Sunday, November 21, 1999Old Bengals embarrassed by clown act
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerMike Brown's Bengals have now officially joined Clive Rush's New England Patriots, Archie Manning's New Orleans Saints and John McKay's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as fully-licensed NFL punch lines.
Maybe no group feels the embarrassment sharper than the old Bengals.
They're a contingent of ex-players who fell in love with Cincinnati when Cincinnati fell in love with them during two Super Bowl runs in the '80s and never thought about living anywhere else.
Never, ever, did they think they would ever see a tarpaulin stretched over the runway from the locker room to the field to prevent fans from pelting a Bengals' team with garbage after eight, nine, 10 straight losses at home.
“There wasn't a better feeling in the world than walking off the field after a win and looking up into that crowd,” said Hall-of-Fame tackle Anthony Munoz. “We fed off each other. Now, the players can't see the crowd. I mean, there were people spilling over into the runway trying to get near us. Now to see what's happening, it stings. You'll always feel a part of a team you played for and it hurts you.”
Every Sunday, former Bengals Pro Bowl safety David Fulcher sits in the back row of the Cinergy Field press box. The front-row reporters who cover the team daily have grown so cynical that when one of the many on-field disasters occur, some let out long, low whistles of that universal tune associated with circus acts.
“I've wanted to ring some necks when I hear that circus stuff,” Fulcher said. “It's embarrassing to me. I consider myself a Bengal. But then I look what's happening on the field, and what can you say?”
The former Bengals feel it out of town, too.
Dave Lapham, the Bengals radio analyst who played for the 1981 AFC champs, travels extensively as a college broadcaster and part-time NFL analyst for Fox.
“Perception is reality and the perception out there is so negative, it's almost mind-boggling,” Lapham said. “It's a question I get all the time. The first one is, "What's wrong?' and the second is, "What can make it better?' ”
Fulcher is the uniform police for the NFL at Bengals games, plus an analyst for 700 WLW-AM. He doubts he would go if he didn't have to be there.
“I don't ever remember getting booed,” Fulcher said. “It's tough to sit there and swallow. If you lose, then go down fighting. Give me something. It's disgusting to watch them throw a two-yard pass on first down and then throw a five-yard pass on third-and-8.
“If you lose a game, lose it 21-17,” Fulcher said. “Don't get down after the first thing that goes wrong.”
Munoz is an ESPN analyst and thinks with so many former Bengals in the media, there is resentment from the current Bengals.
“We have to give honest reviews, so when they hear us, it's usually critical and I think some guys think we hope they lose and like it when they lose. But we're just reporting what happens. We want them to win as much as they do. We experienced the Super Bowl, the good times and we want these guys to experience it, too.”
“Hey, do you know how much easier it would be for me to do a talk show if they win?” Fulcher asked. “I'd love to go in there after a win and say, "Didn't the receivers play great? And didn't Jeff (Blake) throw the ball great?' ”
But for now, the old Bengals never thought they would see a surly, half-empty stadium. The fans made the river so special that Lapham still remembers the snap, crackle, pop of the crowds in '75 as they surged to the playoffs.
“It was as good and as supportive as any college crowd I've ever seen,” Lapham said. “There was a true spirit. The reason (the tarpaulin) was put up is a disappointment. That it's gotten to that point is a total shame. As bad as it was (in 1978 and 1979), it never got to that. The whole thing is heightened by taxpayer money being spent (for the new stadium) and getting nothing for it.
“The fans are starving for a winner and they'll support it like nothing you've seen when they get it.”
So will the old guys.
PB BEST: Speaking of the old days, Bengals founder Paul Brown was named the NFL's top front office executive of the century by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors.
The Bengals haven't had a winning season since Brown died in 1991, which has given critics great fodder against Paul's son and successor Mike Brown. The Bengals record while Paul was either coach/general manager or just general manager was 170-181-1, 37-85 when he wasn't.
Bears boss George Halas was second in the poll. Jim Finks and Tex Schramm were tied for third.
SAME SAM: Former Bengals coach Sam Wyche is still getting calls from New York. Wyche, a CBS-TV analyst who often incurred the wrath of the NFL office as a coach, did it again last week when he noted on the air that offensive lines keep backing up off the ball. He said there was no way the lines were breaking the plane of the numbers on the center's jersey.
An NFL official called CBS during the broadcast to say that Wyche was wrong, that the rule is the offensive lines must line up breaking the plain of the center's belt buckle, not the numbers.
“I never heard of that, but I said, "Okay, put it up there again.' and they were still way off the belt,” Wyche said.
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