Somebody who'll remain nameless, wrote a less than flattering email to me today, questioning why I'm so 'hard' on the Reds and the Bengals. Negative, was his implication.
The fact that teams are what they are, and reporters merely report, is often lost on some alleged fans. They want cheerleaders, not journalists. But my guess is, these kind of fans would howl bloody murder if the team slighted them, say by its players not signing autographs or jacking up ticket prices.
I explained to my critic that rather than being upset with something someone on TV or in print says, be upset at the team; the Bengals for all of their player arrests, the Reds for now having the worst record in all of major league baseball.
You pay for the players' salaries with inflated ticket prices (or by investing your time watching the games on TV if you're too cheap to buy a ticket.) Think of the team as a stock. If the investment doesn't return what you believe it should, hold it accountable. Don't get upset with the folks who report what's going on.
Eventually, the Bengals will keep their players out of jail and the Reds will win again. But along the way, understand the role of the journalist. He or she is there to represent you, ask the questions you want answered and report on the team you live and die with.
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