The good times keep rollin’ for Cincinnati sports: Bengals Wednesday morning briefing

CINCINNATI, Ohio — For so many years in Cincinnati, when it rained, it poured. Like, really poured.

The Bengals hadn’t won a playoff game since 1990 and from 2016-2020, finished either third or fourth every season in the AFC North. Even periods of success, like their run from 2005 to 2015 that featured seven playoff appearances, resulted in seven wild card exits.

The Reds weren’t much different. They haven’t won a playoff series since 1995 and have won just two playoff games since Joe Burrow was born. Even FC Cincinnati found itself at or near the bottom of the MLS table for three straight seasons.

Now, things have swung. Rapidly.

The Bengals have won two-straight division titles and have played in back-to-back AFC Championship Games behind the leadership of Burrow and one of the game’s most exciting offenses. They’ll enter the 2023 season as one of the few Super Bowl favorites.

The Reds are currently winners of 10 games in a row, the first time they’ve done so since 2012, and have catapulted into first place in the NL Central. They’ve also got one of the sport’s most exciting players in Elly De La Cruz, who was called up earlier this month, and has shown flashes of brilliances with seemingly unlimited power and breakneck speed in his short time with the major league club.

FC Cincinnati, with 12 wins, one loss and four ties, has the most points in MLS. They seem primed for a run down the stretch, too.

Considering the October and November opponents the Bengals are faced with, the Reds’ latest hot streak and FC Cincinnati’s run at the top of the table, it’s not a stretch to say that Cincinnati might be one of, if not the most, frenzied sports cities in the country for a few weeks in the fall.

Imagine saying that three years ago.

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Andrew Gillis covers the Bengals for cleveland.com. Follow him on Twitter @Andrew_Gillis70 for the latest updates and see all his coverage at StrictlyStripes.com.

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