A BENGALS THREAD: Evolving into a Burrow-style Bengals fan:
The Bengals had just lost two home games in a row, falling to 7-6 and behind their rivals in the AFC North.
The team was heading to Denver, where we always lose
The once great season looked to be coming to an end
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And then something happened.
It was the 3rd quarter. We weren’t playing well and Denver was hanging around.
Bengals fans like me had seen this all before. Filled with dread about the inevitable end
But then, texting with my brother @dougpepper , I did something crazy…
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Somewhat tongue in cheek, against all that I was actually feeling at the time and 30 years of fan experience, I texted three words: “We got this.”
Doug responded in exactly the way I would’ve if he had sent the same message.
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I knew he was right. But I decided to run with it.
So I doubled down with this:
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Not only was I predicting a win, when a season-killing loss was looming, but I now was going a step further.
First place!
Doug, of course, was uncomfortable with this newfound approach to watching games.
It was all so foreign.
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His fear only spurred me to up my confidence in the inevitable win:
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Yes, with our theoretic victory in hand (although it wasn’t at the time), I wanted to watch our rival Ravens lose so we’d get into first place.
Fear left Doug—this new level of fan boldness inspired amusement. Laughter!
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But I didn’t let that stop me.
I was on a roll. And it felt empowering.
Back came more optimism. And for the first time, some self-awareness of an evolution taking place. Then even more confidence. Trash talk, even
I declared “ballgame” long before the outcome was clear.
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But I turned out to be right.
And yes, I then enjoyed watching the Ravens lose in disastrous fashion.
But Bengals fans will also remember that at the end of that game, Mixon looked to be badly hurt.
Of course, that sour point was the focus of Doug’s next message.
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A very Bengals fan instinct. Doom dead ahead.
But no, I was not going to let that worry change my new attitude.
I did an instant medical analysis from my couch and declared all to be fine.
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It was clear I was making progress, because in his next text, brother Doug mentioned two words Bengals fans never utter unless reliving painful memories (Ie. Billups, Krumrie, Wilson, Montana-Taylor): “Super Bowl”
Still, it was laced in pessimism about the injury.
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Again, I pushed back. All would be good.
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And lo and behold, Mixon did come back.
With the win, we climbed to 8-6 and first place. And never looked back.
The rest is history.
And it all started with that Denver road win.
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Now I’m not saying my new attitude is what changed the trajectory of the season.
If others, on reading this thread, want to give me credit, that’s fine with me. 😎
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But what I will say is my decision to approach Bengals games as a fan w the same confidence that Burrow and the team have approached the games themselves has made the ride SO much more enjoyable
I can’t recommend it highly enough.
It’s a new team. A new era.
Burrow time!
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So in the next 10 days, when people yell “Who Dey?” and I respond with “Nobody!”, know that I absolutely mean it.
You do the same.
END
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A telling thing happened yesterday. Donald Trump figured out that Project 2025 is toxic. So he’s trying to distance himself.
But as numerous commentators noted, that’s an impossible task. He IS Project 2025.
BUT…
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…if he’s this desperate, it means we’re on the right track. Amid a chaotic election, making the horrors of Trump’s and Project 2025’s promises as real as possible for Americans is a key step toward victory.
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Which is why I started writing “2025” last month—to break it down to everyday lives.
To make it real—because that’s often how people best understand things, as opposed to facts and figures and talking points…
Same reason this image did. Maybe the most memorable moment from any of Trump’s State of the Union speeches.
Why so impactful?
It was a strong leader standing up to a bully. Fearlessly.
Owning an adversary. So much that he still incoherently rambles about her today.
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And according to a provocative new book by Steven Fish, that simple act and style of leadership is as important as anything we can do as we battle to save our democracy.
Yesterday, I wrote that amid disturbing Court decisions and dysfunctional debates, we MUST keep moving forward to lift democracy at all levels, & everywhere.
The battle never stops—so if we stop, democracy loses.
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And moving forward to protect democracy is exactly what Ohioans are doing this week….
No more than two hours after Monday’s outrageous Supreme Court decision, U-Haul trucks pulled up to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.
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And what were they hauling?
Pages and pages of petitions.
Enough pages to hold 731,000(!) Ohio signatures, which represent 731,000 Ohio voters demanding that we fire the politicians from the districting process, and replace them with citizens…
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In my Voting Rights Academy, I highlight some of the worst cases in American history.
Many came down in the late 1800s and early 1900s, protecting actions by Southern white supremacists…
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..as they overran Reconstruction and destroyed a new, diverse democracy just as it was emerging in the South.
From the stunning decision that allowed those guilty of racist political violence to face zero accountability, to the maddening decision…
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that found blatantly racist voter suppression to be immune even from court challenge by wronged Black voters, these and other cases systematically dismantled the new protections of the post-Civil War amendments.
One of the most consistent and self-defeating patterns of the past 9 years is that politicians/foes in both parties, the media, the DOJ, courts & others all fail to take the threat from Trump as seriously as they should.
They think he’ll go away.
Or stop.
Or that
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…there are some things he won’t do to advance his cause or protect himself.
Usually, it’s been that misjudgment of him that has led to mistakes:
It’s why some didn’t vote for impeachment. Or start investigating him as soon as Jan. 6 happened—they thought he’d go away.
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It’s why some support him even when they know how awful he is…they think that’ll put them in a good place in the long run, without seeing that no matter what you do, he’ll turn on you when he wants or needs to
Ask Frank LaRose or Jane Timken about that. Or Pence. Or all..
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