The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

^ It doesn’t hurt Columbus has oodles of Northern Ohio transplants who bring/brought their fan loyalty with them. It makes sense for the Cleveland teams to feed the beast. As for the Cincinnati pro teams, the Bengals just suck at that. The Reds do a better job, that is in effect all they have going for them. They send caravans out to Dayton, Columbus, over to WV and KY.

UC does need to step it up in Columbus. I’ve been saying it for years. Just saw today UC laud off 15% of the staff in the athletic department. It would make sense to do all the things I suggested above, not sure how much money is there to do these things.

(09-03-2020 02:25 PM)Banter Wrote:  

(09-03-2020 12:55 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(09-03-2020 11:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(09-03-2020 11:50 AM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  

(09-02-2020 02:35 PM)C1ncy4Life Wrote:  Thanks for the notes. Is there a recording available?


Pretty sure Carpenter has already adopted us as well.

It's T bone that hates all things Cincinnati.

Correct. Bobby Carpenter's brother Jon Carpenter played for UC.

T-Bone is one of those Columbus guys who get mad about the idea of the city down here that borders on Kentucky-- making references to us not being "part of Ohio". He was saying that stuff years ago on air when I lived in Columbus. He doesn't like UC, the Reds, the Bengals or anything that has to do with the 513.

Several years back I was having lunch at the Kroger in the Brewery District when I ran into Paul Keels, T-Bone and a couple others while in-line waiting on some food from the market area. I was wearing a UC jacket and Keels said "Go Bearcats!" T-Bone made some comment to the effect of us "damn Cincinnati guys".

Bolded, don't know, nor have I ever heard T-Bone. But I'll take two shots at why he feels that way and guess one is right:

1. He's among the group of annoyed Ohioans who can't believe a majority of Cincinnatians don't kneel at the altar of the first church of Columbus: OSU.

2. City envy, pure and simple. As someone once said, you can buy a major league franchise but it doesn't make the city major league. Cincinnati has been a major league city for generations. And not just in sports but in Fortune 500 headquarters, music, arts, and culture. Many Ohioans choose to enjoy what our city offers, just as I enjoy visiting attractions in Cleveland. But some in Columbus have suffered from an inferiority complex regarding the history and heritage of their sister cities up and down I-71.

Still, I think there are thousands of open-minded Ohioans who will give the Bearcats a serious look for what may be their first time ever. Let's hope we get them on board from an opening victory until a CCG and beyond. Would we be happy being Ohio's other major football team? I think so given the longstanding (but now fading) interests in so many MAC schools in all corners of this state.

I never said Carpenter did not like us, it was more my dislike of him. His personality clashes with mine, and it seems the station had to stop him from talking about his disinterest in hockey, which you could imagine was not a good look. I actually played against Jon in high school. I ran into quite a few UC runningbacks when I played...Carpenter, Ramsey, and Glattihar.

T-Bone is a Columbus guy and a Cleveland fan. He talks about his dislike of Cincinnati the same way us Cincinnati fans (Cats, Reds, Bengals) talk about our dislike of Cleveland. He is a nice enough guy, and gives the Bengals and Reds a pretty fair shake when they talk MLB and NFL.

Lastly...I can assure you, most of us do not have city envy. I think Columbus is just tribal due to not having a pro franchise until 1995 and no Big 4 franchise until 2000. We all had to pick a side, and unfortunately for Cincinnati, their teams have sucked for decades (Reds and Bengals), and it seems like both franchises gave up on the Columbus market, so you have a majority of Cleveland people here.

Most in my age range are all Browns and Indians fans because those teams both put effort into marketing the area. The Browns have done some training camp stuff here (or have talked about it) and The Cavs play exhibition games here. Cincinnati, Its teams, and to a lesser extent UC have all failed to market the area, where Cleveland has succeeded.

Bolded, both parts, are great observations from an "insider" and I appreciate your perspective. So true in fact; Reds Country once extended way up I-71, south to Knoxville and east to West Virginia with the Reds radio network and winter caravan touching parts of five states. You can't lose for decades and expect the Indians and Braves not to gain ground. The Bengals had a big following in the southern half of Indiana from their founding and that's now Colts Country.

Marketing and promotion are essential and UC needs much more of both. Winning big still means the most. And we'll all take more of that too. Go 'Cats!

(09-03-2020 11:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(09-03-2020 11:50 AM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  

(09-02-2020 02:35 PM)C1ncy4Life Wrote:  Thanks for the notes. Is there a recording available?

(09-02-2020 02:14 PM)Banter Wrote:  Glad it is Bishop and Laurinitis adopting us and not Carpenter and Rothman...I can't stand Bobby Carpenter.

Pretty sure Carpenter has already adopted us as well.

It's T bone that hates all things Cincinnati.

Correct. Bobby Carpenter's brother Jon Carpenter played for UC.

T-Bone is one of those Columbus guys who get mad about the idea of the city down here that borders on Kentucky-- making references to us not being "part of Ohio". He was saying that stuff years ago on air when I lived in Columbus. He doesn't like UC, the Reds, the Bengals or anything that has to do with the 513.

Several years back I was having lunch at the Kroger in the Brewery District when I ran into Paul Keels, T-Bone and a couple others while in-line waiting on some food from the market area. I was wearing a UC jacket and Keels said "Go Bearcats!" T-Bone made some comment to the effect of us "damn Cincinnati guys".

It hasn't been the same since they fired Torg.

I've lived in Columbus for 11 years, and I don't know of anyone here who has "city envy" of Cincinnati. Most are complimentary of Cincinnati. I was born and raised in Cincinnati, and if I wanted to move back, I would. And that's no offense intended against Cincinnati at all.

(09-03-2020 07:41 PM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  

(09-03-2020 11:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(09-03-2020 11:50 AM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  

(09-02-2020 02:35 PM)C1ncy4Life Wrote:  Thanks for the notes. Is there a recording available?

(09-02-2020 02:14 PM)Banter Wrote:  Glad it is Bishop and Laurinitis adopting us and not Carpenter and Rothman...I can't stand Bobby Carpenter.

Pretty sure Carpenter has already adopted us as well.

It's T bone that hates all things Cincinnati.

Correct. Bobby Carpenter's brother Jon Carpenter played for UC.

T-Bone is one of those Columbus guys who get mad about the idea of the city down here that borders on Kentucky-- making references to us not being "part of Ohio". He was saying that stuff years ago on air when I lived in Columbus. He doesn't like UC, the Reds, the Bengals or anything that has to do with the 513.

Several years back I was having lunch at the Kroger in the Brewery District when I ran into Paul Keels, T-Bone and a couple others while in-line waiting on some food from the market area. I was wearing a UC jacket and Keels said "Go Bearcats!" T-Bone made some comment to the effect of us "damn Cincinnati guys".

It hasn't been the same since they fired Torg.

My guy!

(09-03-2020 11:18 PM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  I've lived in Columbus for 11 years, and I don't know of anyone here who has "city envy" of Cincinnati. Most are complimentary of Cincinnati. I was born and raised in Cincinnati, and if I wanted to move back, I would. And that's no offense intended against Cincinnati at all.

Bolded, good to hear really.

I had a business associate a few years ago bragging to a group of us at a company function that Columbus was now larger than Boston. Okay, if you draw the lines of incorporation that way it's a couple hundred thousand more people than the city of Boston. But the metro is less than half the size of Boston.

My use of the description "city envy" stems from the fact that some I knew there felt their city never earned the stature of the older, established cities of Cleveland and Cincinnati which were long regarded nationally as regional centers of commerce and major league markets. That preceded Columbus growing beyond the perception of being mostly government offices, OSU and the state fair.

Don't get me wrong. To me, Columbus is a pleasant place and we have friends there, (some who moved from Cincinnati) and friends from there, now living elsewhere. My brother-in-law, who did his undergraduate work at OSU and recently returned to the Cleveland area after working and living out of state for decades, casually observed in a conversation on another topic just last month, "Columbus is still a cowtown".

Wikipedia concurs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowtown

(09-04-2020 09:15 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(09-03-2020 11:18 PM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  I've lived in Columbus for 11 years, and I don't know of anyone here who has "city envy" of Cincinnati. Most are complimentary of Cincinnati. I was born and raised in Cincinnati, and if I wanted to move back, I would. And that's no offense intended against Cincinnati at all.

Bolded, good to hear really.

I had a business associate a few years ago bragging to a group of us at a company function that Columbus was now larger than Boston. Okay, if you draw the lines of incorporation that way it's a couple hundred thousand more people than the city of Boston. But the metro is less than half the size of Boston.

My use of the description "city envy" stems from the fact that some I knew there felt their city never earned the stature of the older, established cities of Cleveland and Cincinnati which were long regarded nationally as regional centers of commerce and major league markets. That preceded Columbus growing beyond the perception of being mostly government offices, OSU and the state fair.

Don't get me wrong. To me, Columbus is a pleasant place and we have friends there, (some who moved from Cincinnati) and friends from there, now living elsewhere. My brother-in-law, who did his undergraduate work at OSU and recently returned to the Cleveland area after working and living out of state for decades, casually observed in a conversation on another topic just last month, "Columbus is still a cowtown".

Wikipedia concurs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowtown

Yeah, you're not wrong about the stature thing. It makes sense though. Although Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland are similarly sized cities, Cincinnati and Cleveland were established long before Columbus. Also, both cities have other good-sized cities (Dayton and Akron/Canton) nearby, which makes them hubs for higher populations.

And I absolutely HATE it when people from Columbus brag about the city populations. It's metro population that matters, and I've had to explain that to people countless times. Columbus is nowhere close to Boston in size. We've just annexed a lot of formerly suburban areas to get them on the Columbus water system.

We knew this was in the works, but I still say BOOM!

Yes, it's great news. Even better, it seems he's not just another rising star but one with a personal connection and loyalty to our head coach who may stay awhile.

I can't help but think (hope) that it's setting up to be a Virginia Tech scenario where Frank Beamer stayed and built a powerhouse with Bud Foster coaching the defense. Many of us here have lamented, if we could only keep talented coaches in Cincinnati, this program could get to the next level. New contracts for Fickell and Freeman are the University's best effort to make that happen.

Maybe we can enjoy a great 2020 season without constantly wondering who will poach our coaches. What will the national TV play-by-play guys have to talk about during our games, if not that? Maybe, they'll talk instead about what an amazing program the Bearcats are building.