Williams: Bigger wish? Bengals Super Bowl, Reds World Series title?

Ask columnist Jason Williams anything − sports or non-sports – and he’ll pick some of your questions and comments from his inbox and respond on Cincinnati.com. Email: jwilliams@enquirer.com

Subject: Bigger deal? Bengals Super Bowl, Reds World Series win?

Message: While hanging out with friends over the weekend, we got to talking about how our optimism for the Reds is fading (again). The conversation turned to championships. Beggars can’t be choosers, but we had a fun debate about what we’d rather have. Bengals winning the Super Bowl, Reds winning the World Series or UC winning a national title in basketball? What championship do you think is a bigger deal?

Reply: Guess it depends on which team you love the most, right? But any of these championships would set the entire region abuzz and bring great civic pride to a town that desperately needs some major positive news, sports or non-sports.

The Bengals bringing home the Lombardi Trophy would have to be No. 1 for the general Cincinnati sports fan. It’s the only one of the three championships that has never happened for Cincinnati. The NFL is king. It's America's pastime.

Recency bias kicks in, thinking back to how the whole town rallied behind the Bengals’ run to the Super Bowl during the 2021 season. Everyone seemed excited, even non-football fans. It gave Greater Cincinnatians a reason to get over their inferiority complex, that for once something positive put us at the center of the universe and no one was punching down on us.

Remember when thousands of fans gathered at Washington Park to celebrate being the Super Bowl runner-up? Imagine what the ticker-tape parade would be like?

And frankly, a Lombardi Trophy is the most realistic title to achieve. Joe Burrow and the NFL’s everyone-has-a-chance business model fuel eternal optimism.

Face it, the Reds aren’t going to make another World Series – let alone win one – unless baseball drastically changes its economic structure. UC isn’t going to win a national championship unless they get a billionaire benefactor to fund the program and new labor laws implement a salary cap, enforce contracts and curb unlimited transfers.

Personally, what I’d love to see happen the most is the Reds win a World Series. The Reds have a deeper history and are more invested in the community than the Bengals.