THE BROO VIEW with Ken Broo

Posted and ready for your downloading pleasure the latest Broo View Podcast. It's a good one (if I do say so myself!), that includes an interview I did with nationalfootballpost.com and former Oakland Raiders general manager, Michael Lombardi. Great thoughts from Mike on the state of the Bengals. You'll also hear comments from Carson Palmer and TJ Housmandzadeh. You can find the latest Broo View Podcast on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com. Or you can dowload it here.

Here’s a question to ponder: how many more weeks do we worry about game Bengals strategies and match ups. At what point will it stop to matter. Back in the back old days, in the 90’s, it was tough to deliver the nightly sports and talk about game strategies for the Bengals teams. You could never get to that, because Bengals fans could never get by the fact that the team was bad, and any talk about strategy was dismissed. You didn’t worry about how Tony McGee would do against the Browns strong side linebacker. It didn’t matter. You knew the Bengals were going to lose.

How close are we to that again?

Last Sunday, I asked this question: is this game, the game against the Tennessee Tigans, is this the biggest game the Bengals will play in the last 18 seasons? Not from an on field perspective, but off the field. Was it the biggest game they were going to play, to hold your interest and
not let the mood of the town drift from disappoint, to anger to apathy. At least there was one positive from the wind storm. Not many of us got to see the second half of that debacle.

As I sat in the dark this week and watched the candles melt, I wondered when we’d ever have a winning team to talk about, something that galvanizes the city like the 1990 Reds did, or the ’88 Bengals. College teams are great. What UC did on the football field last season and what Xavier did in basketball a couple of years ago were both terrific. But let’s face it: when it comes to college sports, interest is fractionalized. In Cincinnati, you’re either a UC or X fan. If you’re a Kentucky fan, you’re neither. Then, of course, are the other schools that have pockets of support around here, OSU, Notre Dame, Miami, maybe IU.

The Cyclones wrote a nice story last year. But it’s hockey, always an acquired taste in a non NHL city.

No, if anything is going to lift us from the land of loser-ville, it’s going to be either the Reds or Bengals. And honestly, do you see any reason to believe its going to happen any time soon.

The Reds are playing good baseball right now. But the heat is off, has been since June. We’ve seen this a lot in the last ten years. Reds out of the playoffs, play good baseball in September, false sense of hope, big let down by the following June. Repeat the cycle.

Look at this month. The Reds delayed the Cubs clinching the Central by winning two of three, They won two of three at Milwaukee earlier this month. They won two of three from the Brewers this past weekend. They’ve won 15 of their last 22. But it’s September. When was the last time they did it when it mattered? Hey, the current line up is playing well. But do you believe for a moment the everyday eight the Reds are running out there lately will be able to compete with the Cubs everyday eight, man for man next season? I don’t.

Some magazine, I don’t remember which one most of them give me a headache, but some magazine said recently that Cincinnati is one of the toughest towns for a sports fan. No playoffs in baseball since 1995, one playoff appearance for the Bengals in the last 18 years. But yet, you believe. And better, you support. The Reds went over the two million mark in attendance Saturday afternoon. The Bengals have a waiting list out the door and down the street for season tickets, every seat every Sunday now sold out.

But the economy stinks, gas is four bucks a gallon and you’re lucky if you’ll get a three percent raise this year. You’ve got some tough choices to make now. We all do.

At what point will your patience with waiting for a winner run out? Everybody has their limit. How close are you, to yours?

Maybe it’s a good thing we don’t have blackouts all that often. Having too much time to think is almost as bad as watching the food rot in the refrigerator. But unless I’m reading this wrong, I think you’re in need of something today other than a warm shower and a promise from Duke Energy this will never happen again. I think you’re in need of a dose of hope. What I want to know, is do you see it coming anytime soon?