Have I lost you? Then let me explain…
Every now and again, someone writes a piece comparing football clubs to their ‘equivalent’ NFL franchises or conversely, matching NFL teams to their soccer doppelgängers.
Others have suggested who to support if you only follow one code of football.
A ‘Humber’-ling comparison
Well, such an article recently appeared in The Athletic.
In it, Eduardo Tansley compared the 32 NFL teams to clubs in the English top flight, some high-profile European giants, Leeds United and… Wrexham.
Now, it is only a bit of fun. However, this article compared Cincinnati to Championship side Hull City, which feels a tad lazy to me.
The only connections made were that Hull are known as The Tigers, they play in amber and black, and their one losing FA Cup Final is reminiscent of the Bengals’ three Super Bowl defeats.
No disrespect to Mr Tansley or to resdients of Humberside but I think we can do better.
Other options to consider
One comparison I prefer appeared in football magazine FourFourTwo last September.
When Ryan Dabbs asked ChatGPT for suggestions, it made a plausible link with Brentford. The AI-generated argument highlighted how both clubs have built competitive teams on a shoestring.
A similar line was taken by Josh Henwood in a story for Full10Yards, a UK-based site that I have also contributed to.
He suggested Cincy could be the NFL team for Tottenham Hotspur supporters. Again, that was because of their shared reputation for overcoming modest budgets to compete with richer rivals.
So who would I pick?
After initially considering Brighton and Hove Albion as my comp, I eventually landed on Nottingham Forest.
Those of a certain vintage may recall Forest winning the European Cup in 1979 and 1980 under the enigmatic Brian Clough. This reminds me of Cincinnati’s two Super Bowl appearances in the ’80s and their best-known head coaches.
Franchise founder Paul Brown introduced many innovations, including the playbook and the use of film to scout opponents. And like Clough, the pithy quotes of Sam Wyche, originator of the no-huddle offence, live on.
The Reds’ return to the Premier League in 2023 after a lengthy absence also resembles Cincy’s recent path. Following some lean years of their own, they reached the 2021 Super Bowl and returned to the AFC Championship Game the year after.
What else? Forest’s rivalry with Derby County is akin to the Battle of Ohio games against the Cleveland Browns. They may not be the biggest ‘derby’ matches in their respective sports but they are some of the most fiercely contested.
And putting the cherry on the cake, the City Ground stands on the banks of the River Trent while Paycor Stadium hugs the Ohio River, overlooking Kentucky.
So there you have it. My case for why the Cincinnati Bengals are the Nottingham Forest of the NFL.
Do you agree? Any better suggestions?
