Posted 19:13 by Grote 0 comments

Weekend in Cincy

I spent this Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon down in Cincinnati watching the Bengals and the Reds and being the sharing person that I am, I thought I'd share my experiences with you, my loyal readers. First on the way down I got tagged by the friendly Warren County Sheriff in a speed trap. Great way to start off the weekend huh? Anyway, I'm just glad that the third track on the CD I had made that day wasn't playing when he walked up to talk to me. So, after I accepted my ticket for 52 in a 40 (the 40 zone is about a mile long with 50 zones on either side), I went with my aunts to Paul Brown Stadium. As we were parking in the season ticket holders area we were given this special message:

Special Message from Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis: Welcome to OUR Jungle. We realize you have options with your entertainment dollars and we appreciate your support of the Cincinnati Bengals. I encourage you to make a lot of noise today and help us make our stadium tough on opposing teams. You can be our "12th man" and give us a great home field advantage. I have seen great crowds help win Super Bowls. Let's make it happen in Cincinnati !"

It's a nice message and maybe, just maybe the Bengals can turn it around this year. They did look good in the preseason game against the Detroit Lions. Our first round pick Carson Palmer went 7 for 7 for 95 yards and 2 TD passes. It was all good.

Sunday I went to see the Reds play the Houston Astros down at Great American Ball Park. First let me say that if you get a chance to go down to this beautiful park, GO. There is not a bad seat in the house and the tickets run from $5 to $250 but most tickets are $30 and under. Not much to say about the game, it was a hot day sitting five rows back from third base (!) but we saw some great defensive stops by the Reds 3rd baseman Juan Castro (not to mention the fact he hit what proved to be the game winning homerun in the fourth inning). So I went two-fer-two this weekend, seeing both much-maligned teams win, it was a good weekend.