Bengals Tuesday Trenches: The Dead Zone

You’re stranded in a vast desert, and there is nothing but dunes stretching all the way to the horizon. It’s hot, and the shimmer from the heat haze distorts the barren landscape in every direction. Salvation is weeks away.

Have you been dropped in Death Valley? Maybe the Sahara?

Nope. You’re a football fan in Cincinnati in late June or early July.

Welcome to the dead zone of the NFL calendar — the long summer break between minicamp and training camp, where absolutely nothing is happening. Players are still working toward the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl, but they’re doing it on their own. There are no organized team activities until camp opens in late July.

Until then—if you’re a football guy, and only a football guy—you’re outta luck.

If your athletic interests extend beyond the greatest sport in the history of sports, I guess there’s the other football going on right now. The World Cup is in full swing, if you’re into that sort of thing.

And, of course, there’s baseball. The Reds are a baseball team. They’re in last place in the NL Central, but it’s a looooooong season. If you’re a glutton for punishment (and if you’re a Bengals fan… you probably are), maybe they can get you through to August.

If you’re here on a Tuesday in June, you’re not just a Bengals fan…

You’re a BENGALS FAN.

So what do you do to get yourself through to training camp?

Do you swap out your Bengals jersey for a Reds one? Or maybe one from another baseball team that doesn’t make you sad all the time?

What about a different summer sport? Are you a soccer hooligan, a motorsports nut, a golf or tennis enthusiast, or into combat sports? Tell us: what gets you through?

As for me, I’ve tried with the Reds, but I just can’t dedicate myself to them the way I do the Bengals. I at least mostly believe the Bengals’ owners are doing what they can to win. Baseball is set up in a way that has the Reds starting every season with one foot in the grave because they simply can’t spend their way to a pennant. When that changes, maybe I’ll take a closer look.

So I have my hobbies — painting my little men (Warhammer), as my wife calls it — but the sports fan inside me is basically in hibernation.

What about you? Sound off.

Randomness:

• DJ Turner is reportedly close to an extension and could make him the highest-paid cornerback in Bengals history.
• The Bengals didn’t do much work in the cornerback room this offseason. They signed Ja’Sir Taylor, but that was about it. It’s obvious they have faith in Turner, Dax Hill, and the handful of guys who could take over in the slot, like Jalen Davis. I’d still like them to add some depth, though.
• If Turner gets extended, does that mean Hill is a goner? Probably, especially if...