Friday December 30, 2005

Bungles No More

There used to be a joke, current among Ohioans, that went like this: Why can’t Columbus get an NFL franchise? Because then Cincinnati would want one, too. I was back in Cincinnati, where I grew up, for the holidays, and it’s nice to see that the town has, in fact, gotten a football team. They used to have one, way back in 1989. That team made it to the Super Bowl, then went on to be the worst team of the ’90s and failed to make the playoffs for 15 years. Until now.

I hadn’t seen them play all season—since New York viewers are fed the Jets no matter how hopeless they become—but I got to see them play last Saturday. They lost, of course, to the pathetic Buffalo Bills, but they still have a playoff berth, a respected coach, a star quarterback, a flamboyant wide receiver, and a theme song and video starring native son Bootsy Collins. Oh yeah. P-Funk in the house. My dad has the ringtone on his phone. Bring on the Colts.