Editor's note: This is a weekly column from former sports reporter and editor Mike Bass. Bass will be contributing to The Enquirer by offering advice for sports fans, athletes and youth sports parents and coaches through a weekly Q&A. To ask a question of Bass for potential publication, email him at [email protected]. And get the conversation going on Twitter @SportsFanCoach1.
The Cincinnati Bengals upset the Pittsburgh Steelers onn Monday Night Football, and Bengal Land turned to Joy Land.
I asked Bengals' fans what 27-17 meant to them, and it was like asking George Bailey or Ebenezer Scrooge about coming back to a wonderful life.
“It was a Yuletide miracle,” @chase1167 tweeted. “The gods blessed us and put the steelers in (their) place.”
“It meant santa came early,” @timmay812003 tweeted.
This was your gift, Bengals fans. And it showed in their GIFs.
“IT’S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!” proclaimed one, tweeted by @dregs403, that showed Santa Claus flying his reindeer-led sleigh.
“It’s a Festivus Miracle!” declared another, tweeted by @Dustang2007, that showed Kramer from “Seinfeld.”
Monday night was your reward for hanging in there through Joe Burrow’s injury and a fifth straight season without a playoff berth. This was your moment, your three-hour moment, to savor as long as you choose. This is your chance to wonder if maybe, just maybe, this is a sign.
“Changed my entire view of the team,” @stuartmcsmith tweeted. “A well coached, well played game. And those HITS! In prime time, against the Steelers!”
“We won a PRIMETIME game against the Steelers. And at a time where those guys really didn't have anything to play for....but each other,” @BengalsWhitney tweeted. “So for me, it gave me renewed hope that even through tremendous adversity, those men still have belief. And so...I will too.”
“Gave us something to build on,” @benny44ca tweeted.
“Hope,” @try2tri4 tweeted.
Harbinger or not, nobody can take 27-17 away from you. If this is all there is, this still is amazing. It is a reminder of why you love sports, why you continue to watch your Bengals, because when you stop, you risk missing this. This game doesn’t erase the 10 losses, this game is a gift because of them.
Upsets are part of why we love sports. The bracket-busting madness of March. The Miracle on Ice. Ali over Foreman. Joe Namath and the Jets over the Colts. The Nasty Boys and the Reds over the A’s.
No matter how sure we are that something will happen, there is a chance it won’t. The next Appalachian State over Michigan is coming. The bigger the upset, the more we enjoy it — as long as our team isn’t the one being upset.
The Bengals were 14.5-point underdogs. The only bigger upset in MNF history, in terms of point spread, was 1978, according to ESPN Stats and Information research, when the Baltimore Colts were 17-point underdogs and beat New England.
But here? The Bengals were 2-10-1 and a blowout waiting to happen. The Steelers were 11-2 and primed to break out after back-to-back losses. The Bengals started third-string quarterback Ryan Finley. Their division rival started future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger.
“Anytime we can beat the Steelers it’s a good thing and it felt fantastic under the circumstances, maybe more than it would otherwise,” @Cincinnati_Kid5 tweeted.
So many memories. Von Bell’s hit on TikTok logo dancer JuJu Smith. Finley’s 23-yard touchdown run. Remember those and more, when the airing of the grievances drags you down as a Bengals fan. Think about how you felt Tuesday, when you tweeted me all those GIFs that tested my pop-culture skills.
"The whole world is celebrating!” said one GIF, as tweeted by @Bengalsmanic, that showed Colin Jost of “Saturday Night Live.”
The Bengals’ world, at least.
“I cannot find the words to say how I feel,” @JessEllisConley tweeted in a GIF of Maggie Smith as Lady Grantham from “Downton Abbey.”
Speechless is understandable. This wasn’t exactly one night of oil lasting eight nights. Or even the winless and 17-point-underdog Jets beating the Rams a day earlier. But for you, this was something.
Or, as @_jerrbear_ tweeted, in a GIF of Emma Samms as Holly from an old “General Hospital” episode (I think), “It meant everything to me, Robert.”
“Everything,” said a GIF tweeted by @cameroon199 that showed Josh Brolin as Thanus from an “Avengers” movie.
“In primetime...against a divisional opponent Steelers...and causing Big Ben to have possibly his worst game ever?” @lorenzosorice tweeted, with a SpongeBob Squarepants GIF. “Everything.”
Remember to email Bass at [email protected] or reach out to him @SportsFanCoach1 on Twitter if you want to be included next week. His website is MikeBassCoaching.com.
