The Cincinnati Bengals sure make it easy to dunk on them, huh? Not only have they never won a Super Bowl but their front office is notoriously cheap, making Cincinnati a not-so-stellar landing spot for any potential free agent. It certainly makes Baltimore Ravens fans glad that they backed the right team in the AFC North.
The latest "Oh no Bengals" story involves how the Ravens' division rival treated their Ring of Honor legends. Former Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason put his old team on blast on his radio show, Boomer & Gio, by reading aloud the letter he received from the organization, inviting him to attend a game this season.
"We kindly ask you RSVP no later than Friday August 22nd [...] to guarantee your seats...Two complimentary tickets, with an opportunity to purchase an additional if you wish to [attend] our celebratory events below. [...] If you are traveling in for the weekend from out of town, we have secured a block of rooms at the [...] Renaissance Cincinnati downtown hotel at a preferred discounted rate. [...] Rooms are limited, so please book directly for early and the best rate and we look forward to hosting you in the jungle for an unforgettable weekend. Don't hesitate to reach out to me or another guy on the staff with any questions. Thank you, and Who Dey."
Let's break this down. The Bengals invited their Ring of Honor players to a game for the 2025 season. If those players wish to attend, they'll have to not only pay for their own hotel and airfare but they don't even get to sit in a suite or somewhere nicer at the game. Is this even a reward if they have to cover everything themselves? Yikes.
Even Ravens fans are embarrassed by Bengals' treatment of former players
While, on the one hand, Ravens fans are certainly getting quite the laugh about all of this, it's also just sad to see great former players like Esiason treated like this by his own team. This is a guy who helped lead the Bengals to one of their three Super Bowl appearances and this is the thanks he gets? Esiason almost always speaks highly of his former team too so you know he has to be annoyed by all of this if he's airing the dirty laundry for everyone to hear.
Stuff like this just makes it even easier for Ravens fans to root against the Bengals. Not only are they a hated division rival who flounder more often than not but now they're continuing to live up to their cheap reputation by not paying the very same former players that were tremendous for them and who they invited to attend a game.
Thank goodness the Ravens are not this poorly run. Fans are going to enjoy watching the fallout from this letter and thank their lucky stars they don't root for the Cincinnati Bengals.