Sport-Blog.com

My husband grew up in Cincinnati. When I met him in 1998, he said he had never watched football. Having grown up in the South, I though he was joking, but he was not. He watched the Bengals in their unsuccessful bid for the Super Bowl title in 1988, but that was all. "Why watch?" he asked. He has a point. Cincinnati has been an embarrassment for a long time, and the University of Cincinnati is no better.

When we decided to move to Cincinnati in 2003, I admit that I was still a little unsure. I was leaving my beloved South for what promised to be - and was - an uninviting city. I hated Cincinnati with a passion. I got sick of hearing about Pete Rose and Marge Schott and the Cincinnati Reds. Apparently no one told the people of Cincinnati that the Reds are not any good either.

The people of the city seem obsessed with running. There are marathons and 5K walks every weekend. I didn't understand.

The one thing I did understand about Cincinnati, though, was the Bengals. There are lots of negatives about Cincinnati, and I've uttered most of them, but they are fans. They love their Bengals. Even with more than a decade of losing seasons under their belts, the people of Cincinnati cheered for the Bengals.

The year we moved was when Chad Johnson started to become a name around the city. He promised that the Bengals would beat the Kansas City Chiefs, who had started the year at an impressive 9-0. "Confident kid," the people of Cincinnati said. They were proud Johnson was so happy, but they were shocked when his "guarantee" became a reality, and the Bengals beat the Chiefs.

A newspaper reporter wrote that she was amused when she was grocery shopping during the game, and someone made an announcement over the loudspeaker that the Bengals had scored and were ahead. She was amused, but the city's other inhabitants were enraptured. The Bengals won! There was hope.

Many people in Cincinnati see Marvin Lewis as the savior the city needs. He has done much in two and a half seasons to resurrect the laughingstock franchise. This year's Bengals are 5-2 and are playing the disappointing Green Bay Packers (1-5) today.

Now, fans have players beyond Chad Johnson who capture their attention and hearts although Johnson's leading the pack. Chants of "Rudi" can be heard most Sundays and the Cincinnati faithful cheer on running back Rudi Johnson. There are even some Saturday Ohio State fans who cheer for former-Michigan standout Chris Perry.

The defense is shocking this year. Delta O'Neal lights up the crowd with his interceptions. Rookie linebacker Odell Thurman is winning them over. Thurman, who's been praised throughout the NFL, has become an important part of the defense this season, showing that perhaps he should have been the Bengals first-round pick.

Bengals fans have been cheering for years, but now they have a reason. Now they have a team to make them proud.

By Julia Mercer