Bass column: Cincinnati Bengals fans training camp: 7 drills to prepare for the season
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a weekly column from former sports reporter and editor Mike Bass. Bass will be contributing to The Enquirer by offering advice for sports fans, athletes and youth sports parents and coaches through a weekly Q&A. You can reach him at mbass@mikebasscoaching.com or on Twitter @SportsFanCoach1.
Cincinnati Bengals players are back at training camp, getting the coaching they need to fully prepare for the season.
Why not you?
Don’t you deserve your own training camp?
Think about all you have invested in this team. Are you prepared mentally, emotionally, financially and even spiritually to enjoy the season of your life and leave it all on the field? How can you be sure?
Time to suit up, stripe up and get coached up, just like a Bengal, for our inaugural Bengals Fan Training Camp.
Drill 1: Bask in Bengaldom
At the start of camp, the coach sets the tone. As your coach, I ask you to think about what you want out of the season so you can enhance your experience.
Embrace your love of the the team. Bengaldom is special to you. You feel part of something. Let that guide you. Plan during camp how to suck the marrow out of this season and still enjoy the rest of your life. If it takes work, well, don’t so many great success stories?
Think of the payoff.
Drill 2: Stay within yourself
You worry about how the Bengals will do, because that is what fans do. You have no control over the team. A coach will tell players to focus on what they can control and let go of the rest. What if you do the same?
Imagine you are enjoying the Bengals the way you want to enjoy them. Think about what can get in your way and what already has you worried. Use camp to strategize how to prevent or address those obstacles.
Drill 3: Consider the cap
A team can face ramifications for overspending. So can you. Decide how much money you want to spend on the Bengals and NFL this season. Break it down, if it helps.
This can include tickets and ancillary costs of attending games, home or away. At your home, this can mean upgrading your viewing experience. What about a new Joe Burrow or Ja’Marr Chase jersey? And don’t forget fantasy/gambling losses (just in case).
If you want to spend more later, think now about how – or if – you could afford it, and how to hold yourself accountable and prevent impulse spending.
Drill 4: Check the schedule
The Bengals plot out camp to peak for the season opener, then choreograph each practice week to be ready for the ensuing game. What is your time budget?
Last year, COVID-19 might have restricted you to a few hours of game-day couch time. Now, tailgating and attending home games, or gathering elsewhere, could seize the day. Planning and taking road trips are bigger time commitments, and waiting can prove costly.
That’s if you can sidestep work, school or other functions. Alabama fans Betty and Freeman Reese once chose a Crimson Tide-Tennessee game over their daughter’s wedding ceremony. (In fairness, they did make the reception in time).
“We warned her, ‘Don't get married on an Alabama Saturday,’” Freeman told ESPN.com.
Drill 5: Get the home edge
Ideally, a player and his family will coordinate about what camp and a season will be like. Do you?
A little collaboration on those time and money decisions might benefit you. So could making sure you respect each other on game days. Talk through some ground rules now, and enjoy the support later.
Drill 6: Prepare for adversity
The players hone their discipline now so they won’t be baited into reacting regrettably. Think about what could trigger you. A fair-weather fan? A Browns fan? Screaming kids? A coaching decision? An announcer? A tough loss?
Practice how you want to respond when the you-know-what hits the fan in you. A few deep breaths can help. So can walking away. Or a safe word or term. As a kid, you stuck out your tongue or tried the “I’m rubber and you’re glue” gambit, and maybe that will ease the tension now. If it helps you regain control and perspective, why not?
Drill 7: Leave it all on the field
The Bengals enter camp with higher expectations and will strategize how to ride or contain those. Your expectations can impact your experience this season, too.
You can spend camp educating yourself on the team and its competition … or bracing yourself for the worst … or reveling in a new hope … or waiting calmly for the season to play out … or whatever works for you. Then what?
The players try not to get too high or low from game to game, to let go and refocus. But when our post-loss misery lingers and affects us and others, we do nothing, even honor it as proof of fandom. Is that what you want?
What if you could stay passionate during the game and ease your suffering after it, even a little? What would it be worth to you and those around you? Now is the time to practice some ways to bring you back to reality. Try it during a Reds game. Or just listen to Ted Lasso.
“You know what the happiest animal on earth is? It’s a goldfish,” TV’s fictional soccer coach told a player. “You know why? Got a 10-second memory. “Be a goldfish, Sam.”
Remember to email Bass at mbass@mikebasscoaching.com or reach out to him @SportsFanCoach1 on Twitter if you want to be included next week. His website is MikeBassCoaching.com.