’t just a great game but an experience I’ll cherish always. And hey, the win made it all the better. PS. My Game Dey shoes are 3 for 3. 🧡 Who Dey!!!”
I will be there this week. I need some Game Dey shoes.
“Happy victory Monday. 😁” @BrianBengal posted, with a video reposted from @DrunkBengalsfan of the pregame introductions.
I want a Victory Monday. Victory Friday was not the same when I went to a game last season, because of the scary scene involving Tua Tagovailoa on Thursday night.
“Victory Mondeys are amazing,” @Ramfam513 posted. “But this fanbase is legit dedicated & no one panics. 💪🏻”
No one?
How do you feel?
“Ha!” @sw4811 posted. “Same as a lot of years, hopeful, terrified, nervous, you get the idea :D I *am* one of the guys saying after week 4 they'd go 9-8 if they didn't turn the offense around. So add panicky to the list too haha.”
“Worried for (Ja’Marr) chase,” @taristupp posted.
“We are in a division with Baltimore who seems to be firing on all cylinders,” @adiverdown posted. “Glad we are winning now but the North belongs to the Ravens this year so far.”
There's still plenty of work to be done
The Ravens loom, four days after the Texans. Then comes Pittsburgh. Then Jacksonville. The entire AFC North is over .500. The end of the season looks brutal. The second half will be nine games in nine weeks.
And yet, haven’t we heard before about brutal schedules?
Aren’t the Bengals used to overcoming slow starts?
Aren’t we right where we hoped we’d be after 1-3?
Doesn’t this feel good, right now?
“Strangely good,” @karibowieHertel posted. “After so many years of being a Bengals fan and living through season after season of subpar outcomes, it’s strangely good to enjoy a team with true talent, strong camaraderie and awesome performances!!”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bass: For Bengals fans, 1-3 seems a lifetime ago
