The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(07-16-2019 07:27 AM)Banter Wrote:  

(07-15-2019 03:32 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(07-15-2019 01:53 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(07-15-2019 01:35 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(07-15-2019 07:49 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  I have no issues with "Cincinnatuh" if it flows naturally (usually from older folks or people in rural settings) but Herbstreits use of the word just comes across as a jab. I don't know, maybe I am being too sensitive...

I agree in terms of general conversation among locals, but I didn't graduate drom the University of CincinnaTUH. I don't root for the CincinnaTUH Bearcats Football Team either. I don't remember a current or previous player, coach, AD, or President say it. It makes us sound like some backwoods remedial college. FWIW, I don't believe I've heard anyone other than Dorkstreit pronounce it that way.

Hence, the point I was making that it comes across as a jab. If Herbie was raised in Seaman, Ohio I'd get it, but he grew up in a nice suburban neighborhood in Centerville. His dad was a football coach and was even on Woody Hayes' staff.

Yep, in Herbie's case, it sounds like a poke in our eye--some passive-aggressive behavior perhaps?

I wasn't raised in Columbus so I welcome comments from those who were. One man's opinion--for much of my life, Cincinnati was viewed (for good reason) in Dayton, Columbus, Indy, Lexington, Louisville and Huntington as the regional hub for major league sports, arts/entertainment and major attractions.

Columbus was viewed more as a cowtown that was fertilized by, and grew in, the shadows of state government and OSU. I think there has been some "Cincinnati-envy" through the years and when Bearcat football suddenly started sharing a bigger stage in the Buckeye State it didn't sit well with some in Franklin County who viewed college football as their unique claim to fame.

I always felt that Herbstreit used it as more a term of endearment. He is a big Reds and Bengals fan. The guy has never shown any animosity towards the city as far as I can recall, and he publically supports the major league teams in town. He was often complimentary of UC during their time in the Big East.

I hate when people from Cincinnatuh call Columbus "cowtown." I had never heard that before until I moved to Cincinnati. I don't believe there is any envy of Cincinnati in Columbus. The older generation/Boomers tended to be a bit more loyal to Cincinnati with the Reds having such a storied history, but over time the younger generation seems to have latched on to Cleveland as the primary sports city for Columbus. The Indians have been the better team over the past 3 decades, and Lebron James made a ton of people into Cavs fans.

I feel like Cincinnati, and UC fans like to stir the pot and create enemies out of Ohio State. Nonstop chirping on twitter has created a little brother syndrome for UC and for the most part the majority of Buckeye fans had no issues with UC or would passively cheer for them as long as the two teams were not facing off.

I feel like people in Columbus generally view Cleveland and Cincinnati with a lot of respect. Great places to visit, but our home is Columbus, and nothing ever beats home. I often miss Cincinnati and love to go down and visit. I think Cleveland is a great town, and hell, I even love Dayton. Over time, it feels like Cincinnati has isolated itself, and now has created some "rivalry" with Columbus that seems really one-sided and odd. Cleveland has spent a ton of money advertising in Columbus, and their pro teams advertise and play games here a lot as well. Now it feels like Columbus and Cleveland are a bit more tied at the hip, while Cincinnati (often due to poor ownership) has ignored Columbus. There is no reason Columbus should not be a Reds town, but the Indians seem far more popular.

I have never encountered as much Columbus animosity as I do on Bearcat Banter. I never meet anyone in my day to day life that has anything but nice things to say about Cincinnati. It has always been very odd to me.

Bolded, it's not just people in Cincinnati labeling Columbus. Check out "cowtown" defined in Wikipedia and it's the first of only five larger U.S. cities listed as examples.

I do agree with most of what you write though--you make some excellent points. Major league sports have been dreadful in Cincinnati for the most part since the 1990 World Series and it's natural for allegiances to flip to Cleveland. Heck, I think Knoxville was once Reds Country before the Braves ascent during their great years.

Still, for better or worse, I don't know of any major city the size of Columbus where its identity is so closely tied to a single major university and its athletic program. Maybe that's just been the absence of major league sports (pre-NHL) compared with say Minneapolis, home to a similarly sized state university. Even with a hockey team, I think few outside Ohio would name Columbus (or Oklahoma City) as a "major league city" because that's just not been it's historic identity.

No ill will here. Columbus by most accounts is a pleasant, comfortable place to live. But to me, it will never have the history or the gravitas of Cleveland or Cincinnati as Ohio's major urban centers.