First, an update on my health condition. I have a couple of doctor appointments on Tuesday the 9th with the surgeon who took out my tumor, and a plastic surgeon who may be able to deal with the fact that the nerves on the left side of my face were destroyed during the surgery. We'll see what happens next. Hoping I can be back to work on the air before the end of February. Now, on to my blog entry.
Over the past few years, the NFL has become more and more of a giant corporation. Instead of making widgets, they manufacture football games.
The more and more I watch the NFL, the less fun it becomes to me. Everything is about rules, rules, rules. But it’s especially about making money, making money, making money.
There are, of course, the fans, who brainlessly buy the tickets, who brainlessly go the tailgate parties before the games, and who try to make the whole thing a little personalized by taking part in fantasy leagues (which I am surprised the NFL has not yet found a way to make money from). This is no different than, let’s say, fans of older cars that spend money on such cars, spend money to renovate them, and spend more money to attend car shows.
That being said, the Super Bowl over the years has become less of a contest, as opposed to becoming an excuse for people to have parties on a Sunday afternoon in January, and now, a Sunday evening in February. As the years have gone on, I could care less about who’s in the Super Bowl. Even if the Browns finally made it, I’d say that’s nice that a Cleveland team finally made it, but how would it affect my life on Monday if the Browns lost or won? I’d have to deal with it as my lead local news story, but my personal life would go on, none the less.
If you look at the left of this column, you’ll see that I’m still a baseball fan, in part because to me, baseball is the true American game. But, even as time goes on, I’m gradually becoming less and less of a major league fan, and more of just being a baseball fan. I just need to find more time to visit one of the three minor league ball teams that are close to me, the Lake County Captains, the Akron Aeros and the Lake Erie Crushers, who are real baseball geeks, as they’re not related to any major league team.
Getting back to the NFL. All but one of 32 teams are each owned by rich people. Not even by corporations. By rich people. Under NFL ownership rules, each team must be owned at least one-third by some rich person. Some of the teams are owned 100 percent by a rich person or that person’s family. Do you as a fan want to own a team? Forget it. No stocks in any NFL team are sold. That makes the NFL the ultimate rich person’s club. You want to support the team? Buy a jersey or a hat, but of course only one given permission by the NFL.
This is actually the way it is for all the major sports leagues, including the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball. Of course, in Cleveland, there has been one big exception. When Dick Jacobs owned the Indians, he offered shares for sale to the public. The fans couldn’t buy all that much, so they had very little say in how things operated, but at least fans could say they owned a portion of the team. I never bought any, but I still have the baseball that NASDAQ sent out to the local media when the Indians stock was listed through the NASDAQ exchange.
When Larry Dolan bought the Indians, he bought back every share of Indians stock. The Boston Celtics also once offered public stock, but no more. They also took back that stock when the Celtics were sold.
That being said, when it comes to today’s Super Bowl, I’m hoping for the Green Bay Packers to win. Why the Packers?
When the Packers joined the NFL in 1921, they were owned by local folks in Green Bay. Here in 2011, they’re still owned by local folks in Green Bay. Over the years, other NFL teams were sold, and bought by rich guys. A handful of teams are still owned by the same family as their early founding, and yes, one of those is the Steelers, still owned by the Rooney family. But, only the Rooney family owns the Steelers.
The Packers are now, and have been since day one, a community owned franchise. 112,000 people own the Packers. One of those shareholders acts as team president, and he joins the 31 rich guys at the owners meetings. No shareholder can be the majority shareholder. Any profit earned by the team goes to the Packers Foundation, which donates money to non-profit organizations across Wisconsin (the original profit went solely to an American Legion chapter in Green Bay).
To me, this seems like the ultimate American team. One that’s based in a town of about 110,000, and has a statewide fan support, including in Milwaukee. They’re owned by fans who care about the team, not by some guy who inherited the team maybe when his father died, but who isn’t that much of an NFL fan (I guess that includes Browns owner Randy Lerner).
Packers, continue to be the ultimate American team. One that your fans care about, and prove it when they look up at the wall, and see those framed stock forms. Go Packers! You’re not a corporation, you’re a real sports franchise!!!!
Over the past few years, the NFL has become more and more of a giant corporation. Instead of making widgets, they manufacture football games.
The more and more I watch the NFL, the less fun it becomes to me. Everything is about rules, rules, rules. But it’s especially about making money, making money, making money.
There are, of course, the fans, who brainlessly buy the tickets, who brainlessly go the tailgate parties before the games, and who try to make the whole thing a little personalized by taking part in fantasy leagues (which I am surprised the NFL has not yet found a way to make money from). This is no different than, let’s say, fans of older cars that spend money on such cars, spend money to renovate them, and spend more money to attend car shows.
That being said, the Super Bowl over the years has become less of a contest, as opposed to becoming an excuse for people to have parties on a Sunday afternoon in January, and now, a Sunday evening in February. As the years have gone on, I could care less about who’s in the Super Bowl. Even if the Browns finally made it, I’d say that’s nice that a Cleveland team finally made it, but how would it affect my life on Monday if the Browns lost or won? I’d have to deal with it as my lead local news story, but my personal life would go on, none the less.
If you look at the left of this column, you’ll see that I’m still a baseball fan, in part because to me, baseball is the true American game. But, even as time goes on, I’m gradually becoming less and less of a major league fan, and more of just being a baseball fan. I just need to find more time to visit one of the three minor league ball teams that are close to me, the Lake County Captains, the Akron Aeros and the Lake Erie Crushers, who are real baseball geeks, as they’re not related to any major league team.
Getting back to the NFL. All but one of 32 teams are each owned by rich people. Not even by corporations. By rich people. Under NFL ownership rules, each team must be owned at least one-third by some rich person. Some of the teams are owned 100 percent by a rich person or that person’s family. Do you as a fan want to own a team? Forget it. No stocks in any NFL team are sold. That makes the NFL the ultimate rich person’s club. You want to support the team? Buy a jersey or a hat, but of course only one given permission by the NFL.
This is actually the way it is for all the major sports leagues, including the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball. Of course, in Cleveland, there has been one big exception. When Dick Jacobs owned the Indians, he offered shares for sale to the public. The fans couldn’t buy all that much, so they had very little say in how things operated, but at least fans could say they owned a portion of the team. I never bought any, but I still have the baseball that NASDAQ sent out to the local media when the Indians stock was listed through the NASDAQ exchange.
When Larry Dolan bought the Indians, he bought back every share of Indians stock. The Boston Celtics also once offered public stock, but no more. They also took back that stock when the Celtics were sold.
That being said, when it comes to today’s Super Bowl, I’m hoping for the Green Bay Packers to win. Why the Packers?
When the Packers joined the NFL in 1921, they were owned by local folks in Green Bay. Here in 2011, they’re still owned by local folks in Green Bay. Over the years, other NFL teams were sold, and bought by rich guys. A handful of teams are still owned by the same family as their early founding, and yes, one of those is the Steelers, still owned by the Rooney family. But, only the Rooney family owns the Steelers.
The Packers are now, and have been since day one, a community owned franchise. 112,000 people own the Packers. One of those shareholders acts as team president, and he joins the 31 rich guys at the owners meetings. No shareholder can be the majority shareholder. Any profit earned by the team goes to the Packers Foundation, which donates money to non-profit organizations across Wisconsin (the original profit went solely to an American Legion chapter in Green Bay).
To me, this seems like the ultimate American team. One that’s based in a town of about 110,000, and has a statewide fan support, including in Milwaukee. They’re owned by fans who care about the team, not by some guy who inherited the team maybe when his father died, but who isn’t that much of an NFL fan (I guess that includes Browns owner Randy Lerner).
Packers, continue to be the ultimate American team. One that your fans care about, and prove it when they look up at the wall, and see those framed stock forms. Go Packers! You’re not a corporation, you’re a real sports franchise!!!!
