Aside

I'm going to assume that everyone reading this blog has achieved at least a high school education, so hopefully you all (not y'all) know what an 'aside' is. Wikipedia defines it as "a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience." In other words, I get to talk to you directly without disturbing the overall continuity of the blog. In other words, I'm going to talk about something completely unrelated to my previous posts. Some may call it a rant...

For those of you that don't know us well enough already, I'm going to let you in on a little-known secret of our household. Mommy B and I are avid football fans. We'll watch just about any football game on TV - high school, college (any division) and Pro. We both have our favorite Pro teams (even though they both stunk this year) but root for THE Ohio State University Buckeyes when in season. Even though neither of us went there, it beats rooting for the Akron Zips.

Being a Cincinnati native, I'm forced to be a Bengals fan. As painful as they are to watch, they have flashes of greatness. They're not the worst team in Pro football, just the most disappointing. This weekend, our franchise quarterback (Carson Palmer) told our owner (Mike Brown) that he wanted to be traded to another team or else he would retire. And you know what? It could be the best bomb he ever threw.

Nothing calls attention to a dysfunctional marriage more than someone wanting out. We’ve had Corey Dillon, Carl Pickens, Chad OchoCinco at times, Darnay Scott, Rudy Johnson, even T.O., who tweeted his displeasure this year. But it’s different with Carson. He’s the face of the franchise, the voice of reason, Brown’s handpicked shining star. The Foundation. And now the Foundation wants out. Wants to be anywhere else BUT here. If he goes, it’s back to rebuilding mode. Again. And we know what that’s like.

How can you blame him? He’s stuck in Pro football’s Siberia. All the best players here get tired of the losing sooner or later. The rough season and lack of a strong shake-up had to be the final straw. By announcing the trade demand during the playoff game, ESPN gave the story national attention. And that, my friends, is golden. For all of us. The only thing Mike Brown hates worse than losing money is criticism.

If I were Carson, I'd tell everyone that I'm coming back. Then, announce my retirement the day after the draft.

On a side note... my daughter is pretty cute :)