I am, and always will be, a Cubs fan, Bears fan and Dolphins fan despite living in Cincinnati. When a Cincinnati team has a great year (or is currently undefeated in the NFL) the air around the city is electric. It’s hard not to be swallowed up by the excitement and hype centered around a winning team. You can see the elation in the faces of the locals and the news anchors. The Cincinnati Reds are in the same division as the Cubs so its far more difficult to be excited for the Reds when they are doing well (for obvious reasons); however, being such a big football fan, I find that I often get caught up in the hype of the Bengals 5-0 start to their season.
I don’t mind watching the Bengals doing well, especially when the Dolphins and Bears are off to a fairly rough start. I’m sure the love a city shows for its football team would be just as contagious if I were in any other city (except Boston, nothing could make me root for the Deflatriots; NOTHING!) I’m not saying that I will become a die hard Bengals fan. I don’t even know if I will become a mediocre Bengals fan. Be that as it may, I don’t feel guilty that I’m happy they are winning when I never would have given them a second glance prior to living in Cincinnati.
I think it should be acceptable by all the die-hard and local fans to allow someone of different allegiances so suddenly become a fan of their team. It shouldn’t be any different than someone who becomes a fan of a college team because they attended/graduated from said school. Don’t get me wrong, nobody has accused me of being a “fair weather fan” nor have I given up one iota of allegiance to the Bears or Dolphins. In fact I’m trying to compliment the enthusiasm of the Cincinnati Bengals fans and how their love and excitement for their team has become quite endearing even before their 5-0 start.
Either way its going to be another exciting NFL season and the Bengals and Bengals fans are going to make living in Cincinnati a lot of fun too!
/cheers
I could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!