I’d like to apologize for the poor quality photoshop job above…I did it in 30 seconds.
A few friends of mine were recently discussing the climate of multiple areas in our fair city. I live in Cincinnati. That means a variety of things to those of us who live here, and it means a variety of other things to those who don’t. One of the things it means to all of us, insiders or outsiders, is this; our sports teams suck.
Now before you jump on me for agreeing with this statement (you know…those few fans that actually exist), I’d like to say that I do not agree with this statement. Are our sports teams the greatest? Nope. But, I am a fan of those teams. Because they’re my teams. They represent my city…sort of. I say “sort of” because how many of the Cincinnati Reds were born and raised in Cincinnati? How many Bengals were born and raised in Cincinnati? They represent us…sort of.
It would be an entirely different situation, and quite a bit more understandable, if our professional sports team were a true representation of the talent that comes from our stock. How awesome would that be? Think about it. Every Reds player a native Cincinnatian. Every San Francisco Giant player a native San Francisconite. I actually have no idea what you San Fran people call yourselves. But you can imagine what I’m saying.
What I am not saying, is that I believe our professional franchises should only be filled with native city players. That’s not going to happen and I don’t know that I’d want it to. The point I am trying to get at is that we place a massive amount of weight on the way that people who get paid large sums of money to play games represent cities that they are not usually native to. It’s interesting. And here’s the part that I hate…
I hate that my city lacks the ability to hold it’s head up high because our sports teams aren’t winning championships.
There is a proverb that says, “They will grumble when the market prices are high, and they will grumble when the market prices are low.” It’s absolutely true. It doesn’t make sense at first, but it’s the reality we live in.
“Gas prices are too high!”
{gas prices drop to record lows for the past few years}
“Yeah…but I’m sure they’ll shoot back up soon!”
Even when we catch a break, or experience a blessing of some kind – we’re quick to dismiss it and focus on the negative. It happens in all sorts of areas, but the one that really sticks out to me is with professional sports.
“The Reds have a 3-game winning streak.”
“Don’t worry, they’ll probably blow it tonight!”
This wouldn’t be a big deal if it didn’t bleed over into other areas, but it does bleed over. I believe this mindset has moved in like a dark cloud over my great city. It wasn’t recent either…I believe it’s been here for many years. As a city, we have a defeated, negative, pessimistic, loser mentality. It’s a sad fact, but I believe it exists. IT. MUST. CHANGE.
Did you know that cities of winning sports teams have been proven to have better economies? Residents of “winning” cities make more money annually and lower rates of unemployment. We’re talking about sports teams people…whether they win or lose…determining the outlook and even real numbers in a city. You’d think we were discussing a salvational issue.
I could go on and on about it, but I think I’ll leave it at this;
If you allow your mentality as a human being to be determined by how well your team plays…
Have you checked out urbanophile? Google it – it’s a blog about midwestern cities, their growth strategies, what works, what doesn’t, etc. I’m sure I’ve seen a couple articles about Cinci in there, and it’s this kind of stuff.
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Hey, I’ve only been to one reds game this year and they won 13 to 1 with 7 home runs. Although I don’t follow sports I would have to assume that the Reds play every game in that manner.
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I can see where you’re coming from w/ the statement about supporting the Cincinnati teams. I grew up in a small town north of Columbus and my whole family went to The Ohio State University. Our family is die hard Ohio State fans, no matter their troubles.
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I’m thinking about getting tickets to the Bengals/Titans game this year. You guys should come down and come to the game with us.
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Oh, and I’m still a Cincinnati Reds fan even though I don’t hail from this area. The Bengals haven’t impressed me since I moved here 4 years ago, but I am a fan of another close NFL team – the Indianapolis Colts.
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thought provoking; thanks
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“If you allow your mentality as a human being to be determined by how well your team plays……knock it off.”
That “loser mindset” exists everywhere unfortunately, not just in Cincinnati. Don’t you think that those people have that mentality about everything, or most things, in their lives? I kind of doubt those same people who complain about their teams would suddenly have a wonderfully sunny disposition if their teams started to win on the regular, which you pointed out in your post. Some people are just negative. I think that their sports teams is just another thing in a long line of things that they bitch about. That being said, I’ll love my Reds and my UC Bearcats forever but I’m done with the Bengals. Mike Brown has ruined them.
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Ryan, i’d go one step further and say that this seems to be the whole mentality of our country…. Its easy to be a “monday morning quarterback” and a lot easier to complain and be negative than to be positive and “do” something…and we do need to “knock it off”.
In regard to the sports teams ~ hang in there!!!!
Being a RedSox/Patriots fan was tough going for a LONG while….If they can do it anybody/team can! I just wish my grandfather could have seen it…
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Are you sure you aren’t talking about Seattle? Sounds like the same thing to me. So bad that they even lost their NBA team.
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Thanks for the laugh and I know a few people who are deranged enough….Cowboy fans, oh my. I’d rather watch baseball than football and yes I don’t say that out loud. It’s how you play the game not the win. Seriously. And I was a big Johnny Bench fan, way back when there were dinosaurs.
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I would have to agree. I moved here 7 years ago from Knoxville and am constantly surprised by the negative attitude, especially of natives. This isn’t my favorite city but there are tons of things to do and beautiful parks and sights, and most people I meet have lived here all their life have never visited all the city has to offer. If people quit worrying about the Bengals and what their neighbors have that they don’t and got out and enjoyed the city, they might smile back when I smile at them!
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Paula Poundstone (I know, I know) does a bit about this (sort of). This is all I could find on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtajjrxzX6U
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My favorite Bengals is #95 Victor Adeyanju – played at Indiana University.. A quality guy who you would love to have your daughter marry.
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