Bass: When someone calls the Cincinnati Bengals a fluke, you say ...

This is what return of the Bengals means to @BengalsBro3.

“I just wanna prove the haters wrong,” he tweeted, “and make it back to the (Super) bowl.”

And this is what return of the Bengals means to @danieldubs.

“Means we’re about to be talking so much (expletive) to the other #afcn team,” he tweeted. “I’ve been waiting for @Steeler @Ravens come(uppance), lots to look forward to @Browns gonna have a long frustrating almost .500 season, so @Browns (expletive) talk will be Watson 24/7.”

Maybe you also used to imagine having the power to make rivals cry mercy now, and to make haters cry uncle later. Quite the intoxicating concept. But you were a Bengals fan. So that just wasn’t you.

Is it you now?

The real you?

In the real world?

This whole experience is new for you (or at least cobwebbed by three decades). This power you imagined? It might be an illusion. Will you be seizing control? Or ceding it? When you focus on how others respond, you give THEM all the power. You are at THEIR mercy.

Winning the AFC did not silence all the haters. You can only guess what would. Losing all those years did not make you cry mercy as a Bengals fan. Would anything?

You had practice dealing with losing. You knew how to show up, your way. You wielded YOUR power. How do you want to deal with the aftereffects of winning? What can you control? What do you value?

Fear not, Bengalmaniacs. You can practice this. I won’t judge you. This is training camp, a perfect time to work on how you want to respond to the barbs or disrespect.

Let’s look at some options, none of which are necessarily negative or positive, all of which might be situational:

It's no use

“Why am I always trying to justify what the Bengals achieved and why I still believe in them?”

“Why do I always say the wrong thing, or keep thinking later about what I should have said?”

“Nobody will ever respect us.”

“Nobody respects us but us.”

Conclusion: This is paralysis by analysis. This is stuck in feeling powerless. At least we can bond as Bengals fans about how miserably everyone else treats us, just as we bonded over how miserably we played for decades.

I’m as mad as ...

“The haters are biased morons, and I told them!”

“I am sick and tired of listening to these buffoons, and I can’t hold it ”

“The next one who rips the Bengals will meet me outside!”

“Sell the team, Bob!” (The anger is on a roll.)

Conclusion: We seethe, internally or externally. Our frustration grows. Venting can be healthy. Within reason. Uncontrolled, anger can turn to rage. Controlled, anger can push us to find a new approach.

It's fine

“If this is part of the Bengals being successful, I can suck it up and put up with it. At least I don’t have to defend trading for Deshaun Watson.”

“Fine. The Bengals stink. Are you happy now?”

“I hate doing this, but I’m leaving social media and all the negativity. Talk to me when the season is over.”

“I buy Joe Burrow shirts for my co-workers, and they agree to stop criticizing the Bengals when I am around.”

Conclusion: You get through it, not ideally, but you compromise and rationalize and make it work.

Believe

“I don’t listen to outsiders. Nobody expected us in the Super Bowl last season, either. Nothing will diminish what we did. Nothing will stop us now. It Is Us Again.”

“I will be there, every down, every game. I have to do my part. It’s my team. It’s only money. ”

“When someone disrespects the Bengals, I feel it. The Super Bowl loss devastated me. We will return. And win.”

Conclusion: You serve your Bengals. Your connection gives you a feeling of power against the naysayers, as long as you don’t lose yourself in the process.

Feel for them

“Now I know how fans of other great teams felt. Everyone wants to tear you down. I try to relate to both sides now.”

“My friends keep saying the Bengals will go back to sucking. They want to bait me. I know they are jealous.”

“Everyone has a right to pick against the Bengals. Everyone has a right to be wrong.”

“If they view last season’s Bengals as a one-hit wonder, no wonder they can’t fathom a repeat.”

Conclusion: You try to empathize with others and respect them. Let them be where they are.

Experiment

“I practice escape routes. I can say we can agree to disagree. I can take a few deep breaths. I can excuse myself for a few minutes and return when I am calm. I can politely ask my friends not to rip on the Bengals around me. I can walk away if I get nothing out of engaging.”

“I will limit my Bengals social-media community to those who are worth my energy and who let me be me.

“I research how other teams compare to the Bengals so I can discuss the situation more rationally.”

“I change the conversation to the Reds.”

Conclusion: You can choose your rules of engagement. You can look for opportunities to try something new, reframing it as learning instead of failure.

Bask in Bengaldom

“I love it. Doubt us, support us, it’s all good. I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is all part of being a fan.”

“I get more out of being a Bengals fan because of everything we go through.”

“If you weren’t passionate, if we all supported just one team, what fun would that be?”

Conclusion: You soak in all of this. You are in the flow of Bengaldom.

The bottom line

If throwing a good-natured barb at rival fans (without abusing or bullying) makes you happy, have at it. They might fire back about how you lost ANOTHER Super Bowl.

If converting the haters with a Super Bowl return is your dream, then dream it. What will you do in the meantime?

You are a fan of the defending AFC champion. That is authentic. Feels pretty good, doesn’t it?

You get to pick how to handle the rival fans and the doubters, no matter what happens this season. You can be authentic. That is the power you wield.

Decide what works best for you and when to use it. You don’t have to be perfect. Just be yourself.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Was Cincinnati Bengals Super Bowl run a fluke? What do fans say?