The Ultimate Conundrum: Can you, as a Browns fan, root for the Bengals to win the Super Bowl?

Can a Browns fan root for the Bengals to win the Super Bowl? Of course.

Am I rooting for the Bengals to win the Super Bowl? No.

jmuxl said:

Nope, I have a friends who are Ohio State alums and somehow are rooting for the Bengals because they claim Burrow as a buckeye. It makes me sick.

Go Chiefs, and go NFC.

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I am Ohio State Alum and I would never claim Burrow as a Buckeye. I love this spin cycle for Buckeye fans though... Eagles and 49ers fan bases are awful. I am all in with the Chiefs and the Great Cleveland Native Travis Kelce... I don't think it is a big deal though if you root for the Bungles that is your business. I won't after living in Columbus for 6 years and getting knocked out cold outside a Reds Indians game outside Hooters after claiming to be a minor league player and jokingly hitting on some meathead's friend in like 2000 or 2001.

I was kinda pulling for them last year because some of my best friends from college are Bengals fans, and while in college we always bonded over our hate for the Steelers. They were happy for me when the Browns beat the Steelers in the playoffs and wanted to see us make a run. Their fans have put up with a lot of shit, I was happy for my friends to experience some success as well and was okay with seeing them make a run.

However, this year is different. Last year they had their fun, but I don't want to see this become a habit.

bushwick_bill said:

I won't after living in Columbus for 6 years and getting knocked out cold outside a Reds Indians game outside Hooters after claiming to be a minor league player and jokingly hitting on some meathead's friend in like 2000 or 2001.

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What minor league team did you allegedly play for?

Burrow says he's a Buckeye and advocates for them only to watch Twitter eggs and people with a mascot as their profile picture claim he isn't.

Its all so weird and emo.


Again, its certainly not that surprising or serious that people don't have the emotional investment against Bengals vs. Browns than "true believers" do.

bushwick_bill said:

I am Ohio State Alum and I would never claim Burrow as a Buckeye. I love this spin cycle for Buckeye fans though... Eagles and 49ers fan bases are awful. I am all in with the Chiefs and the Great Cleveland Native Travis Kelce... I don't think it is a big deal though if you root for the Bungles that is your business. I won't after living in Columbus for 6 years and getting knocked out cold outside a Reds Indians game outside Hooters after claiming to be a minor league player and jokingly hitting on some meathead's friend in like 2000 or 2001.

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My wife is a member of the Eagles fanbase.

Just because they booed Santa Claus, got into a fight with a Sixers PF in a Redskins jersey and burned Jerry Jones in effigy and then barbecued a rat over the flames in the 700 level at the old Veterans Stadium doesn't make them awful. What other team had anything like Eagles Court?

Going to games at the Linc is an experience, especially if it's the Cowboys or Giants.

It's actually a great fanbase for a player if you play hard, have some success and pledge your loyalty to the team and fans, who, in fact, do hold everyone accountable. Cleveland Native Jason Kelce is beloved in Philly.

On the other hand if your Ben Simmons or Carson Wentz your ass will be run out of town.

I've lived here over ten years and I'm slowly adopting the local attitude. If you're a bum then get off my team. Applies to owners, GMs, coaches, players, Santa Claus (he was drunk and deserved to be booed) - although I probably wouldn't be looking to pick a fight with the likes of Mike Scott.

F the Bengals though, although I'd prefer them to the Niners.

I don't carry a hatred for the Bengals like I do the Steelers or Ravens. Their team is fairly likeable, I'm not about to root for Mahomes or any team from Philly because of how miserable those fans are. Might cheer for the 49ers so they can tie the Steelers in super bowl wins.

Regular season sure I want the Bengals to be absolute failures. But their success at this point doesn't affect the Browns beyond continuing to rub it in that we're the worst in the division.

I went to school in southern Ohio and witnessed that fanbase up close. And I have a lot of friends and acquaintances from Cincinnati.

Speaking in general terms, really weak fanbase. Their games were constantly blacked out on TV and the level of interest in the team was pathetic. That's a Reds town.

Now the bandwagon is in full effect, understandably. But as someone who has watched absolute garbage football for the majority of my life and stuck with the team through it all, I don't enjoy watching fair weather fans get to experience the glory.

This is why I have a bad taste in my mouth about the Bengals. I couldn't be less opinionated about the actual organization, players, or coaches.

chrisrich91 said:

I went to school in southern Ohio and witnessed that fanbase up close. And I have a lot of friends and acquaintances from Cincinnati.

Speaking in general terms, really weak fanbase. Their games were constantly blacked out on TV and the level of interest in the team was pathetic. That's a Reds town.

Now the bandwagon is in full effect, understandably. But as someone who has watched absolute garbage football for the majority of my life and stuck with the team through it all, I don't enjoy watching fair weather fans get to experience the glory.

This is why I have a bad taste in my mouth about the Bengals. I couldn't be less opinionated about the actual organization, players, or coaches.

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I feel like there are more hardcore Bengals fans in Columbus than there are in Cincinnati.

Out of the Rafters at the Q said:

I feel like there are more hardcore Bengals fans in Columbus than there are in Cincinnati.

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Meh, Bengals fans were completely MIA here before last season.

The fan base thing rings a bit hollow when Cleveland only cares about the Cavs when they're good, barely support their baseball team even when they are good, and the Browns attendance was (justifiably) trending at the bottom of the league before 2018

Urban said:

The fan base thing rings a bit hollow when Cleveland only cares about the Cavs when they're good, barely support their baseball team even when they are good, and the Browns attendance was (justifiably) trending at the bottom of the league before 2018

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There might not be 5 fanbases in the NBA that care about their team when they're bad. That entire league revolves around front running and bandwagoning.

Browns attendance dropped near the bottom of the league because the fans cared. Boycotting was our response to the incompetence of Haslam's ownership and it worked.

Won't touch on the Guardians thing, there's multiple threads dedicated to that discussion in the proper section. I will say, though, it's definitely not wrong to criticize the fanbase for the lack of support there.

Do whatever you want who cares

Urban said:

The fan base thing rings a bit hollow when Cleveland only cares about the Cavs when they're good, barely support their baseball team even when they are good, and the Browns attendance was (justifiably) trending at the bottom of the league before 2018

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Not sure where that statement even comes from. Baseball, sure, but even in "Bad" years, Cavs haven't really been at the bottom of the league in attendance (Ranking at worst 19th and 22nd the two years after LeBron left the first time).

2019, 8th. Ignore the covid year. 2020, 17th. 2021, 12th. And last year 9th.

Not sure what your definition of "good" is, but based on attendance (and viewership and market size), I don't think anything really supports the statement "Cleveland only cares about the Cavs when they're good".

I can’t root for any AFC North team. They suck for one season and have a franchise QB waiting for them because Brian Flores is petty? Fuck them. Can’t hate Burrow but I sure as hell won’t root for them