There might be a modicum of truth in that in the short term, but the Bengals' plight goes way beyond that. There's no enjoyment in making fun of anything for 10 years, even if it's an owner you find irritating, a coach you think is rude or a franchise you despise. The jokes get old. The lines lose their zing. The criticisms become tired.
People stop reading.
That used to be the case with a certain eccentric former Cincinnati Reds owner, just as it is the case with the Bengals now. It's funny the first time you tell somebody that the team owner took a box of leftover doughnuts from a ticket sales meeting from desk to desk in the team's offices, selling them to employees in order to get her three bucks back. But the next 40 times she does something that ridiculous, the shock value is diminished. When Dick LeBeau was hired to replace Bruce Coslet on Sept. 25, you could see what was coming. A surge of adrenaline.