David Pepper Profile picture
Feb 3, 2022 16 tweets 5 min read Read on X
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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More from @DavidPepper

Nov 24
🚨 🚨

PRESERVING OUR LIVED MEMORY

A 🧵

One of the most dangerous aspects of the passage of time amid dark moments like now is how quickly the collective memory of Americans evolves, and can fade entirely.

This adds an especially weighty responsibility on those of us..

1/
of a certain age: to preserve and pass on our lived memories of how liberal (the classic definition of the word), representative democracy operates in its best days.

Younger generations in our country have

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only endured truly broken politics (born around 9/11, young during war, seeing our first Black president attacked as a foreigner, then Trumpism as they hit their teenage years, and all that’s followed). The generation below them (my son Charlie was born in November 2016)

3/
Read 15 tweets
Nov 23
Resolute: 8 Reasons that Keep Me Going

A 🧵

An email arrived in my inbox early this week, from a friend I’ve come to know in recent years who also happens to be an expert in democracy and the rule of law, in the United States and globally:

1/
“Hi, David--

I am in a state of deep sadness--but more than that, fear. I think the [T]rump guys are totalitarians--even madmen.  I have never felt anything like this before. It's like the end of the world as we have known it..."

2/
"...I have always been in favor of tough disqualification rules, so that democracy would never put a fascist like this on the ballot. But with the addition of the tech billionaires to the "coalition", everything is different, and worse...."

3/
Read 25 tweets
Nov 22
🚨 🚨

This week, I wrote a 🧵 about my trip to Robertson County, KY, where I asked people why Kentucky’s smallest county (which also voted 80-20 for Trump) also was the most opposed to a referendum to bring school vouchers to Kentucky.

Here were the 2 big lessons learned:

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Lesson One: On the attacks on public schools:

“One town, one school.”

How clear is that?!

Robertson County School is the prized centerpiece of this small community. Its beating heart.

And the people of the county feel connected to it in deeply meaningful ways:

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they graduated there, their kids or grandkids go there, they work there—or worked there. They know and respect those who work there. They respect what the school and those who work there do within and beyond the classrooms.

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Read 22 tweets
Nov 20
🚨 🚨

ROAD TRIP: The Most Anti-Voucher County in Kentucky (and it voted for Trump 80-20)

A 🧵 on lessons learned (way beyond education)

The Kentucky Amendment to add private school vouchers was absolutely routed: 65-35. (Trump won Kentucky 65-34).

1/
It lost in all 120 counties. And by 60-40 or worse in all but 9 of those counties.

And—it did the worst in Kentucky’s smallestcounty: Robertson County. Population, 2,033 (as of 2023). It lost there 74-26!

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As context, Robertson County also voted 80-20 for Donald Trump.

And yes, a key plank of Trump’s platform is to extend states’ failed universal voucher experiment to the federal level, which means vouchers could soon show up in all 50 states:

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Read 43 tweets
Nov 19
🚨

About a year ago, I wrote a review of Erik Larson's "In the Garden of Beasts," an account of the US Ambassador to Germany's tenure there in the early-mid 30s.

I shared lessons from the account that feel more relevant now than ever.

Here is a snippet of them:

1/
1) Do not allow everyday acts of violence to become normalized;

2) Do not allow increasingly vile & inhumane and violent and disturbing rhetoric and ideas to become normalized. Call them out (ie. thank you to those who marched in response to the neo-Nazi march in Columbus!)

2/
3) Do not dismiss the most bizarre, ostentatious and odd happenings as too outlandish and irrelevant to be taken seriously;

4) Do not dismiss those engaged in vile and disturbing rhetoric as mere clowns or buffoons who...

3/
Read 11 tweets
Nov 16
🚨 🚨

To those who just ran and didn’t succeed:

Thank you.

You just performed the highest level of service you can in our democracy.

And if you ran in a tough/gerrymandered district, thank you even more.

1/
Running in a one-sided district in order to engage voters, lift turnout and hold an incumbent accountable is an act of patriotism of the highest order.

Your entire run for office was an act of public service. And courage.

Again, thank you.

2/
And now that we face the new challenges that will emerge after this election, know that you just built something incredibly valuable to the cause

The thousands of votes you received, the dozens or 100s of volunteers you inspired, are all crucial building blocks as we look..

3/
Read 9 tweets

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