Johnny Paycheck is a Bengals Fan

Last Friday, Bengals season tickets were due for final payment.  After a mostly $4 per game increase across the board in 2008 (or $4 x 10 games, so a $40 increase per seat for the season), along with $4 gas, the cost of most staple goods rising, and under the darkness of a tight economy, Bengals fans dug into their wallets once again in hopes of witnessing that one dream season.

Johnny Paycheck has long been known as a true voice of the common, hard-working, honest American.  You could say that his music speaks for these God-fearing, blue collar workers that make up the lifeblood of Paul Brown Stadium. 

All over Bengals Nation, fans called in their season ticket payment, and made huge sacrifices to secure their spot at Paul Brown Stadium.  Fact of the matter is, a large number of people can't afford these tickets.  They will go further into debt, forgo that needed car repair and endure without air conditioning this summer.  Some fans would literally sleep in their cars rather than lose their season tickets.  All this for a team that has gone 15-17 the last two seasons.

My point is this:  Bengals management should be doing absolutely everything they can for these people to put a winner on the field.  I hope some of the braintrust overheard some calls last week and listened to the stories from Bengals fans who are scraping together every last penny they can find to pay for their tickets. 

Bottom line, it ain't right.  To watch these fans to put their financial futures on the line to watch the Bengals, and then have management refuse to change their ways after nearly two decades of futility...it's an absolute shame. 

Bengals fans have given so much to this organization over 41 years, it's high time for the organization to return that loyalty.

Hire a GM, increase the scouting department to build smartly from the draft, invest in some benefits for season ticket holders...heck...just come out publicly and say we want to win right now (that last suggestion is free, by the way).  It's not about doing it because you have to, it's about doing it because you want to.  Bengals management should WANT to do these things for their fiercely loyal fan base. 

 

Cleveland may have the 'Dawg Pound', but here in Cincinnati, we have the die-hard West Sider.  Rising ticket prices force out more and more of the hard-nosed every year.  Bengals management especially needs to make a commitment to these fans.  The Bengals defense needs every advantage they can get, and a loud, raucous Paul Brown Stadium is an absolute necessity if this teams has dreams of playing in January.  I can guarantee you that forcing out the blue collar fan will reduce the roar of the Jungle to a mere whisper. 

If costs continue to rise and the Bengals continue to only deliver the minimum to their stakeholders, you can bet more fans will be singing 'Take This Team and Shove it..."

Comments

[Nick]

If mulletman (now just generally long curly hair all around) in Section 312 Row 3 ever gets priced out of season tickets, I am done.

[Andrew Simon]

Johnny Paycheck was from Greenfield, OH. He probably was a Bengals fan.