Carson Palmer Has Our Full Support
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 6:43PM 
By JOHN P. WISEOne Great Season
For those offering a don't-let-the-door-hit-you-in-the-ass to Carson Palmer, I have a message:
You are the reason why Cincinnati is considered a fair-weather town.
Now, don't get me wrong; I believe there's a strong fair-weather element in most cities. I'm a Cleveland native and I'll confess that since the Indians last made a postseason run, in 2007, I haven't cared as much. And since last summer's departure of whatshisname, I've watched the Cavaliers fewer than five times this season. It's just human nature. When our team isn't relevant in its league, it's less relevant to us.
The logic in the Queen City, however, is downright baffling.
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For 20 years, Bengals fans have lamented Mike Brown's complete ineptitude as team owner. Twenty years. Things got so bad there that by the end of the 1990s, the Stripes were mentioned along with the St. Louis Rams and Los Angeles Clippers as the worst-run franchises in professional American sports. The Rams have since won a Super Bowl and played in another, and Blake Griffin has Clippers fans optimistic for now. But the Bengals remain at least a part-time embarrassment to their city.
Palmer, we thought, was going to make the team a postseason staple. During his rookie season of 2003, he held Jon Kitna's clipboard as the Bengals made a six-game improvement under new head coach Marvin Lewis, finishing a slightly surprising 8-8.
Palmer was then the No. 1 guy in 2004, when the Bengals put together another 8-8 season. He started all 16 games in each of the next three seasons, throwing for 12,000 yards and 86 touchdowns, leading his mates to a 26-22 record and their first postseason appearance in well more than a decade.
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But major knee and elbow injuries have caught up with Palmer, who's now 31 years old.
And now that he says he desperately wants out of Cincinnati, some fans feel like jilted lovers, because it's our selfish habit to think only about how the decision of a professional football player we'll never meet will affect us and the team we root for.
That team we root for? Remember, it's owned by Mike Brown. He's the guy for whom we've saved our most offensive language the last two decades. Would you expect a franchise player like Palmer to want to continue playing for an owner who we all agree is so terribly incompetent? As much as we think we know how miserable it would be to play for such a buffoon, Palmer has actually done it for eight years. He knows.
I'd imagine — I'd hope — that many of you have left jobs because you didn't click with the management. That's completely your right, and you probably did it despite it not being the best decision for you financially.
If you were able to do it, how hard would it be for a guy who has, as Palmer says, $80 million in the bank?
It's about time someone threatens to quit the game early, rather than hang around too long just for the paycheck. We've seen that a few times, and I'm pretty sure those guys actually deserved the heat they took for it. Here's to hoping Palmer keeps his word, and sets a trend other athletes will follow.
Reader Comments (15)
I honestly thought this would be a completely ignorant rant from some big media wanna be type. What I found were salient points from someone who needs a better grasp of English sports slang. A "Fair Weather" fan was originally coined for a fan that does not show up because of bad weather, or more simply any old reason not to support the team. After almost 2 decades of ineptitude under Mike Brown, anyone who calls a Bengal fan "Fair Weather" deserves to be barred from public speech, and to say we have a reputation for being "Fair Weather" is a step beyond imbecilic.
Now if you wish to say that the Bengal fan base does not support its athletes when they go through hard times... Then you begin again to sound like an utter fool. Do I actually need to go through the laundry list of football and baseball stars that have acted like complete and utter scum, that we have stood beside, cheered on, prayed for, and mourned over?!? We still give standing ovations to Pete Rose for crying out loud!
Your points about Carson are valid, but he should count himself blessed that he hasn't been playing in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, or many other cities and playing bad. Trash in the poor guys front yard would be the least of his worries. So by all means leave if you want to Carson, or eat some crow and stay, but either way if your gonna play NFL football get thicker skin. There are some idiot fans, but Bengaldom is definitely mild comparatively.
Lastly... Fair Weather? Think before you write or go back to Cleveland.
He blows his knee out the last game of the season in 2005. He busts his rear to get back on the field to start the 2006 season and does. Many people (including doctors) didn't think he could do it so soon. What does he get from his so called teammates? Arrests and plenty of them. His dedication to the team wasn't matched by everyone else. What should have been another good season was swallowed whole by off-field issues. The guy didn't complain or make a scene. He just played. It was also the beginning of the Chad Johnson circus. Scripted TD celebrations, opposing DB taunts, and general stupidity. All of this was soon followed by the signings of every criminal capable of wearing a football uniform. Roger Goodell started his reign by dishing out suspensions (and heavy ones at that) to Chris Henry and Pacman Jones. Ironic they both were Bengals. Might as well put a fence around the stadium with razor wire at the top.
Now Carson is the bad guy to some. "Oh but he didn't play well. He was a big reason why they stunk last year. Look at his INT's". Fine. Fair enough. I counter with look at his play the last game of the year when he had receivers on the field who cared rather than the Bert and Ernie show known as Chad and TO. Fluke? Doubt it.
I'm glad the guy wants out. Why? Because it sends a clear message to that moron of an owner that the place is a Gong Show. Too bad it won't make a difference. You can't talk to a dummy. Don't blame Carson for wanting out and definitely don't point the finger at him for a crap season. You ask me the guy should get a medal for keeping a level head the last 8 years while standing in the middle of an out of control grease fire of an organization.
Winter: You're losing track of the point. Fair-weather fans, band-wagon fans, who cares what they're called? And get back to me in the second or third week of the MLB season. Reds fans no doubt do it up right on Opening Day, but then disappear.
23: Good points. I didn't even want to waste time talking about the circus CP has had to deal with his entire time in Cincinnati. He's a full-time quarterback, part-time babysitter. That can't be much fun.
No, I don't think I missed the point at all. I took issue with your discription of Bengal fans. The Bengals have increadible fans, who's loyalty and perseverance is almost unmatched, and completely undeserved. Do the fans have a right to upset with Carson's play? Well at least as much as the fans upset over Tony Romo, McNabb, and 50% of the other QB's in the industry. He has suffered less than half the heat that would have been placed on him in other locations, so excuse me if I don't buy into the "Bad Fan's" balogna!
If Carson came out and said ihe wants out due to the horrible organization he has been stuck in, well fine we would all understand where he is comming from, but the reason given was trash in his lawn and disrepsectful fans. The guy needs a reality check. He should have a sit down with McNabb and Eli Manning in order to understand what bad treatment really is from a fan base.
As far as your article goes I have no issue with supporting Carson, and I really wish him the best, but if he is going to lay blame somewhere, let him grow a pair, pull his thumb out of his mouth, and point the finger where it belongs. You say "Bandwagon" now? Two winning seasons in 18 years and we have a bandwagon?!? Stop... Just Stop...
He is an average QB at best, the last couple of years he has been terrible.
23, all those problems you mentioned were a direct result of poor managing and ownership. If you let the inmates run the prison then that is what you get. It happened in 2006 and it happened last year. The saddest part is Carson kept repeating the company line like he agreed with it, and now all of a sudden he won't play another game in this town? Do you think Brady or Manning would have let his teammates bring the team down like that? They would have stopped it, and Carson could have too, instead of repeating the same talking points that Lewis gave in every interview. Carson deserves this mess as much as Lewis and Brown do at this point.
You did get one thing wrong, 23. Pacman was not a Bengal at any point when he was suspended. Now, if you said it was ironic that both Pacman and Henry played together at West Virginia then you might be on to something, but that is a whole different topic.
I agree with Winter that to call us fair weather fans is not fair after so many years of ineptitude, but John's point in his article is fine. Arguing over semantics won't get this conversation anywhere. Of course, John's main comparison to Cincinnati fans is Cleveland fans, so by comparison we have it pretty good, really. The only thing lower might be Kansas City, but even they can say they won a championship of some sort.
I also agree with Winter, how can you call Bengal fans fair weather (or band wagon) when they have put up with losing for 20 years under Mike Brown??? They just ended a sell-out streak last year that dated back to the early 2000's. Since Mike Brown took over the team, 2 freaking winning seasons, 2 .500 seasons, and 16 losing seasons. Band wagon, or fair weather would have been a valid description if they stopped supporting the team after 1 or 2 bad seasons, not 16.
And to the author of this article....who considers Cincy fair-weather? You and the other hypocrites from Cleveland? The self anointed best fans in baseball? What a joke. If you want to talk fair weather, Cleveland is much MORE fair weather than Cincy.
To Winter - First of all, you sound like a down-talking idiot. You're the kind of person who picks a new word from the dictionary to use each day, and believes that makes you intelligent.
I have lived in Cincinnati for most of my life. For the most part, the fans are fair-weather fans. And as much as I bristle when fans of other cities say that, it's pretty true. Look at UC games since Huggins left. Look at Reds games for the last ten years. Up until this past season, there were twice as many Cubs fans in that stadium. (Not that I blame people for not wanting to support a bad team) Fans in Cincy roll up to games about 30 minutes after the start, and leave 20 minutes before it ends. God forbid you should get stuck in "traffic." That's the way it's always been in Cincinnati. People care more about how long it takes to get there, and how much they will have to pay for parking, than they do the game, itself. Have you ever been to a sporting event in another city? Go to a football game in Philly or Baltimore. Those stadiums are packed 20 minutes BEFORE kickoff.
I am happy Carson has said what he said. He's been playing behind a terrible pass protecting offensive line for the past 4 years. He's had to deal with a total joke of an owner. I don't think there has been a QB out there who has had to put up with more crap than Carson - between the ownership, defending scum-bag teammates, playing with receivers who decide to run whatever route they want - and, oh yeah, getting his face smashed in behind a patch-work offensive line that hasn't really figured out how to pass-block. If I had to put up with that, and had $80 million saved up, you better believe I would retire before stepping foot in the locker room.
What it all comes down to is the ineptitude of Mike Brown. Sure - let's sign Willie Anderson, and let Steinbach go to a division rival. Yeah - let's sign all of the players Dallas released, and see how it works out. How many times have we seen the current scenario play out? Corey Dillon, Chad Johnson and now Carson. The Redskins offered 2 FIRST ROUND PICKS for Chad - and Mike said no. No one has answered the question "Why do you keep someone who doesn't want to be there?" To point the finger at Carson is ludicrous.
I have never experience such a paradoxical fan base as Cincinnati. We bash Brian Kelly and Carson Palmer, while we praise Bob Huggins, Pete Rose and Marge Schott. Doesn't make sense to me.
I have to agree with Winter. He makes good points about the meaning of "fair weather fans". You can't be a fair-weather fan when the weather is never fair. Also, you are a fair weather fan, if at all, of the team, not the players. No one is a fair weather fan of Carson Palmer. As frustrating as it often was, while Carson was here, fans rooted for him to succeed. Over the last few years, he failed to do so. You can look at his stats or isolated games at the end of the year and say it must not have been his fault, but if you watched each and every week, there was rarely a more frustrating player on the field than Carson. His accuracy seems to be completely gone. And I don't mean throwing to one spot when the receiver is in another--that you can get away with blaming on the receiver. I mean air-mailing tons of passes three to four feet above receivers' heads on a regular basis.
No one in Cincinnati is deflecting blame from the Bengals. But that doesn't excuse the fact that Carson is washed up and has resorted to acting like a punk to get his way. If my job payed me 110 million dollars even though I wasn't at the top of my profession, I would show some semblance of loyalty despite my differences with management.
Now, on to what I think the author was trying to point out......should the fans do a better job of supporting Carson? Yeah, probably, but honestly, most of the fans I know are happy Carson is doing this and the DO support him. They hope Mike Brown cahnges his ways, but we all know that won't happen. Regardless of what Carson says publicly or thru a source, we all know Mikey Boy and how he runs this team is the issue.
I would argue Cincy fans are TOO loyal to a fault and they are enabling Mikey Boy's bad way of running the team. Way too much $ was given for the stadium deal and way too many people continue supporting a bad business model. The only way to make Mikey change is to hurt him financially, we saw it with the hiring of Marvin. I suspect it is more of those short-sighted fans, the ones that continue to support the team financially that are ticked off at Carson.
But I also agree that Carson's public reasoning about the trash in his lawn is a joke. Cincy is pretty tame and calm compared to big markets. And if Carson played like he has the past couple seasons in Dallas, or Philly, or NY, he would be taking MUCH MORE heat from the media and fans.
As a life long fan of the Bengals I support what Carson is doing 100%. My only hope is that some point in the future he will discuss, with Bengal fans, what Mike Brown has done that led him this decision.
Mike Loomis- A couple things. Just exactly what, if anything, could Carson have said that would have made a difference? The head coach couldn't (or wouldn't) do what a head coach is supposed to do. Some things he could control, some he couldn't. Marvin told Mike he didn't want Chris Henry back. They signed him anyway. Not Marvin's fault. Letting Chad act like a 5 year old on recess? Absolutely Marvin's fault. What, if anything, could Carson have done? His owner is clueless, his head coach can't manage a time clock, the previous O coordinator designed the playbook with a crayon while sitting on the toilet. What exactly should Carson have done? He should have asked for a trade long ago.
Manning and Brady wouldn't have put up with it you say? You're right but for the wrong reasons. Tony Dungy and Bill Belichek wouldn't have let it get to that point. Jim Irsay and Bob Kraft wouldn't have put those 2 coaches in that spot. Starts from the top and works down. The Pats took Corey Dillon on after he left the Bengals. How much trouble was he? None. Why? Because he knew he wasn't playing in the ball pit at Chucky Cheese like he was in Cincy anymore. Simple team philosophy. Act up you're gone. So again, if the owner and coach let you run wild, what the hell makes you think the QB could make a difference?
Suggesting Brady or Manning wouldn't have allowed it if they were in that situation is laughable.
You can't compare other organizations to the Bengals they are a joke, who knows what Manning would have done if stuck in Cincy.
To Reality Check,
I will look past the idea that I suspect your simply being a tool, and point out that disagreeing with someone who backhands a fan base is not down talking. If someone is going to make statements that are completely removed from the reality of the situation then they should expect to called out on them. (Note: I apologize to you for any "big words" used in my posts. I didn't realize my use of English was offensive. My fault I am sorry.)
I loved most of your points actually with the exception of one, and I am pretty sure I can make sense of the "paradoxical fan" for you. (Note: This big word was yours.) The issue I am having with what you said is the somehow mandatory "20 minutes BEFORE kickoff" for being good fan. There are a lot of people who show up 2 hours before the game all over the NFL, and mainly that’s for drinking. There are people who show up an 30 minutes before church, but that doesn't mean they are closer to God, sometimes people like to socialize. My point is that a persons desire to be early or his happenstance of being late has really no bearing on his love of team, in fact often it is a reflexion of the cultural demographic (yeah sorry I know...)
Now as far as the paradoxical fans of Cincinnati, this again is cultural. Cincinnati has a strong us v.s. them psychosis with the rest of the world. People take pride in the area, and do not consider themselves as taking a backseat to the Yankees or any other team. We are not "fly over country", and we expect those that have experienced life here to fall in love with it also. Brian Kelly for instance abandoned the team before a game that would have given the city a source of pride for years. Bob Huggins for all his many faults loved the town and had success here, so people rose up in defense of their own. Marge Schott loved the city and brought us a championship. Faults are over looked, because we recognize instinctively that everyone has them and that this is well... family.
So Carson's issue is not that we wants to leave a bad organization, but his sudden dislike of a fan base that took him in as one of it's own. He is in a small way taking his Jersey off and throwing it into the stands. Dillon could have been an icon here for life, even though he left (See Boomer), but he ridiculed the city and fans not just the team. So if Carson really wants our support, he needs to clarify this point.
Here is another article which pretty much repeats the point I was making about Carson Palmer:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/14766097/when-going-gets-tough-palmer-takes-his-ball-and-goes-home
SO yes, rather than repeating the company line for 8 years then demanding a trade out of the blue, I think he could have done some things differently and held his teammates more accountable for their actions. But first, he needed to hold himself just as accountable.