FRANKIE: when in doubt, you can count on, and invest, in No. 9

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It is so rare in sports that someone or something lives up to the hype. It’s even more rare when that hype is exceeded.

If there’s one thing I love about Joe Burrow is that he has more than lived up to the hype. He has delivered more than I could have dreamed of to a team I have rooted for my whole life, at a time when every Bengals fan was clinging to the only thing that’s given to us as sports fans: hope.

Joe Burrow gave us hope during his record-setting 2019 season at LSU, when the Bengals clinched the No. 1 overall pick, when the Bengals drafted him number one overall.

That hope has been manifested in not only Burrow revitalizing the Bengals, but taking them to heights the franchise has rarely seen throughout its history. Ending a 31-year drought of not winning a playoff game, taking the Bengals to just their third Super Bowl and then following up that Cinderella run with a near second straight trip to the NFL’s biggest stage. This past September, the Bengals rewarded their franchise quarterback by making him the highest paid player in NFL history. And now, Burrow is living up to every penny he’s been given, proving that he will always live up to, and exceed, the hype.

Think of how many marquee games the Bengals have played in since Joe Burrow was drafted, especially before they broke the curse. Most Bengals fans, including myself, have that feeling of doubt going into those big games. It’s just engrained in us. Even with the curse now broken, there’s still that feeling of doubt going into marquee games.

But what Joe Burrow proved Sunday, against the San Francisco 49ers of all teams, confirms that when you have that feeling of doubt, the former Athens Bulldog now turned Bengal is going to deliver. Do you want to know how I know that? With the victory on Sunday, Joe Burrow is now 13-3 against teams three games or more over .500 in his career. That .813 winning percentage is the highest for any starting quarterback with at least 10 starts since 1950.

You know what else Joe Burrow is doing? He’ bridging generations of Bengals fans. I wasn’t around for the two Super Bowl losses to the 49ers, but I know how much those losses impacted fans from that generation. My generation, we just needed something to believe in after so much heartbreak. We wanted to be a part of the elite, the big boys, the fun that is the NFL Playoffs and the big stages.

Burrow has given my generation all of that. But this win, on the road against this 49ers team after the two Super Bowl losses and giving away that game against them in 2021. That’s for Bengals fans who have been around since the beginning, like most of my family.

Even after getting paid, Burrow is still delivering. He’s still playing like he has something to prove every time he steps out onto the field. What he did Sunday was ridiculous. Completing 28 out of 32 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns, adding 44 more yards on the ground, no turnovers, against that defense? A defense every offense is supposed to fear!

But Burrow gives Bengals fans hope that there’s a chance for the Bengals in every game. This game against the 49ers was supposed to be the one game the Bengals would, for sure, lose. But Burrow was in full command. The bigger the stage, the better Burrow plays. We all have doubts as Bengals fans going into big games, but Burrow gives you that confidence we lacked for so long. When in doubt, you can count on, and invest, in number nine.