Giving Credit to the Cincinnati Bengals

As big of a sports fan as I am, it wasn't until a couple years ago that I really started to enjoy following the NFL.

Maybe it was because I was still too young to feel connected with pro sports or maybe the NFL was just too hyped up for me at the time.

But it's a different story today, although I've not yet worked in a city yet with an NFL team (that will come soon), I have become a big fan of several players that I covered in college and their teams.

However there is one team that I have no connection with, but yet I find myself cheering for them on Sundays.

No, I don't even have one Cincinnati player on my fantasy league team (Child Please), but after watching the HBO series "Hard Knocks" this past summer, I have a new found respect for Coach Marvin Lewis, Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson and the whole Bengals squad.

If you have never seen this show, I highly recommend you watch it next season.

To give you a brief description of the show; camera crews basically follow one NFL team during the preseason as they gear up for regular season play.

They take you behind the scenes and show you a candid look at the real life of players and coaches in the NFL.

This was my first time watching it this season (HBO is new for me) and it instantly became my favorite show on televison.

What made it really special was the story of the struggling Bengals.

I have always been a big cheerleader for the underdogs in sports, and this was a perfect team to fit that profile.

It wasn't until this show that I actually liked Chad Johnson, but after seeing how hard of a worker he is and how much he gives back to the community, I now am a big fan of #85!

We're now five weeks into the season, and the story to me is the recent success of the Bengals.

Yesterday they never gave up in a fight against the Baltimore Ravens, and maybe it was because they were fighting to win for their Defensive Coach Mike Zimmer (lost his wife suddenly this week), but whatever it was I couldn't help but feeling good for a team that has worked their tails off to get to where they are right now.

I know I can't say I'm a TRUE fan, but I defiantly give the Bengals respect and wish them the best of luck this season.