I don’t like to broadcast my lack of access to a lot of the players I write about. The lack of access, to most, means lack of credibility and to those who say that, I’d understand where you’re coming from.* But in some matters you don’t need high level access to see when something is just fundamentally wrong.
*= after you walked away, I’d probably say something about you and your momma though.
This was originally intended to be a “hey Jets, don’t be stupid, pay Revis” kind of article. The garden variety of which you probably don’t need to read another one of. But I thought I’d use this space to attack an even bigger enemy threatening all of us sports fans: bad ownership.
Which of course brings me back to the lack of access. I don’t need access to know bad ownership when I see it. In fact, two teams I root for are owned by two of the biggest dolts when it comes to owners that its easy to see why their teams are where they are.
Bad owners can ruin sports for fans in so many ways. They can tank seasons. They can not care to pay anyone and allow good talent go to other teams. They can sit back and collect gate profits while you suffer through another dreadful season. Bad owners, worst of all, can make sports bad and that is the worst crime of all.
Watching sports is a hobby, I get that and those who tell me to pipe down at games probably are doing so to offer me a dose of perspective I need. But I do know this. There are plenty of people like me who live and die with every play. Recently I was asked a question: why am I a Met fan? I answered by saying that I chose my fate when I decided to go to a Met game in 1992 against the Cubs (Which they won) as opposed to waiting a day to go to the Stadium to watch the Indians (which the Yankees lost). At that point I had no historical idea of who the Yankees were and what they meant to the sport sport. I thought Babe Ruth was a candy bar. But after going to the Met game and having the rules of fandom explained to me by others, I decided to stubbornly stick to my pick. That other team has won 5 titles in the last 18 years and my team has seen the World Series once. The world series they lost to that other team.
Needless to say through it all, I stuck with the Mets. But why the dramatic response to such a simple question? Because its that serious for me. I love the Mets. People who don’t like baseball wonder how I can sit through a 3 hour baseball game that ends 1-0. I, in return, ask them how they can sit through whatever it is they enjoy doing? Its a simple analogy. We love it, so we sit through it.
My feeling is, the owners don’t have that same love. Some do. Don’t get me wrong. The late George Steinbrenner had that zeal and passion for the Yankees, despite the fact that he wanted to own the Cleveland Indians first.* Mark Cuban has that same love for his team. You just know that some do, but the truth is, MOST don’t.
*= I’m sorry to anyone from Cleveland who has to be reminded again of how bad their city has it.
Owners for the most part are billionaires. Part of an exclusive membership of society that 99% of the world will never achieve. Its just fact. So its tough for them to associate with us common folk who have this zealot like love for their home teams. They look at owning a sports franchise as another goal, another victory, another win for them. Its a trophy that they put on the shelf. Many collect dust, some come out and clean it once in a while but most don’t.
Two of New York’s teams are run by idiots such as these. Fred and Jeff Wilpon and James Dolan own the Mets and Knicks respectively. Their businesses and their daddy’s money, have given them the opportunity to run two of the most wealthiest clubs in all of sports and yet they’ve done nothing to enhance its value. Fred and Jeff continue to deny that after being swindled for a still undisclosed sum of money (but many believe it to be around $300-$500 million), that it won’t affect how they conduct their business despite roster moves that say the opposite. Then there’s James Dolan who recently brought back a guy who disgraced the organization publically with a sex scandal all while destroying any chance of it being a competitive unit by taking on horrendous deals for washed up/overrated veterans.*
*= I’m not going to sit here and bash the guy completely because all his moves weren’t terrible, but the ones he made that were completely overshadow any good move he did make so it makes sense to go overboard.
So I sat back and thought how could we possibly do something about this? I came up with an idea that I believe all four major sports should implement immediately. Its called the “Ten Year Rule.”* The “Ten Year Rule” is simple, it gives owners ten years to get the organization going in the right direction. In ten years, it will come to a vote, and this is the best part, all season ticket holders will get a vote. They will have a say as to whether the owners get to keep the organization or they have to immediately put it for sale to another owner who would be willing to buy the franchise at whatever value it is up to that point. If the team stinks, then the value will go down and some rich guy can come in and swoop a franchise out of the doldrums and get a bargain. Teams with new stadiums, ten years down the road will hit a brick wall like the Mets are eventually going to do. They had the biggest drop off in attendance and this is only year two of their new stadium. If they continue to see a drop off in attendance, the Wilpons, with their burgeoning debt will be forced to relinquish the franchise in a few years.
*= notice the business like, get-right-to-the-point nature of the name. I didn’t want it to be flashy because I didn’t want anyone to confuse it and no other 10 year rule that I saw really came close to being as important. Also, I couldn’t come up with anything clever so I figured, let’s keep it simple stupid.
A question some of you may have is, how do you know another owner will pop up and buy a team? Because that’s what they do. They love bragging about this kind of stuff. Its a status symbol. Owning a sports team is the dream of alot of these yucks. They will jump at the opportunity to make pay in the franchise. Now imagine a team like the Royals who continue to be in rebuilding mode or the Peter Angelos run Baltimore Orioles, could in ten years get new ownership? Imagine how much the fans would be rejuvenated by that idea? Also, think about it this way: imagine what it would do for season ticket holders. Those who may want to have a say will buy season tickets and want to be one of those on the voting panel when time comes to make a change. Its the greatest form of democracy in sports that I see. This will give the owners that they send packing a little extra pocket change.
The other thing it does is, is it brings accountability to these owners. Imagine them not being able to hang their hats on just owning a franchise. Imagine them having to actually run it. To be competitive. To be smart. Imagine them having to put some time in at the office instead of just showing up at the owners box. It would be different and it would certainly make some owners wake up to the harsh reality that their team sucks and its because no one was held accountable. Perhaps teams like the Mets would have owners who cared to spend because they were afraid that their team would be taken away from them. Imagine the absolute humiliation a billionaire would face having a franchise taken from them? This rule has to happen.
Now, I know it can’t happen and will NEVER get passed as long as owners are voting on this, but if a rule was made in Arizona to harass every single Hispanic resident there without any warning or any real evidence, I don’t see why someone would be crazy enough to pass this in the Supreme Court?*
*= I know I sounded like a twelve year old bringing in the Supreme Court, but I don’t know where else we could go with this?
Which of course, finally brings me to Woody Johnson. Who apparently wants to join the list of jokers we have in New York sports ownership with his latest comments on the Darrelle Revis contract negotiations. Woody thinks there’s a distinct possibility that Revis won’t play a down in this upcoming season.
For the record, I think this is just posturing by the Jets and not allowing Rex Ryan’s mouth to do any more damage for their side. After all it was Rex who called Revis the best player in the game. Not the best corner, the best player. But the Jets can not afford to go into the season with Revis holding out. In weeks one through five they face the Ravens, Pats, Dolphins, Bills and Vikings. Two of those five (Pats and Vikings) were in the top 5 in offense last year and the Ravens and Pats just made trades to get big time WR’s who will be able to stretch the field. So if in fact there is some truth to Woody’s comments, the Jets will be put to the test early and teams will gun for their secondary early and often which will leave them severely shorthanded without a shut down corner like Revis. If contract negotiations go into the season, which in my opinion they can’t let that happen, either Revis or the Jets will have the advantage based on how they play.
The Jets have legit Super Bowl chances this year and are in jeopardy of putting all that to waste by allowing Revis to stay on the sideline. Revis has three years left on his contract and obviously doesn’t have much but his pride to stand on at this point and the Jets realize this. It will come down to who blinks first. The August 10th deadline came and went, which was the deadline for a player to report to camp to be able to accrue this upcoming season as one for free agency purposes and with the new upcoming labor talks a lot of the rules will change. So Revis has sent a clear message to the Jets that he is willing to let it play out until the Jets come to their senses and sign him.
The Jets have a new stadium opening up. They have the super bowl hype, the Hard Knock cameras following them and all the build up that they themselves created and are now facing a potentially embarrassing situation with their star player, and the world watching. The Jets can NOT let this drag on and must do whatever they can to give Revis what he craves because at the end of the day, a Super Bowl, bragging rights and more importantly Woody’s reputation as owner will be on the line here. If Woody can’t pay the man cash (which he’ll eventually have to), the Jets will be forced to deal with the fact that at age 27, Revis will certainly pack up and take his services elsewhere and imagine the possibility of Bill Belichiek waiting by Revis’ door at 12:01 waiting to sign him and send another blow to the Jets?
I know it sounds dramatic but I’m a fan. That’s what we do. Woody, do the right thing. Pay him. Do what it takes. Just pay him, or else, you may end up on the cutting block yourself if the “Ten Year rule” ever takes effect.
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The Lazy Eye of Sports 