Cincinnati Magazine Podcast

Jack Brennan has spent more than two decades as public relations director for the Cincinnati Bengals, and, ahead of his upcoming retirement, Justin Williams talked with him about covering the team versus being part of the organization, what it's like dealing with the many colorful Bengals personalities over the years, and Brennan delivers his spot on Mike Brown impersonation.

How do you write a story about a dog without it becoming an unrelenting sapfest in the same vein as A Dog's Purpose? We discuss that and more, including movie theater etiquette, Cincinnati's love of history, and personal blasts from the past. This episode was recorded live at the Overlook Lodge on January 23, 2017.

As the season came to a close with rousing win against the Ravens, the Bengals finished their disappointing season 6-9-1. It's time to take stock of what went wrong, what went right, and what's next for the team.

Bundled up in coats, hats, and mittens, we ventured out into the freezing temperatures at Paul Brown Stadium and took in the sights and sounds of the Bengals-Steelers game. The sights were a split crowd flicking off fans in Steelers gear, and the sounds were the guy two rows in front of us screaming to throw the ball downfield in order to draw a pass interference penalty. A report from Fulcher 2 Stay Bowl V

This podcast? Garbage. These hosts? Garbage. But most of all, Terrelle Pryor? Garbage. Adam Jones exists to enliven the Bengals otherwise moribund season, and he did that and more with his pointed commentary on the quality of play of one Terrelle Pryor. We talk about that and, because this podcast is nothing if not devoted to the cinematic exploits of Vin Diesel, we also spend more time than any Bengals podcast will discussing the latest Fast and Furious trailer.

Andy Dalton saw his opponent across the field. A fresh-faced rookie named Carson Wentz posed a threat to Dalton's title as the NFL's best ginger quarterback, one that he has proudly held since 2011. What ensued ostensibly pitted the Bengals against the Eagles in a game that didn't carry much meaning to two teams out of playoff contention, but for Dalton and Wentz, it meant everything. 

We have topics related to the magazine to discuss, we swear. But we here at the Cincinnati Magazine podcast feel very strongly about Thanksgiving food. And since the teams that play sports in Cincinnati aren't particularly inspiring, we decided to focus on turkey, stuffing, and gravy instead. We also take a peak inside December's Best of the City issue.

The Bengals lost to the Giants on Monday night in spectacularly uninspiring fashion. They played it safe on fourth down (after plenty of unmanageable third downs), wilted against a weak rushing offense, and continued their trend of losing relatively close games. The Bengals are 3-5-1, and very possibly could lose against a run-heavy Buffalo team in Cincinnati on Sunday. And yet, optimism abounds at the Fulcher 2 Stay Podcast! (Eat your heart out, David O. Russell.) Not for this season of course; that's already just about gone to shit. But next year, it might not be as bad. (Repeat this to yourself 10 times in a row after each Tyrod Taylor touchdown this week.)

The Bengals have an annoying 3-4-1 record midway through the season, and the London game cemented the team's status as underwhelming at best. Yet amazingly, underwhelming may be just good enough to win the AFC North. We hand out midseason awards and superlatives, including MVP, player that causes the most consternation, and best couple. Plus, there's a special audio game at the end!

The Browns are very bad at football. This much is undeniable. The Bengals may not be bad at football, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are good at football either. The Bengals are a hard team to read, so we looked into what actually mattered in Sunday's 31-17 victory. For more on the Bengals, make sure to check out Fulcher 2 Stay at CincinnatiMagazine.com. And don't forget to subscribe/rate the podcast on iTunes.