I do not follow a professional football team - I am a Bengals fan.

This season is circling the toilet and like 15 out of 16 seasons in front of it - another losing season is guaranteed. I spoke with a Bengals fan who said that they will do better next year. What, they will win two games? Even with Palmer back, they will have a patchwork offensive line. Either Johnson or Housmansadah and possibly both will be gone. So not only will Carson be running for his life, he will have the likes of 'stone hands' Glen Holt to throw to. Not a recipe for success.

Say what you want about Marvin Lewis, Johnson, Palmer, and Co. The only way you change the Bengals is to change the way that the team is ran. The only constant in the Bengals misfortunes on the field is the management and I do mean Mike Brown. His father took the team to two superbowls. Mike Brown can just barely generate a winning season. But then Mike measures success by the balance of his bank account and that is where there the problem lies.

As a fan you measure success by wins and losses. As a businessman you measure success by your profits. So by Mikes measurement he is very successful - why change when the bucks are rolling in. So there is the root of the problem - in the NFL there is no danger of losing money even when the product on the field is subpar.

So how can you force a change? Complaints to Mike fall on deaf ears. The only thing that can force Mike to change is the NFL. And the only thing that can make the NFL change is the fans. Complain to the commissioners office. If everyone complains to the commissioner, to your congressman, to your local papers, to anyone that will listen, then the roar of protest from fans will gradually overwhelm any support for Mike and force him to sell, or at least hire a GM and give that GM the power to run the team the way the other teams in the NFL are ran.

Folks sitting on our hands and taking it has gotten us no where. Complacency means another 15 years of the same thing. If the NFL won't act, then we must force it to act. My son is 16 years old and has only seen 1 winning Bengals season. And the question is, "Dad why do you follow the Bengals anyway?" And I don't have an answer any more.