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Thought I might keep the conversation about this past Super Bowl going for another day or so. This time, however, it seemed like perhaps a good idea to have a little fun with it, and to look at the funnier aspects of it.
I ran into these spoof headlines from The Onion, which poked fun of both cities of the teams that just played in this recent Super Bowl. The team that I was rooting for was the Cincinnati Bengals. This was the third time that I saw the Bengals make it all the way to the Super Bowl, and this also was the third time that I was pulling for them in the biggest game. At least they did no lose to the 49ers this time, a team that has just somehow haunted the Bengals consistently throughout the franchise history, whenever those two teams met. But the Bengals still lost, this time to the team that beat those 49ers in the NFC title game. And the Rams won, of course, very late in the fourth quarter, after the Bengals had been winning the game for most of the second half, ever since they jumped ahead in the first seconds of the third quarter.
It was disappointing, yes. It also felt a bit like déjà vu. Certainly, it would have been nice to see the Bengals win it all, finally, and not least of all because it sure seemed like that win could have given the city of Cincinnati a bit of a boost. I mean, it was disappointing to me each time, but for the fans in Cincinnati, it really must have been heartbreaking. They now join the Buffalo Bills and the Minnesota Vikings as teams that have reached the Super Bowl at least three times and failed to win a single time.
Watching the game live, I kept hoping that the Bengals would win, and felt that they were so very close. Quite possibly, they were closer to winning this one than they were back in January of 1989, when they almost beat the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIII. But looking back on it right now, in hindsight, I have to say that it is almost perplexing how they came so close. That offensive line was very shaky, allowing the Rams to get seven sacks and to pressure quarterback Joe Burrow a number of other times, as well. If they do not make some serious improvements in the bear future, Burrow might not play for the Bengals for very long, and will move to greener pastures, where he might get better protection elsewhere. If they do not protect him better, Burrow might not even get that chance, because he could get seriously hurt. Frankly, it seems to me that the offensive line, more than anything else, was the reason that Cincy lost that game.
Sorry, did not mean to get serious. This is supposed to be a humorous blog entry. So let me get back to that.
Not to rub salt on a wound, or anything, but the Onion spoof article for Cincinnati felt a bit brutal, admittedly. It was a bit harsh, although it also was quite hilarious. It was an exaggeration, I think, because the city of Cincinnati actually did not seem all that bad to me during the brief visit that my son and I paid it back in the summer of 2012 (and took in a Bengals game against the Packers in the process).
Here is a quote from this "news story" where a local has some quotes about the loss by the Bengals, and the state of his city of Cincinnati more generally:
“No need to gild the lily, we’ve still got everything we need right here in this gray hole where we eke out a bland existence,” said a chipper, forgettable Cincinnati resident with a generic Midwestern name like John Murray, adding that pretty soon it would be April, when they might have a chance at seeing the sun again. “Buck up, everyone! Sure, we didn’t win, but how can you dwell on something so superficial when you have access to everything this putrid wasteland has to offer, like no central character, a deficit of culture, and cold, empty concrete buildings instead of notable museums! Give that trophy to a town that needs it, like Los Angeles. I’ll choose Cincinnati any day of the week, with its poverty rate that’s almost twice the national average, its revolting chili, and a city skyline that is little more than a brownish hue indistinguishable from the rest of Ohio. How lucky are we!” At press time, Murray had reportedly been admitted to one of Cincinnati’s many mediocre hospitals after he was deemed a danger to himself.
Damn.
As for the Rams, the spoof article on them actually took aim not so much at Los Angeles, as on the trend with the Rams of bouncing from city to city. Remember, they left Los Angeles to go to St. Louis in 1994. There, they won the Super Bowl following the 1999 season as the “Greatest Show on Turf” and then went back to the Super Bowl two seasons later, although that time, they were on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history. That team never really recovered, and they quickly fell to mediocrity. Eventually, they moved back to Los Angeles. Within a few years, they went back to the Super Bowl, although they lost in what turned out to be the lowest scoring Super Bowl ever. That was three years ago to the Patriots.
Well, they won it this time. But The Onion piece here makes fun of how difficult it became to keep track of them and, perhaps, their former crosstown rivals, the Raiders, who also kept bouncing around from city to city. First, they were the Oakland Raiders, then they moved to Los Angeles, only to return to their original city, much like the Rams did. Now, of course, they moved to Las Vegas, where they currently reside.
Not a big fan of this trend in North American sports with franchises that move out of one city ad relocate to another. So this was something that I felt was a bit of a deserved shot at sports owners who play those kinds of silly games with their home fan bases, which makes everyone wonder why they even have home fan bases. They hardly deserve it. And in the case of the Rams, at least until this Super Bowl win, it seems that the back and forth moves in and out of Los Angeles has hurt them, as they lack the loyal home fan support that they might otherwise have had, and which teams in other cities largely take for granted.
Cincinnati Residents Take Solace After Loss In City’s Lack Of Culture, Terrible Food, Stupid Name, Boring Downtown , February 13, 2022:
‘Who Cares About A Little Trophy When You’ve Got High Crime, Zero Distinctive Features, Mediocre Walkability,’ Say Citizens
https://www.theonion.com/super-bowl-cincinnati-residents-take-solace-after-loss-1848518448
Rams Dedicate Win To Whatever City They Play For, February 13, 2022:
https://www.theonion.com/super-bowl-rams-dedicate-win-to-whatever-city-they-play-1848507886
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