My niece Alex moved to Cincinnati in August with a new college degree and a chip on her shoulder about the location. She was happy about starting her career at Procter & Gamble but had hoped to go to a city bigger than her hometown of Indianapolis. Her best friend and roommate is working in New York. 

The articles I sent Alex about Cincinnati’s being chosen the best city for new college graduates did not appear to sway her. At Thanksgiving I asked when she was going to get Ohio license plates. She answered, laughing, “Never, if I can help it.” 

Two months later, the Cincinnati Bengals are going to the Super Bowl, and you’d think Alex was a native Cincinnatian.

“The Bengals have not only been super exciting to watch but also have made me more excited about a city and and a time in my life that I was struggling to get excited about,” Alex told me. “You can feel the energy in the city — all the buildings are lit up orange at night, bars and restaurants are doing Bengals-inspired deals, and my building even had a pep rally. These last few weeks of the playoffs have been the most fun I’ve had since moving to Cincinnati.”

Just goes to show the power of sports. Makes me wonder why I ever stopped watching. 

I was primed to be a sports fan. My dad was both an athlete and a spectator. A three-sport standout in high school, he had the TV tuned to whatever sport was in season when I was growing up. It was no surprise that my brother ended up a sports editor. Rick and I were diehard White Sox fans in grade school (he still is). If you asked me today about the 1959 pennant-winning Sox, it wouldn’t take me long to think of Looie Aparicio, Nellie Fox, Jim Landis, Sherm Lollar, Al Smith, and Bubba Phillips. 

After I left home, my interests turned in other directions. I became a now-and-then sports fan, drawn to individual athletes, like Michael Jordan and tennis star Bjorn Borg. 

Maybe because there’s been so little to get excited about the last couple of years, or maybe because Alex is in Cincinnati, the thrilling AFC championship game made me an instant Bengals fan. Watching it was the purest escape I’ve experienced during the pandemic. I started out multitasking, the TV on in the background, but nothing but the game had my attention during the Bengals’ dramatic comeback in the second half. 

We all could use escape these days, so maybe I’ll start tuning in more to sports. I don’t have to become a fan of any team. High-stakes events like a tennis final, the World Series, and March Madness Final Four should be fun to watch even if I don’t care who wins. Right now we have the Olympic Games. The TV hosts expect an exciting game tonight between the US and Canada women’s hockey teams. It starts after my bedtime, but a recording should be available tomorrow.

Maybe I will follow a team again. The Sky is coming off a championship. Rick expects the White Sox to win the American League Central again this year.

Funny to be sounding as though I’ve made a discovery when I knew the draw of fanship half a century ago.