At a Wednesday news conference just after getting a two-year contract extension, Cincinnati Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis promised fans, "I'm going to work my tail off for them... (and) the City of Cincinnati to win a championship."
But after a string of losing seasons it won't be easy. He urged fans to hang on. "There's no magic words that way. We didn't meet our expectations at all, so frankly, I understand that. But if you're a fan, then you're a fan. Then let's get on and let's go."
It may be too late for John Moffitt. The Ft. Mitchell man was in Koch Sporting Goods buying FC Cincinnati gear. He is against the contract extension.
"It almost seems like they are going against the fans. That they don't really care about winning or the fans."
Moffitt is now a Green Bay Packers fan. What would it take for him to come back to the Bengals?
"Doing something that's outside the box. Having a new coach, having a new plan because it doesn't seem like they have a plan to win but yet they run the organization as if they think they have a plan to win," he says.
Dave Sarcione from Burlington was in the same Cincinnati store. "You see the hat that I'm wearing? That's a Patriots hat. It's a lot easier to become a Patriots fan than it is to become a Bengals fan. I'm disappointed with the ownership."
Lewis knows the Bengals have to win games to bring back fans. But he urges them not to go into panic mode.
"We're going to move on. We're going to have prepared the next guy better and let's move on and let's get better and let's get after it."
Heike Helmers, bundled up and walking on Fourth Street downtown, agrees with the contract extension.
"Andy Dalton is happy," she says. "His crew is happy. Might put some new life in it for 2018. We always hope. Go Bengals!"
