It's the day after after the day after, and presumably, time to move on from what happened in Nashville on Sunday, which I tortured myself by watching a little bit of on my DVR last night before deciding that reliving that experience was only going to make me more miserable.
One of the things I hate most about Sunday's defeats is how it just amplified the believe that Cincinnati sports fans are doomed to experience failure, even in the face of possible success. I understand why fans feel this way. Sometimes I feel this way. But few things are less appealing to me than people who expect the worst, and nothing is less appealing than someone who mopes in the kind of self pity that accompanies our teams' failures.
And yet, again, I understand why so many people do it. I guess it makes us feel better.
It's not just Cincinnati sports fans that do this. Atlanta fans do this too. Cleveland fans as well. Same, of course, for Cubs and Red Sox fans for years. As a Knicks fan, I read a lot of blogs that seem almost exclusively devoted to the belief that rooting for them is among life's most miserable experience. The run-up to the Super Bowl included a bunch of stories about how tortured Philadelphia sports fans have been.
The reality is that we all think that we affects us is worse than what affects everyone else. If your car breaks down, then only you have a lemon. If your basement leaks, then you've somehow ended up buying the worst house on the block. I think we like think we have it bad.
I just hate hearing so often about how bad we have it.
Unfortunately, only one thing will change that.
Here's some stuff....
Good Bengals: The team has been reasonably active this offseason. I like the Cordy Glenn trade. I'm a big fan of Preston Brown. I'm 100% on board with bringing Tyler Eifert back. I have no real opinion of Matt Barkley, but they needed a backup QB and he's at least got some experience. They didn't re-sign Russell Bodine, which is a plus.
Bad Bengals: There is no Bengal player that could ever be counted on less than Vontaze Burfict. And no player has ever deserved the benefit of the doubt less.
Eugenio Suarez signed a contract extension. As you can tell, I'm getting caught up on everything that happened while I was consumed with basketball late last week. I like this move, mainly because of the financial responsibility involved with it. He'll make money that won't keep the Reds from being financially inflexible, but as my guy James Rapien pointed out on our show yesterday, they're not paying him so much money that they won't be able to move him if this whole rebuild thing doesn't pan out. Also, on the list of quality trades the Reds have made in recent years, few have worked out better than Suarez for Alfredo Simon.
On Mick. These postgame comments drew the ire of some UC fans on Sunday night.