WhoDeyRevolution

Bengals Down to 2 Game Packs

First, the Bengals announced they would be selling season tickets to the general public, for the first time since 2006.  Then it was down to 4-game packs.  When that didn't go well, the team offered 2 game packs to season ticket holders.

Now the Bengals have announced that 2 game packs will be sold to the general public.  

They have packaged the Steelers game with the Texans game and put the Browns game with the season opener against the Broncos - the Bengals are clearly hoping that Steelers and Browns fans will be willing to buy the 2 game packs to see their team, probably with the hope to unload the extra game on StubHub or Ebay.

Based on the lack of excitement so far, I am not so sure that would be a wise investment. 

Comrades, you must continue your boycott.  Do NOT buy tickets.  Bengals fans are recognizing that their hard earned money is better spent elsewhere.  We will not see changes on the Bengals until we hit the team in the pocket.  Keep up the pressure.

The Lost Generation - "I Found a Dime!"

Welcome to the latest edition of "The Lost Generation," a new recurring comic strip you will only see on WDR that will focus on, you guessed it, the Bengals consistent failures to win football games.  Click here to read the previous editions.  "The Lost Generation" is the work of Dayton native Steve Spencer, an avid Bengals fan since 1973 and currently a freelance artist.  You can view his recent work at http://www.stevespencerart.com.

Baghdad Hob's Spin Zone Is Making Me Dizzy

Check out this gem coming across the interwebs from Baghdad Hob over at Bengals.com.

The feel-good article describes PGA Tour golfer Steve Flesch (Union, KY) coming back to Cincinnati to help out Channel 12 Sports Director (and Bengals play-by-play voice) Brad "So-Handsome" Johansen with his charity golf event.  Mr. Hob also talks with Flesch about his love for the Reds and the Bengals...including:

"(Flesch) offering analysis from his seat about 10 rows below Johansen in Paul Brown Stadium after a touchdown for or against."

I think it's fair to say that the average person reading this quote would think that Flesch has season tickets with the Bengals, correct?

Well...

1,000 Posts Celebrated With A Very Special Guest

WhoDeyRev passed the 1,000 posts mark last week. While that's probably not remarkable to all of you out there, it is to me so back off. If you could see the way Brosef Stalin talks to us in closed door meetings you would think, rightfully so, that we're the laziest bunch of bloggers that ever took off their sweatpants to sit down in front of a computer. To commemorate such an unlikely occassion, I sat down to have a chat with everyone's favorite protuberance.  

Maybe We Can Get Our Practice Squad to Visit Showtime in Ironton

To see how a real franchise conducts business, read this story from the IndyStar about the Colts and how they make an effort to always reach out to their fanbase (by visiting smaller Indiana towns and such).  I will revisit and likely link to this article over and over again but for now let me just point out one passage that highlights a recent point I made.  Namely:  Mike Brown sucks as a businessman.

We are in the midst of the nastiest recession since the Great Depression, but you wouldn't know it if you owned the Colts:

That's precisely why, despite the fact the Colts are sold out for the 2009 season and have a waiting list of about 15,000 for season tickets, they still make an effort with summer community outreach programs such as the Fan Fest and Make It Personal tours.

Emphasis mine.  As we know, the Bengals have gone from saying there's a waiting list, to offering 4 game packs, to offering 2 game packs.  Their luxury suite and club seat sales may also be in trouble but that info remains harder to secure.  Point is:  Mike Brown struggles to sell an incredibly popular product on which he holds a monopoly.

I'm actually in awe of his incompetence. 

Read the whole article and ask yourself why the Bengals under Carson Palmer couldn't have enjoyed the same popularity and prosperity that the Colts have during Peyton Manning's reign.

@OGOchoCinco Thinks @MikeyBoyBrown is "Funny Ass Hell"

Chad Johnson is using Twitter at the same rate I used my Game Boy when I was 8 - the guy just will not put it down.  He has compared Michael Jackson's death to 9/11, challenged Mike Golic to a fight, and punked the world with this fake facial tattoos.

He has also had a few conversations with WDR's own fake, satirical account @MikeyBoyBrown.

Last night Johnson made a joke about going on ESPN to host his own show.   So @MikeyBoyBrown replied to Chad thusly:

@OGOchoCinco I am forbidding you from hosting a show at ESPN. I don't want you to know what a successful, well run organization looks like.

Here was Chad's response:

@MikeyBoyBrown, every time you write something its funny ass hell, but stop talking about my owner. i am going to host and take over!!!!

Chad - if you want to run the MikeBoyBrown Twitter account, the invitation is in the mail.

Open Call for Writers

WDR has come a long way since our first post on Valentine's Day 2008.  The 8 various Project Mayhem tasks helped bring local and national attention to our cause of bring about transformational change to the Bengals organizational structure so that maybe, someday we can see a Bengals Super Bowl Championship in our lifetimes.  But our job is far from over.

Clearly, this is not the full time job for any of the writers on this site. Your Dear Leader is going back to school this fall and will have less time to dedicate to this site.  Other writers are foreseeing similar issues that will preclude them from committing to the site enough during the upcoming season.

We need more writers. 

So if your lifelong dream is to write for a Bengals blog for no pay, incentives or compensation of any kind, send us an email at whodeyrevolution@gmail.com and include a blog post of something that is worthy of going up on WDR.  And an idea for a future Project Mayhem stunt would be favorably looked upon.  Send more if you want.  I have no idea how many writers we will need or how many will want to get involved.   If you want to write, you are expected to write at least one blog post per week.

In this way, we are "preparing" for the upcoming season by putting people on the roster who fit our system.  I did not learn this from the Bengals.

Again, if you want to contribute to WDR, send us an email at whodeyrevolution@gmail.com with a sample blog post that could go up on the site.  

Mike Brown to Season-Ticket Holders: Good Seats Still Available

Several fellow revolutionaries have sent in emails today saying that the Bengals have sent an email to their season ticket holders making available the two-game ticket packs.  They did this up until 2006 when they finally were able to garner season-ticket sellouts for all of the games like the other 31 NFL franchises are able to do.  

The Bengals are not including the pre-season game like they have in season past.  This is a smart move by the team.  Forcing season-ticket holder to buy pre-season games is adding insult to the injury that is paying full price for a pre-season game to watch Carson, Chad, and the gang stand around in their jerseys for a few hours while a bunch of guys try to make the club.  

Clearly the season tickets sales are not where the team needs them to be if they are making these tickets available for purchase (even if it is only to season-ticket holders).  Maybe Mikey will figure out that winning four games the season before the economy tanks and changing nothing isn't exactly the best way to woo fans.  The Bengals are obviously trying to sneakily get to a season sell-out and declare that all is well with the franchise.  But WDR isn't letting news like this go by without showing the fans who want change in the team that they care about that the team is suffering.

Once again, no one person sent the email, it is generically signed by, "Cincinnati Bengals Ticket Office."

The email that was sent to the season ticket holders in available after the jump.  

Back To The Future (In The Past)

Doesn't that headline sound like something Baghdad Hob would serve up?

Recently, James Walker over at ESPN.com posted some comments from last summer that described fan's thoughts on the 2008 season.  Mainly, it was Bengals and Browns fans ripping on the Steelers and Ravens, saying that Pittsburgh's schedule was too tough and the the Ravens had an aging defense, no offensive line, and garbage at quarterback.

This got me thinking about how the turnaround success last season for teams like Baltimore, Miami, and Arizona could get the Bengals excited about doing the same thing in 2009.  Quite honestly (like 2005), this is not a good thing for the Bengals to witness.  They see the successes of these teams and think to themselves "Hey, we are only a player or two away...and without injuries or bad luck this season...we are headed back to the playoffs!"

And while the Bengals are generally credited with a solid draft this offseason and dipping their toes in free agency, the difference is that the Bengals don't have the front office structure or singular vision that teams like Baltimore or Miami possess. 

In Baltimore, yes they were in transition with a new head coach, rookie quarterback, and an aging defense...but they still had one of the best GM's in the business in Ozzie Newsome (along with a stellar personnel department).

In Miami, Bill Parcells overhauled the scouting and personnel departments and the team excelled due to being smart, creative, and aggressive on both sides of the ball.

Hell, even in Arizona Bill Bidwill has allowed his son to change the culture by adding scouts and putting more money into the personnel side...and they went all the way to the Super Bowl.

In Cincinnati, after a 4-11-1 season, they made no changes to the coaching staff (unlike every other team in the top 10 of the NFL draft).  Bob Bratkowski is still the offensive coordinator.  The offensive line was not addressed in free agency, specifically where no effort was made to court a center.  The Bengals still are employing the tiresome Chad Ochocinco.  The Bengals still have the smallest scouting department (broom closet) in the NFL.  The Bengals still have the same braintrust that has earned them the worst record in professional sports since 1991. 

These are not ingredients for a turnaround like the Ravens or Dolphins enjoyed last season.

So, while Walker says in his post 'one year can make a big difference', I would argue that only applies to teams that have a solid front office foundation and set the standard to win every single year.  Period.

Rumors persist from inside PBS that Katie and Troy Blackburn are taking over more and more from Mike Brown.  The best evidence is that Hard Knocks is coming to Georgetown.  No way Mike Brown signs off on this show a few years ago...not a chance.  However, Mike still has control and final say over personnel.  And it will be that way until the end. 

No matter how bad it gets around here.

Mike Brown Owns a Monopoly. This Does Not Mean He is a Smart/Good Businessman.

Via Cincy Jungle, I stumbled on this line from Chick:

Remember: Team owner and president Mike Brown is a very smart businessman.

No.  Wrong.  False.  Incorrect.

I hate when people say this.  Bothers me to no end.  Makes me feel like I am taking crazy pills.  Let me clarify so we can dispel this silly notion once and for all:

Mike Brown happens to be a monopoly franchisee owner of a hugely successful larger business called the NFL.  Mike Brown did not invent the NFL.  He did not invent the salary cap/revenue sharing structure that led to such a popular, competitive league.  He did not inspire the rabid, obsessive fandom that infects virtually all Americans with respect to football and creates almost limitless demand to consume it.