Hey, Mom, there’s those Bengals you like

That’s what Edwin says whenever we’re in the car van and pass billboard featuring the logo of local pro football team.
When Edwin was first born, whenever he received Bengals-themed gift from Mindy’s family—be it a onsie or mini football—my mantra was that I was going to take the enlightened view. We were living in Greater Cincinnati, so if he wanted to cheer for the hometown team, it would be fine with me. Did I really want him to be that guy in high school? You know, the kid that when all his buddies are commiserating over another double-digit loss season for the boys in stripes, butts in with a “you, know the Steelers got the two-seed this year”.
But somewhere between Super Bowl XLIII and watching Mindy dress up Edwin in Bengals gear for one of their rare playoff appearance last January, I was like screw it. Edwin’s gonna be a Steeler fan. That’s why the Bill Simmons’s latest column made me smile. Here’s a taste:

Is it fair to steer my children toward Boston teams if they've lived in Los Angeles their entire lives? Didn't I once write a "20 Rules of Being a True Fan" column that included the rule, "If you live in a city that has fielded a professional team since your formative years, you have to root for that team"? Now I was freaking out because my daughter likes purple, opening the door that she might like the Lakers … the local basketball team?
My defense: I just made a lousy rule. It should have gone like this: "If you live in a city that has fielded a professional team since your formative years, you have to root for that team … unless your father has deep ties to his teams and you would basically be ripping out his intestines if you rooted for anyone else." Blood trumps water. Fathers are blood. Cities are water. Really, the father should hold all the cards.

And I have it easier than Simmons, he has the mighty Lakers franchise to contend with. Granted, the Bengals have had, like two decent seasons in their proud 43-year history, but c’mon. It’s not we like live in Dallas.
So yes, I’ve been brainwashing Edwin for at least a year now. Ask him his favorite football team, and you get an enthusiastic “Steelers!” Ask him to sing the Steelers song, and you’ll get the full rendition of: “Here we go, Steelers, here we go / Pittsburgh’s going to the Super Bowl”.
(I did push things too far when I trained him to say his mom’s favorite team was the Steelers. She had to reign me a little, and he now can accurately tell you she likes the Bengals, hence the title of this post.)
Edwin can cheer for the Reds if likes. Heck, I even cheer for the Reds kind of. And since we live on the Kentucky side of the river these days, I really don’t even care if he cheers for UK. I’ve only been a Bearcat fan since I was 18, and really, it’s only college sports. But being a Steelers fan is more than sports. The Steelers are part of my culture. And it’s important that his father and son share this.
Here’s Edwin a few gamedays ago…