Cedric Benson and the Cincinnati Bengals look to outrun the competition in the AFC North in 2009
BENGALSTRIPES – Hello Bengal followers. This is the Homer, filling in for the Stripe while he is preparing for his annual pilgrimage to Georgetown, among other things. I am not a professional sports writer like the Stripe, but I am an avid Bengals fan, season ticket holder for a decade, and yes, a bit of a homer. And this year, I’m drinking the Kool-Aid, believing Dhani Jones’s declaration on the Bengals website that this will be the best Bengals season yet (at least during Dhani’s tenure with the team, that is).
Usually in July and August, I drink the Kool-Aid and then I pick up the first NFL preview magazine and I get depressed because they have the Bengals ranked dead last. This year, my optimism is being validated because the boys in stripes are feeling the love from the national press. Not only did Tom Curran list the Laveranues Coles signing as one of the 10 best offseason moves, but Pete Prisco wrote that the Bengals are a wild card team – at worst! Draft experts gave the team its highest ranking since the 2003 draft (and that was all Carson Palmer). Not to mention that AFC North division winners from 2008 suddenly have serious distractions going into training camp, the Browns have no quarterback, and the Ravens, well, they’re old.
Not everything I post will be this optimistic, but this year, unlike the last two years, Who Dey Nation has quite a bit to be excited about going into the 2009 season.
{ 3 comments }
