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Bengals say good riddance to fair-weather fans


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Bengals say good riddance to fair-weather fans
  • By Conor Orr NFL.com
  • Published: Oct. 7, 2014 at 11:25 a.m.
  • Updated: Oct. 7, 2014 at 12:10 p.m.
 
 

The Bengals needed a convincing win over the Patriots this weekend to sway public perception in their favor.

But after a prime-time 43-17 loss, they're back in the same holding pattern in which a few Andy Dalton-led teams have found themselves over the last few seasons.

It seems like a touchy subject in the Bengals' locker room, especially now that a few players are sounding off about fair-weather fans who are leaping off the bandwagon at 3-1.

"They didn't come to the games when we were 3-0 so I don't know what I have to say to them," offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said, via Cincinnati.com. "That stuff's just garbage. I'm not worried about the fans or the media or any of that crap. We need to go play well and win. The same people thought Tom Brady should quit football and retire from the NFL a week ago, so I bet they don't think that now.

"Every week you have to show up and play your best, and if you don't, you're going to get beat, and that's NFL football, and that's why even the best team in the league and the worst team in the league, there's not as much difference as people would like to think."

Safety George Iloka seemed just as eager to shed the franchise of fans who weren't ready to stick with the team through a loss.

"Let 'em jump off," said Iloka. "I mean we start winning, they can jump back on or not. I'm not worried about the people who jump off. We don't want them as fans anyway, so we just look to the Patriots, how they came out and lost on Monday night in prime time, all their fair-weather fans jumped off the bandwagon and they're probably back on after they beat us. So we look to them and see how they came out and we hope to do the same things on Sunday and beat the Panthers."

It's hard to imagine what a win on Sunday would have meant for the Bengals, leaving them as the sole undefeated team in football. Now, they'll have to do some work on Sunday against a tough Panthers team to get some of those fans back.

 

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000407102/article/bengals-say-good-riddance-to-fairweather-fans


Bengals’ George Iloka: We don’t want bandwagon fans
Posted by Michael David Smith on October 7, 2014, 11:02 AM EDT
iloka.jpg?w=375AP

Bengals safety George Iloka is telling Cincinnati fans that if they’re doubting the team following Sunday’s loss to the Patriots, feel free to stop watching.

Iloka said that any bandwagon fans should go ahead and jump off the bandwagon, and stay off.

Let them jump off,” Iloka told ESPN. “I’m not worried about the people who jump off. We don’t want them as fans anyway.”

Iloka said the same thing the Patriots did to the Bengals is what the Bengals need to do going forward: Cincinnati needs to shake off Sunday night’s loss and come back with a big win on Sunday against the Panthers.

“We look to the Patriots, how they came out and lost on Monday night in prime time and saw all their fair-weather fans jump off the bandwagon,” Iloka said. “They’re probably back on after they beat us. So we look to them and see how they came out, and we hope to do the same things on Sunday and beat the Panthers.”

Beating the Panthers would be a good way to show that Sunday night was an anomaly. Even if it would probably attract some of those bandwagon fans Iloka doesn’t want.

 

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/07/bengals-george-iloka-we-dont-want-bandwagon-fans/

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These guys come off as sounding a bit entitled, ...like they expect to hang 100 points on the Panthers.

 

Funny, ...KC didn't expect to blowout the Pats,  ...the Pats didn't expect to blowout us, ...why do we expect to blowout the Panthers?

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These guys come off as sounding a bit entitled, ...like they expect to hang 100 points on the Panthers.

 

Funny, ...KC didn't expect to blowout the Pats,  ...the Pats didn't expect to blowout us, ...why do we expect to blowout the Panthers?

I didn't read anything in that article that makes me think they believe they'll blow the doors off of Carolina.  Whit says "we need to play better this week"... Iloka says "we saw what Patriots did and we hope to do the same thing this week against Carolina"...

 

What makes you think they believe they'll blow Carolina away?

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Comments like this from Whit and Iloka are really a bad idea.  Whether they realize it or not, the fans pay their million dollar salaries.  If those fans want to bitch, then let them bitch,but don't call them out. 

 

It  sounds like these guys are starting to let their consistent prime time fiascos get  into their heads.  I thought this team was too mature to let that happen--now I see I was wrong...

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The thing that irks me about players throwing off about "bandwagon fans" is this:  None of these players were Bengals fans before they joined the team, and the vast majority probably won't be avid Bengals fans after they leave the team.  With them, the Bengals are a business that employs them at the current time.  With us, even the fair-weather fans among us, the Bengals are a passion that spans many years and even decades.

 

If some fans who have endured the lost decade of the 90s and 0-5 in the playoffs decide that their loyalty will no longer be unconditional, then they have earned that right.  Stop shitting your pants when the bright lights come on and maybe some minds will change.

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Comments like this from Whit and Iloka are really a bad idea.  Whether they realize it or not, the fans pay their million dollar salaries.  If those fans want to bitch, then let them bitch,but don't call them out. 

 

It  sounds like these guys are starting to let their consistent prime time fiascos get  into their heads.  I thought this team was too mature to let that happen--now I see I was wrong...

 

Put yourself in their shoes. Do you have any idea how many times questions like this are probably shoved in their faces? I'm willing to bet that if this was a one off situation they wouldn't have gone on like that. Unfortunately, reporters and others are fucking idiots and keep asking shitty questions. I'm guessing they're tired of hearing them and just let loose with it.

MULLY

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The thing that irks me about players throwing off about "bandwagon fans" is this:  None of these players were Bengals fans before they joined the team, and the vast majority probably won't be avid Bengals fans after they leave the team.  With them, the Bengals are a business that employs them at the current time.  With us, even the fair-weather fans among us, the Bengals are a passion that spans many years and even decades.

 

If some fans who have endured the lost decade of the 90s and 0-5 in the playoffs decide that their loyalty will no longer be unconditional, then they have earned that right.  Stop shitting your pants when the bright lights come on and maybe some minds will change.

:good:

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The thing that irks me about players throwing off about "bandwagon fans" is this:  None of these players were Bengals fans before they joined the team, and the vast majority probably won't be avid Bengals fans after they leave the team.  With them, the Bengals are a business that employs them at the current time.  With us, even the fair-weather fans among us, the Bengals are a passion that spans many years and even decades.
 
If some fans who have endured the lost decade of the 90s and 0-5 in the playoffs decide that their loyalty will no longer be unconditional, then they have earned that right.  Stop shitting your pants when the bright lights come on and maybe some minds will change.


Bingo.
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The thing that irks me about players throwing off about "bandwagon fans" is this:  None of these players were Bengals fans before they joined the team, and the vast majority probably won't be avid Bengals fans after they leave the team.  With them, the Bengals are a business that employs them at the current time.  With us, even the fair-weather fans among us, the Bengals are a passion that spans many years and even decades.
 
If some fans who have endured the lost decade of the 90s and 0-5 in the playoffs decide that their loyalty will no longer be unconditional, then they have earned that right.  Stop shitting your pants when the bright lights come on and maybe some minds will change.


Not that dramatic. Not close.

Bengals are a small market that's done an excellent job of pissing off some in that market and burning bridges. They've done little to repair or rebuild.

Every team has fair weather fans. What the Bengals don't have is a huge base that can reduce the voice of the fair weather fan.
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The thing that irks me about players throwing off about "bandwagon fans" is this:  None of these players were Bengals fans before they joined the team, and the vast majority probably won't be avid Bengals fans after they leave the team.  With them, the Bengals are a business that employs them at the current time.  With us, even the fair-weather fans among us, the Bengals are a passion that spans many years and even decades.

 

If some fans who have endured the lost decade of the 90s and 0-5 in the playoffs decide that their loyalty will no longer be unconditional, then they have earned that right.  Stop shitting your pants when the bright lights come on and maybe some minds will change.

 

 

This.

 

While I like Whit, he needs to shut up and own the issues, internalize them and go fix them. Putting anything on the fans is a distraction from him and the rest of the team doing just that.

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A fan base that openly talks shit about its best players has it's feewings hurt by a player calling them fair weather?  A week ago everyone was ready to put them in the Superbowl.   They lose one game, WEEK 4 of the regular season, and there's a thread calling for the coach to be fired.  

 

Then when a player is asked about all the chicken littles running around screaming that Marvin Lewis threw sky at them, he reacts to their retarded reaction by saying fuck off.   Now we have a thread where poster after poster basically says you have to earn the right to have the sand in your vagina.

 

:41:

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A fan base that openly talks shit about its best players has it's feewings hurt by a player calling them fair weather?  A week ago everyone was ready to put them in the Superbowl.   They lose one game, WEEK 4 of the regular season, and there's a thread calling for the coach to be fired.  

 

Then when a player is asked about all the chicken littles running around screaming that Marvin Lewis threw sky at them, he reacts to their retarded reaction by saying fuck off.   Now we have a thread where poster after poster basically says you have to earn the right to have the sand in your vagina.

 

:41:

 

 

B-b-but the 1990's!!

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A fan base that openly talks shit about its best players has it's feewings hurt by a player calling them fair weather?  A week ago everyone was ready to put them in the Superbowl.   They lose one game, WEEK 4 of the regular season, and there's a thread calling for the coach to be fired.  

 

Then when a player is asked about all the chicken littles running around screaming that Marvin Lewis threw sky at them, he reacts to their retarded reaction by saying fuck off.   Now we have a thread where poster after poster basically says you have to earn the right to have the sand in your vagina.

 

:41:

 

That thread was bumped to point out this is not a new issue with Marvin (as that thread has gone through two cycles spanning three years). The bumper (me), noted he wasn't going anywhere, but that this gets old. Reading comprehension is fundamental.

 

As for Whit, he should shut the fuck up, actually be a fucking leader, and help to have the team ready to play for a change when the lights get bright. He wants people to show up? Fucking stop sucking everytime the world is watching.

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Frist of all Whit isn't even addressing the right segment of fans.     Those that sit on message boards all day and make no attempt to support the team at any event or games, they don't matter.    They haven't gone, won't go, and will never go, no matter how many primetime games Whit's Bengal teams win or lose.

 

 

The message needs to be pointed at fans that have actually given their support through time and money investment that might be withdrawing that support because of the latest primetime loss.

 

 

What you will find is this is probably a front by Whit to publically take heat, change the topic, and rally the troops to play the "US vs. The WORLD" card.    I doubt Whit truly give a flying fuck about bumping of a Marvin Lewis thread.

 

I don't know why it works but the Bengals would hardly be the first team to play the "no respect" card.   To play that card you don't need harden proof to support your assertion.   All you need are enough ears in that lockeroom to buy in for a small segment of time to focus at the start of preparation week.

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What fucking bandwagon is any of them speaking of?  We have barely been able to sell out games for 3 years ever since the 4-12 Carson led Ocho Stinko debacle.   

 

We barely got the blackout lifted for the Tennessee game.  There is NO BANDWAGON.  If there were, people would be lining up for tickets.  You can get good seats cheap for almost any Bengals game.  

 

You have to fucking win big games to get people on the bandwagon.  The honest truth is there have been ZERO bandwagon fans for this club since the head fake of 2005.  After suffering thru the dark ages, Carson, Chad and TJ  filled up the wagon.  The loss and 3 playoff free seasons later, the fan base is simply jaded and DESERVEDLY so.

 

There is NO way to fix this other than winning PLAYOFF games, something that has not happened in 24 years.   Worse, is we have a team that many think is borderline Superbowl quality.  Another 1 and done in the playoffs would probably be worse than just going back to 1995.  At least in 1995, the smell of playoff success was still in the air.

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Well folks, I can guarantee you they won't be winning any playoff games for another 3 months. 

 

 

:265:

Absolutely correct.  There will be NO rush of fans to buy Bengals tickets this year even if they run the table.  I will even go as far as to say that the Stealers home game will probably be 50/50 as far as fans go.

 

Whit can cry all he wants, his offensive line rarely rises to the occasion nor does the defensive line which played like shit Sunday night.

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