Bass: This Bengals fan is irrational. And perfectly sane. Despite what her family says.

Mike Bass
·5 min read
3

I got a kick out of @ladykateblacket’s tweet in last week’s column about the Bengals’ return.

“Well, I’m so all in this season that I need to be spoken to rationally,” she wrote, “as I’ve read/listened to all the content about new players & how vets are growing/improving I’m ready to believe they will be undefeated, every O (drive) = TD, every D (stand) = sack or INT. Every award will go to a Bengal. And after they win the Super Bowl, February 12 will ever after be Joe Burrow Day in Cincinnati.”

And I appreciated her response to what I had written.

“You summed up my tweet-feelings perfectly — if I can’t feel irrational now, when can I?!?” Kate tweeted. “Was just at my parents house talking about it’s only all star break & everyone on Cincinnati twitter is BENGALS BENGALS BENGALS punctuated with the occasional ‘still hate Bob & Phil.’”

Which got me thinking ...

“Here is a question for you,” I replied. “If it is rational to feel irrational now, does that mean you are perfectly sane? 🤔”

“My family begs to differ,” she tweeted.

I’m with Kate.

Kate (left) and Daryl before the AFC Championship Game. The RV is not theirs.
Kate (left) and Daryl before the AFC Championship Game. The RV is not theirs.

* * * * * * *

Kate is Kate Wehmeyer.

She is 53. Married. With two kids. She lives in Montgomery. Now. She converted to Bengalmania.

Kate grew up some 60 miles outside of Washington, in now-Commanders territory. She was a Washington NFL fan. Naturally. Her relatives were Washington NFL fans.

“Most,” @ladykateblacket tweeted, “except for a few ornery cousins that decided to root for the cowboys to tick off the rest of us!”

Kate is funny. She stayed loyal to her team during various moves, adding a love for rugby and Edinburgh during three years in Scotland. Then husband Daryl’s job brought them to a magical place where people speak of flying pigs instead of the old blocking Hogs, and a quarterback and his wife helped shift her allegiance.

“When we moved to Cincy in ‘14 we attended one of Andy Dalton’s cocktails & dinner events,” she tweeted, “was so impressed with Andy & JJ that we were all in straight away after that! ... Still an Andy fan.”

Still, there was the family.

The relatives cannot fathom a rational person switching sides – and now dreaming impossible Bengal dreams.

“Then again,” I asked Kate, “is it rational to be a Washington fan with what has happened to that franchise?

Daryl (left) and Kate Wehrmeyer at the AFC Championship Game. “An absolute crime they set up the post game ceremony away from the side with most of the Bengals fans,” she wrote.
Daryl (left) and Kate Wehrmeyer at the AFC Championship Game. “An absolute crime they set up the post game ceremony away from the side with most of the Bengals fans,” she wrote.

“Oh the pain & agony as a Washington fan,” she tweeted. “One cousin ordered RGIII licenses plates the day they signed him. That comes up in the text chat at least once a year. We all understand that love of any sports team has its heartaches.”

Which sounds rational.

So why is Kate acting so irrationally?

Or is she?

* * * * * * *

Fandom feeds Kate’s irrational side.

Lucky Kate.

What if irrational can be a positive, too?

Fandom is passion. Without emotion, sports is analytics and analysis. Logic. Calculating. Spock. Fascinating. Fandom is felt. Blind faith. Who Dey. Red October. Why Not Us. Nobody boos spin rate. Nobody cheers QBR.

Fandom is the heart celebrating reality. Or cursing it. Or blurring it. This is our dance. Head and heart. Heart versus head. We need balance. The heart wants to lead. Feelings are more powerful than thoughts. Rational or not.

Kate Wehrmeyer (left) and her friend Daniela.
Kate Wehrmeyer (left) and her friend Daniela.

Is it rational to expect Bob Castellini to sell the Reds? Was it rational to expect Mike Brown to sell the Bengals?

Is it rational to expect umpires to get every call right? Was it rational to believe the NFL, officials and networks conspired to help the Rams beat the Bengals?

Was it rational to expect the Bengals to reach the last Super Bowl? Is it rational to expect them to return? And win? After going undefeated? Scoring a touchdown on each drive and getting a sack or turnover on each stand?

Sure, laugh at the last part. It is easy. Now. Remember that, the next time the Bengals don’t score, or the opponent does, and you cannot believe it. Which might be every time. And if the Bengals allow a first down or two, will you quickly write it off as inevitable and credit the opponent, or will you be shocked they let it happen?

Kate is there already.

This is her dream world, and she knows it. Asking for a reality check is not just amusing but healthy when it is time to prepare for the real world. For now, what is the harm in savoring the Bengals returning to camp, imagining anything is possible, fantasizing about perfection on every play? Is she betting all her money on the Bengals shutting out every opponent? Is she challenging relatives to fistfights over her fandom? Is she hurting anyone?

Or is she just enjoying being irrational?

“😂Maybe,” I tweeted to Kate, “your family needs the help of a sports fan coach. 😉”

“We’re self-medicating with podcasts, twitter & the cousins text group,” @ladykateblacket replied.

It’s not as though ALL of her self-medication revolves around the Bengals.

“No 😂,” she tweeted. “But the most common thread in my podcast library is the Bengals.”

Irrational? That is nothing.

Kate said her parents will watch the games at her house and even attend a Bengals preseason game or two every year. She sent me a photo of her place during that monumental playoff win over Las Vegas last season, and there was her dad, sporting (gulp) Bengalwear.

But, please, don’t tell the relatives.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals fan's excitement about 2022 NFL season makes sense