By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
The miracle season of the Cincinnati Bengals came to a proud but sad ending Sunday night as they lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 23-20, in the 56th Super Bowl of the National Football League.
Note that I used English numbers to identify this year’s Super Bowl because I’m never sure how to read Roman numerals.
Like others in “Who Dey” Nation, I was disappointed that the Bengals lost in the final two minutes of the game.
To be honest, at that point I was sick and tired of listening to Chris Collinsworth’s mostly negative comments about the team he played on during his 8-year NFL career as a wide receiver.
He said all week on various sports radio talk shows that the Rams were clearly the best team, and he consistently predicted an LA victory, even hinting that it might not be close.
Bengals owner Mike Brown has a reputation for being a tightwad in player salary decisions and perhaps Collinsworth feels he was underpaid for catching those 417 passes.
He went back to college after pro football and became a lawyer, but I won’t draw any conclusions from that factoid.
Yes, I realize that Collinsworth didn’t cause the Bengals to lose but his pitiful color commentary made the loss harder to take. This was the Bengals’ third straight loss in the big game and ole Chris played on those first two teams.
I was there on Aug. 3, 1968, when the Bengals played their first exhibition game in the NFL. The game was staged at Nippert Stadium, the home field of Xavier University in Cincinnati. The Bengals lost, 38-10, to the Kansas City Chiefs.
I’ve never had much confidence in their front office management but I’m a lifetime fan of the Bengals, much like my affection for the Cincinnati Reds in major league baseball.
“Wait till next year” is our usual consolation comment for both teams. In the case of the Bengals, however, their young players like quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase give me reason to hope for more success in the future.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
