5 reasons to root for Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals

It's not just about making sure Stan K loses another Super Bowl.

Today is the day. The night it all ends. An entire NFL season of collisions, injuries, comebacks, blowouts, surprises, and plenty of firings and CTE buildup come to a head tonight in Super Bowl 868.

Sorry, Patrick Mahomes fans. He didn’t have it this year, and his defense checked out at midseason. Sorry, Tom Brady fans. Maybe he’s finally just too old to make that LAST comeback. He’s watching today with Gisele as he finally contemplates typing out the actual words, “I am retiring.”

It all comes down to Matthew Stafford and a man named Joe. A transported-from-hell (aka Detroit) quarterback against the new kid in town. The kid named Joe Burrow who took down Mahomes and told the media afterwards that all the diamonds in his necklace after the game were indeed real--just like his immense QB talent.

It’s Stan Kroenke’s Rams versus Mike Brown’s Bengals. A couple of NFL owners who find a way to piss off their fan bases and make the news just as much as their teams. Google “Mike Brown” and at the very top one can find an article about how much he enrages fans with his ownership style and tendencies.

Stan K. is hated wherever he breathes, whether it’s St. Louis for ripping their team away as well as taking a large dump on their reputation in the league. European soccer fans hate his guts, and the Colorado Avalanche fans will hate him more when they fail to win the Stanley Cup this summer.

Brown took over the team in 1991 after his father passed, and has rubbed fans the wrong way since, even with this Burrow infusion. Two hated owners and two exciting teams. Here’s why I am leaning Cincy’s way.

Remember, this opinion is from a guy who doesn’t own three fantasy football teams, only watches playoff football, and really doesn’t care about either team at the end of the day. Just a St. Louis guy with lots of opinions.

BENGALS FANS DESERVE A BOWL

They are one of 12 NFL teams without a Super Bowl championship, having not appeared in one since a 1989 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. St. Louis Blues fans know a thing or two about competing for decades without a Cup win, so I find some underdog vigor in a team gunning for their first against a team that can’t even fill a damn stadium for a playoff game.