“In school, some people would pick fun at me,” @MeganJarica tweeted. “I was a senior during the 2015 (12-4) season. All the people that hated on the Bengals started (hopping) on the bandwagon (until the last one-and-done). Now as an adult a lot of people say ‘Bengals fan actually exist?’ when they find out I’m a Bengals fan.”
“My friends have never really even treated the Bengals like a real team until this year, @ErtelVOL tweeted, “so they barely even talked (bleep) lol which is 100% worse.”
“I remember when friends of mine who are NFL fans wouldn't even talk trash about the Bengals to me -- just between each other, @soubuckeye tweeted. “They knew it was just beating a dead horse.”
“I was always humored at work for the past 20 years when I would say ‘If we make it to the Playoffs I'm wearing my jersey to work!’” @Syreene tweeted.
“When I first moved to DC, a new friend was helping me unpack,” @steverempe tweeted. “I had a large, framed portrait of Ken Anderson that I got for my HS graduation. ‘Huh,’ he said. ‘You know, you're kinda’ like someone from Montana,’ he told me. ‘You know people like that exist, but you never expect you are going to meet one in person.’ They know we exist now.”
A diehard fan still finds pleasure even amid the pain of losing You have game day and each other and the draft and hope and tomorrow. And you have the team. It is your team. It is part of you. Its history is your history.
“Honestly, I don’t care what anyone thinks or has to say about me being a Bengals fan,” @MeganJarica tweeted. “Their opinion is irrelevant and I will ride or die with the Bengals despite what anyone else has to say. That’s my team! Always has, always will♥️.”