Welcome back!

 

 

 

For the second time in a 5 year span, the Bengals will be featured on Hard Knocks. Count me in the camp that not only likes the decision, I love the decision. Here’s why:

 

It gains interest and fans for a team that can use all the fans it can get

Let be honest, the Bengals “bucket” isn’t exactly over flowing with fans…hell, they have problems selling out their stadium in a town that is full of Bengals fans! Being on Hard Knocks gives the entire country an opportunity to connect with a young and very talented team and gives the Bengals another opportunity to show they are not the laughing stock of a franchise that many NFL fans believe them to be. I talked to many non-Bengal fans who said they not only watched the show in 2009, but became casual Bengals fans after watching the show. The Bengals can use all the fans they can get…casual or not!

 

It breeds competition

I hear the typical pessimistic Cincinnati fan saying how it will be a distraction. I disagree. I see it as a good thing that will breed competition and focus. First of all, the cameras are discreet and anything but distracting; and Second, knowing that you are on national TV drives competition. Think about it. These players watch this show whether it is their team or not, and no player wants to be embarrassed on national TV, or seen as being lazy, or a poor teammate. Other teams will look at the tape from this show, good or bad, when deciding whether to pick up a player that gets cut (see Chris Pressley from 2009 as a good example). Also, remember what a distraction it was in 2009? Coming off a 4-11-1 season, the Bengals were selected for 2 things in 2009: 1) Hard Knocks (which was a phenomenal season of the show), and 2) to finish last in the AFC north. The national perception of the 2009 Bengals being featured on Hard Knocks was that it would be an entertaining circus – getting to see an inept organization and undisciplined team crash and burn….both of which would make for great TV ….oh, and Chad acting like an idiot. Well, Chad may have acted like an idiot, but the Bengals organization looked far from its national laughing stock perception. In what would be the biggest surprise of the 2009 NFL season, the Bengals not only won the AFC North, but swept the division for the first time in franchise history. Raise your hand if you think the 2009 team was disciplined and had good leadership. This team has both discipline and leadership and therefore is far better equipped to handle this spotlight. I am not predicting another sweep of the division, but this increase in attention may be just what this team (especially Dalton) needs, to take the next step of not just getting to the playoffs, but making noise in the playoffs.

 

Last, but not least, marketing

The Bengals may claim to have a ‘marketing’ department, but they don’t. There is not a business in the world that markets as poorly as the Bengals. Unbeknownst to the national folk, Cincinnati is a town full of ravid Bengals fans, they just don’t fill the stadium because they are fed up with the way the team is run and how they perceive they are treated by “The Family.” The Bengals, if they wanted, could have this town wrapped around their finger like the Steelers have Pittsburgh. This fan base simply wants love back from “The Family,” and though many may not see it this way, I believe this is “The Family’s” way of inviting the fans in. People will watch (local and national), and because of the show, many will buy tickets and follow and love the Bengals more than they had previously. In fact, the Bengals gained a ton of non-Cincinnati fans from the show in 2009. HBO is providing something “The Family” is completely inept at doing (marketing), and they are doing it for free (music to Uncle Mike’s ears)!

 

Like it or not, we in Cincinnati are a very sensitive fan base. We are fair weather, pessimistic fans, to the utmost degree with a severe case of “small man syndrome” (and I like it in an odd sort of way). We abandon are teams during the tough times, yet take offense to “outsiders” criticizing them. We swear off the team until “outsiders” start talking about them, and then they are miraculously “Our Team” again. Remember how many former Bengals fans would make fun of us real Bengals fans in the ‘90’s for wearing team gear in public – I do. And how many of those now claim to be Bengals fans again? They are as honest and upfront about their loyalty to the Bengals as the 500k+ Cincinnatians are honest about their attendance at the Freezer Bowl (they must have sold a lot of standing room only to that game). What’s my point you ask? “My point Donnie. My point” is that whether you want to admit it or not, you will watch Hard Knocks now that the Bengals are on (HBO will be added to my Direct TV subscription –along with many other Cincinnatians - in August) – and you will likely build a stronger connection - if not with the team, with certain players…or characters (I give you the star of the show in 2009, again, again, again,….and just for good measure!). A connection that will make you tune in for Hard Knocks; a connection that will make you watch on Sunday afternoons; a connection that will bring more eyeballs (and as a result sponsors and coverage) to the team; a connection that may push you to buy tickets to go sit in the stands you have not sat in for years; and a connection that may just bring you back and re-connect you with the team that you are so very much wanting to come back to (but instead have forced yourself to be miserable by not watching because you feel as though you are proving something – a stupid tactic, but one many in this city are partaking in). And that, my friends, is a good thing – for you, for the team, for the city and for the NFL….and even us non-bandwagoners will welcome your return, or first venture, to the Jungle!