The 10 biggest Cincinnati sports letdowns since 2000. Do you agree?
Life as a Cincinnati sports fan isn’t always easy.
The Bengals have yet to win a Super Bowl. The Reds haven’t won a playoff series since 1995. The Cincinnati Bearcats last won a national title in basketball in 1962, and Xavier has never made it past the Elite Eight.
We compiled a list of the top 10 Cincinnati sports letdowns since Y2K. Reds. Bengals. Bearcats. Musketeers. They’ve all inflicted serious pain on their fans. But what’s the one moment we just still can’t get over? Count down with us as the groans grow louder with each pick.
We compiled a list of the top 10 Cincinnati sports letdowns since Y2K. Reds. Bengals. Bearcats. Musketeers. They’ve all inflicted serious pain on their fans. But what’s the one moment we just still can’t get over? Count down with us as the groans grow louder with each pick.
The fire sale that saw the departure of Sonny Gray, Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker and others. The “sell the team, Bob” movement on social media. Phil Castellini’s “where you gonna go?” comment on Opening Day. And 100 losses. Yep, perhaps the most forgettable calendar year in Reds history.
No. 9: UC, Xavier flop as high seeds in 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Xavier was the No. 1 seed in the West. UC received a No. 2 seed in the South. Could half of the Final Four be Queen City teams? Those dreams didn’t last past the first weekend of the tourney – and they died hard. UC blew a 22-point lead with 11 minutes remaining in a second-round loss to Nevada. Xavier squandered a 12-point lead with less than 11 minutes left vs. Florida State. It all happened in a matter of hours on March 18, 2018. And college basketball in Cincinnati hasn’t recovered. Brutal.
No. 8: Joe Burrow’s 2023 wrist injury.
The big letdown here: Burrow’s season-ending wrist injury in Baltimore caused reality to set in that the franchise quarterback is injury-prone and Cincinnati may never win a Super Bowl during his time. Burrow missed most of training camp with a calf injury. He was just heating up when the Bengals went to Baltimore in mid-November, having thrown for more than 340 yards in the previous two games and helping Cincinnati take a 5-4 record into the game. The Bengals went on to miss the playoffs and haven’t been back since the 2022 season.
No. 7: The Bengals’ 2021 Super Bowl loss.
No. 6: Penalty costs Bengals 2022 AFC Championship game (Jan. 2023).
The Bengals had high expectations to return to the Super Bowl. They battled back to tie the score 20-20 against burgeoning rival Kansas City on a bitterly cold night at Arrowhead. And then Joseph Ossai popped Patrick Mahomes going out-of-bounds for a late-hit penalty, setting up the Chiefs to kick the winning field goal with 3 seconds left.
No. 5: Bengals meltdown in 2015 playoff game vs. Pittsburgh Steelers.
Demoralizing. Maddening. Unacceptable. Call it whatever, but this game lives in infamy for Bengals fans after consecutive 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on hotheads Vontaze Burfict and Pacman Jones allowed the hated Steelers to move into field goal range and win the game. Until then, things couldn’t have set up any better for the Bengals to win their first playoff game since 1990. They had the Steelers on the ropes at home. Ben Roethlisberger could barely throw the ball because of a bum shoulder. And Cincinnati scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and held a one-point lead with 1:50 left.
No 4: Reds blow 2012 NLDS 2-0 lead.
No. 3: Carson Palmer’s 2005 playoff injury.
No. 2: Ken Griffey Jr.’s time with the Reds.
The Reds won 96 games in 1999, and they went all in on trying to take the next step toward to a World Series title entering the 21st century. They pulled off a blockbuster trade in February 2000 to bring superstar Ken Griffey Jr. home. But Griffey suffered a rash of injuries and missed 453 games with the Reds, who never even made the playoffs in his eight seasons here.
No. 1: Kenyon Martin breaks leg at UC.
Thanks for coming along for the painful ride. Did we forget a major heartbreak that should have made the list? Did we mess up the order? Send your top 10 letdowns (and gripes) to jwilliams@enquirer.com. Let’s commiserate, why don’t we?
So, what are some of the bigger heartbreaks since 2000? There have been plenty, and Enquirer sports columnist Jason Williams put the top 10 in a ranked list.
See his rankings in the gallery above and watch a condensed video of me breaking down his choices in the video at the top of the page.
You can watch my FULL video explaining it all in the YouTube video below.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The 10 biggest Cincinnati sports letdowns since 2000. Do you agree?
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