Man, I thought we had it rough sometimes, but Cincinnati sports fans have been through it. Just picture this: the Bengals, playing the hated Steelers at home in a 2015 playoff game, finally about to break their post-1990 playoff win drought. They’d scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, were up by one with less than two minutes left, and Ben Roethlisberger was limping with a bum shoulder. Things couldn’t look better, right? Then, in an absolute meltdown for the ages, Vontaze Burfict and Pacman Jones both drew 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties back-to-back. Just like that, the Steelers were in field goal range, and Cincinnati’s hopes were gone. Demoralizing. Maddening. Unacceptable. That game lives in infamy, and honestly, you feel for them.
Bengals Can’t Catch a Break
That 2015 game was just one chapter in the Bengals’ book of heartbreak. Remember the 2022 AFC Championship? They had high expectations to return to the Super Bowl. They battled back to tie the score 20-20 against rival Kansas City on a bitterly cold night. Then Joseph Ossai popped Patrick Mahomes out-of-bounds for a late-hit penalty, setting up the Chiefs to kick the winning field goal with 3 seconds left. Brutal. And let’s not forget their 2021 Super Bowl loss. The pain just keeps coming, and it feels like a constant reality check. Speaking of which, Joe Burrow’s season-ending wrist injury in Baltimore last year was a major letdown, causing some to fear the franchise quarterback might be injury-prone and question if Cincinnati will ever win a Super Bowl with him. He had missed most of training camp with a calf injury, but was just heating up with over 340 yards in the previous two games, helping Cincinnati to a 5-4 record going into that Baltimore game. They ended up missing the playoffs and haven’t been back since the 2022 season.
Reds’ Total Collapse and Blown Opportunities
It’s not just football. The Reds have inflicted their own brand of pain, too. The “fire sale” that saw Sonny Gray, Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suarez, and Jesse Winker all depart? That entire calendar year might be the most forgettable in Reds history, complete with 100 losses and Phil Castellini’s infamous “where you gonna go?” comment on Opening Day. Fans were chanting “sell the team, Bob,” for a reason! They haven’t won a playoff series since 1995. You know what stings even more? Blowing a 2-0 lead in the 2012 NLDS. Talk about getting so close only to have it ripped away.
College Dreams Crushed in Hours
Even the college hoops scene in Cincinnati can’t catch a break. The 2018 NCAA Tournament was supposed to be epic. Xavier was a No. 1 seed in the West. UC snagged a No. 2 seed in the South. People were actually dreaming of half the Final Four being Queen City teams. But those dreams died hard. In a matter of hours on March 18, 2018, both teams flopped. UC blew a 22-point lead with 11 minutes remaining in a second-round loss to Nevada, and Xavier squandered a 12-point lead with less than 11 minutes left against Florida State. College basketball in Cincinnati hasn’t recovered. Historically, the Cincinnati Bearcats last won a national title in basketball in 1962, and Xavier has never made it past the Elite Eight.
So yeah, Cincinnati has seen its share of pain. From franchise quarterbacks getting hurt, to beloved players getting shipped out in a “fire sale,” to gut-wrenching playoff meltdowns where their own guys hand the game away, it’s a tough scene. Reds haven’t seen a playoff series win since ’95, and the Bengals are still searching for that Super Bowl. You gotta wonder how long it takes to shake off that kind of history. It’s a lot for any fan base to handle.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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