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| John Sommers/Icon SMI | |
| Bengals fans have had little to cheer about this season. |
Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker
CINCINNATI -- Bengals fans are an interesting bunch.
After experiencing just one winning season the past 18 years, they are both highly upset and numb to all the losing at the same time.
They are confused. Some are on the verge of giving up on their favorite team altogether, yet others remain hopeful year after year with Cincinnati's downtrodden organization.
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ESPN.com spent a weekend in Cincinnati and surveyed 100 Bengals fans. Here were the results: For months, ESPN.com has received e-mails and comments about how disenchanted Bengals fans are with their team. So we decided to do our own research and provide an outlet for fans in the Queen City to voice their frustrations.
We spent a weekend in Cincinnati combing the streets to see what Bengals fans really thought about their winless team. We spent time downtown, at the local universities, inside restaurants, and even visited the Bengals' tailgate parties before a recent loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In the end, we found 100 Bengals fans who were eager to pour their hearts out to ESPN.com in an unscientific survey.
"It's hard to be a Bengal fan anymore," Thom Monahan of Cincinnati admitted. "Sooner or later, you just stop caring."
Monahan's sentiment, we discovered, was a prevalent theme in Cincinnati. Let's delve deeper into the results.
The blame game
When an organization is as dysfunctional as the Bengals, there is a lot of blame to pass around.
So we provided Cincinnati fans three choices: Is it bad ownership, poor coaching, or players who constantly under-perform?
Sixty-six percent blamed bad ownership as the biggest reason for the organization's struggles. Players came in a very distant second at 22 percent and head coach Marvin Lewis garnered just 12 votes of the 100 people who were surveyed.
After collecting just a few surveys, it was clear Bengals owner Mike Brown is not popular in Cincinnati right now. This question brought out the most emotional responses among fans, who used words such as "sickening," "undermining" and "cheap" to describe the Bengals' owner.
"He's incompetent," Kevin Chaney said. "His football knowledge is poor, and he's only concerned with PSLs [Personal Seat Licenses], not Ws and Ls."
Many fans asked for Brown's resignation, although they were aware that's not possible unless the owner decided to sell the team. They didn't think the Bengals spent enough money on a front office or their players.
"We make money for Mr. Brown, but he could care less," said a frustrated Kristy Metzger.
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| Fans in our survey were split on the subject of Marvin Lewis being the right coach for the Bengals. |
With Bengals fans feeling ownership was mostly to blame, that brought us to one of the most polarizing arguments in Cincinnati, according to the survey.
Is Marvin Lewis the right head coach?
The question was simple. But the answer, as it turned out, was not easy for the 100 people we surveyed.
Most Bengals fans drew a big pause when answering that question. It took a lot of thought where voters had to consider many factors.
In the closest possible vote for ESPN.com's survey of 100 fans, 51 percent felt Lewis is the right coach for the Bengals, while 49 percent think Lewis should be fired.
For the most part, it is evident that Bengals fans respect Lewis for the work he's done over the past six seasons. Many in Cincinnati witnessed the Dave Shula/Bruce Coslet/Dick LeBeau years and feel that Lewis did a significantly better job than his predecessors.
But even the fans in support of Lewis questioned if his time has passed with the Bengals. Many feel his power has been dwindled, with the Chris Henry situation being the most frequent example that was brought up. Some felt he's lost the players in the locker room and his zest for coaching the Bengals after a 1-8 start.
"He is the best we've had in a while," said Ian Sheckels, who voted to keep Lewis. "Plus, I'm afraid of who Mike Brown would hire next."
Sheckels brings up a great point. It's easy to say "fire the coach," but fans have to consider if the Bengals actually could find someone with a better pedigree. That would be a major challenge for an organization that has
one of the worst reputations in the NFL.
Still, nearly half (49 percent) of Bengals fans surveyed believe Lewis has hit a plateau.
"Not anymore, and I emphasize 'not anymore' because in 2004-05 I would've said 'yes,'" said Jason Doepke, who voted against retaining Lewis. "But too many things have happened where he has lost the players, and it's not all his fault. He's been undermined by upper management."
Roster overhaul?
The Bengals provided a brief sense of joy and relief for their fan base in 2005 when they ended a 15-year playoff drought. But since then, Cincinnati has finished 8-8, 7-9 and just recorded its first victory this season. So a majority of Bengal fans feel it's time for a roster overhaul.
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| Ocho Cinco | Houshmandzadeh |
But at the center of that overhaul are two tough decisions: What do you do with former Pro Bowl receivers Chad Ocho Cinco and T.J. Houshmandzadeh?
Each player is in his 30s. Houshmandzadeh will be an unrestricted free agent after the season and Ocho Cinco has expressed his desire to leave Cincinnati via a trade.
Should the Bengals retain both, keep one receiver, or let the pair go? According to our survey, a majority of Bengals fans want to keep Houshmandzadeh and trade Ocho Cinco.
Eighty-five of 100 people voted to re-sign Houshmandzadeh, despite the fact that he will likely command a big contract. In a much closer vote, 56 percent voted to trade Ocho Cinco and 44 percent want to see him in Cincinnati next year.
Similar to owner Mike Brown, Ocho Cinco drew a very strong response from Bengal fans. It ranged from "great player" to being "sick of him." Most fans were upset by Ocho Cinco's numerous pleas to get out of Cincinnati this past offseason.
"If he doesn't want to play here, get rid of him," said Bengal fan Jeff Seiter.
On the other hand, Houshmandzadeh received an overwhelmingly positive response among Bengals fans for his toughness and work ethic.
"He's respectable, he's confident and plays hard every week," said Tony Fiasco.
Moving forward
At this point, Bengals fans are already looking ahead to their prospects for 2009 and whether it's worth the financial and emotional investment.
Eighty percent of fans surveyed said they will not buy season tickets next year. Some mentioned the tough economic times, while others just didn't want to pay for what they project to be a bad product.
But it's easy not to go to the games. It's much harder to refrain from watching or following the team that's been ingrained in one's fandom for a long time. But that hasn't stopped some in Cincinnati to question their loyalties.
"Season tickets? I don't know that I'll even be a Bengals fan in 2009," Brad Hill said bluntly. "I am at my end with the organization. I've never been a quitter, but there has to be a point where you stop punishing yourself.
"I may be a free agent this offseason. Can you get me the phone number for [agent] Drew Rosenhaus? I want a press conference. I'm not happy and I want out now!"
Unfortunately, Hill is not the only Bengals fan who feels this way.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
James Walker
Walker joined ESPN.com in 2008 after three seasons covering the Cleveland Browns for the Columbus Dispatch. He also covered the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Cavaliers at the Dispatch. Walker grew up in Hyattsville, Md., before attending Temple University, graduating in 2001 with a B.A. in communications and mass media. He resides in the Cleveland area.
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