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Post #4626 above illustrates this perfectly.OK - funny!
Though, honestly - I don't see a ton of Cincy fans talking a bunch of crap...I mean, some - sure...we've been to the SB, and made back to back AFCCCG - so it's a nice run, and it's always fun to let KC know we still hold a 3-1 edge over them recentlybut I don't think it's been crossing too many lines...And while this made me chuckle, it brings me to a question that I've had recently with some friends and fans of other teams...
At what point do fans realize that pointing to the past doesn't hold nearly as much water with the current fans of today's sports, or maybe at what point is it time to stop pointing at the "rings" and "wins" when it has clearly been some time. I've recently had this discussion a few times with others, and I'm honestly curious. Let's use Pitt as an example (100% not trying to start shit, just using this as an example).
It's likely going to be 7 years since Pitt last won a playoff game (2017). IF they were to make, and win, a playoff game this coming season, it would be 2024...considering at this point, I don't see this team as being a true playoff threat this year (subject to change, of course) - we are maybe looking at 8+ years since the last playoff win. The last Super bowl was in 2009. I respect the hell out of that organization, but talking about 6 rings starts to ring hollow when you haven't won a playoff game fairly recently, and win 4 of those SB's were 4 decades+ ago.
2 of those rings have come from 2006/2009...so, we are going near 2 decades where a good portion of the fan base has grown up and not seen (or too young to remember) winning a SB. Before that was 1980 (IIRC). So, we are at 40 years. So, if you were born in 1980, you've seen (remember) 2 SB wins, but we are nearing now over a decade since those wins, nearing closer to 2 decades since 2006, and we've also witnessed some very recent drop-off with lack of playoff wins. So, for me personally - I respect those 2 recent SB wins, they are still fairly close, and I am old enough to remember those well....So, I give that some credence. I also give a hell of a lot of credence to the way that Pitt has destroyed Cincinnati for going on 2+ decades until recently. But when a buddy of mine, who is a Pitt fan, starts talking about 6 rings...I tell him he wasn't even alive for 4 of them...and while it "counts" of course, it just holds no sway over me in these kinds of discussions.
Also, to show that I'm not talking about this to be a dick - I have the same conversations with Cincinnati fans about Basketball (College), to which I am a HUGE fan of, probably the biggest fan of all my followings. UC is one of the top 10 programs of all time (via recent list on several sites) and top 10 winningest programs. They've won 2 national titles, have multiple Final 4's, a few Elite 8's, and Sweet 16's. But, UC has been to just 1 sweet 16 in nearly 12 years. Fans talk about these accomplishments when talking about landing recruits and I keep saying the same thing - These kids don't care about that. That was 12 years ago. They were like 5 when UC last made a 2nd weekend appearance in March...and their Parents were teens, or even younger, when UC last made an Elite 8, Final 4 - So, their parents don't even know about some of these things. Fans walk around saying "UC is a top 10 program of all time" and "Why wouldn't a recruit want to come here" - and I reply the same way each time "Because neither they, or their parents, have really experienced those times that put UC in that category. UC has been good, not great....and the Championships were in the 60's...Their grandparents may remember them, but that's it". So, all of the accolades are great, but in today's talking points - it means very little in actually - at least in my, maybe not so humble, opinion...lol
I guess, this long-winded diatribe is more reflective of the "What have you done lately" attitude - but I certainly think there is some merit in talking about past wins, championships, etc...but at some point - those are just nice talking points amongst fans of those teams - and really hold very little weight outside of that organization/Team/Fan base...thoughts??
It's all in jest... I think you know me somewhat well enough that I'm not the type that brings up rings in any debate about success. I know full well (and bitch about it plenty) about the Steelers ineptitude in the past decade-plus. One of the main driving reasons why I find it so hard to bitch about Tomlin around other fans. Because Tomlin will forever be perceived as successful, and a top 5-10 coach no matter what... But for the fans that have lived & breathed this team during his tenure know the pain. I'm not saying I hate the guy or I want him gone, just bitching about lacking success when it matters most. I still point back to the loss to the Jags in the 2017-2018 playoffs... This team boasted a HOF QB at climax of his career, the #1 WR & #1 RB in the nfl, and a top 3 OL... That team had all the ammo it needed to compete & win the super bowl that year, and somehow couldn't find a way to beat the F'n Blake Bortles-led Jags. Or even 2021 when this team ignored its OL problem that probably could have put that 11-0 team over the hump and into the promised land, instead it fell flat on its face to the Cleveland Browns 2 weeks in a row to put them on the couch in January.
The Steelers have been regular season paper-champions for the past 10-12 years. There's no denying that. I respect Tomlin's ability to produce success in the face of adversity (2017 drama fueled season, 2019 with Duck Hodges, 2022 rebuild, etc) but at the same time I have to condemn him for pissing away all those years when they had the perfect opportunity to get their 7th and just couldn't rise to the occasion.
All fanbases have their shittalkers. And its all a matter of perspective. The younger generations are obviously the least tolerable in that regard. Those casuals that don't know a lot, or haven't witnessed enough trials & tribulations... All they want to do is win arguments so they cherry pick what they think is the end-all-be-all which is rings. The fans I tolerate the least are the ones that feel the need to talk shit to your face in the parking lots at tailgate. I get it, it sorta comes with the territory in competitive sports so I never took/take offense. But I'd much rather share a beer with you and talk history than to have a pissing match about our teams we're fans of
I know Phil Jackson shouldn't be attributed to this quote because he paraphrased it & rephrased it, but since I'm watching the Last Dance documentary for the umpteenth time, and I love this quote... "You're only a success at the moment you perform a successful act, so these acts have to be repeated all the time. So your exuberance about 1 successful act, or 1 successful game or season, is ONLY a success at THAT time."
