NFL Owner Apologizes

[SunCityCarl]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-falcons-blanksapology&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

[justAndy]

i'd like to see...

... the apology from Billy Bowtie for the last 5 years...

 

[Mrospi]

The apology from the City leaders for lying about building a stadium????

 

[SECTION 11]

Originally posted by SunCityCarl
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-falcons-blanksapology&prov=ap&type=lgns

It's surprising that more teams don't do things like this.

 

[arthurracoon]

That was a classy move.

If only Mr. B would do something like that, apologizing for the last 14 years.

 

[FanOfTheGame1]

Originally posted by Mrospi
The apology from the City leaders for lying about building a stadium????

Not (really) trying to cause trouble here, but which "leaders" supposedly made this promise?

'Cause I've lived here since the mid-80's and if one thing has always been true about this region, it's that it has always lacked real leadership.

If the promise came from someone like "Charlie" Keating or the guy that used to own Circle K, then Bidwill was an idiot for believing it. He should have waited for ground to be turned on a new stadium (here or somewhere else), before ever leaving St. Louis.

 

[Wild Card]

Re: Re: NFL Owner Apologizes

Originally posted by SECTION 11
It's surprising that more teams don't do things like this.

S11:

Well, Arthur Blank earned the fortune that he used to buy the Falcons. Nobody gave him his team. Makes sense that a guy who was wildly successful in his previous business career would be embarrassed by, and apologetic for, the disappointing results of his current venture. And that he'd have the basic PR savvy to address his customer base directly, assure them that he cares about his team's performance, and promise to work hard to make them better.

Pretty glaring contrast with the local example of NFL ownership, ain't it?

WC

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Originally posted by arthurracoon
That was a classy move.

If only Mr. B would do something like that, apologizing for the last 14 years.

If I was Bidwuss I would NEVER show my face in public.

To dangerous.

 

[SunCityCarl]

Re: Re: Re: NFL Owner Apologizes

Originally posted by Wild Card
S11:

Well, Arthur Blank earned the fortune that he used to buy the Falcons. Nobody gave him his team. Makes sense that a guy who was wildly successful in his previous business career would be embarrassed by, and apologetic for, the disappointing results of his current venture. And that he'd have the basic PR savvy to address his customer base directly, assure them that he cares about his team's performance, and promise to work hard to make them better.

Pretty glaring contrast with the local example of NFL ownership, ain't it?

WC

AMEN, WC!! That's essentially why I posted it....

 

[jon_nyaz]

Originally posted by SunCityCarl
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-falcons-blanksapology&prov=ap&type=lgns

I am standing up in front of my computer screen applauding this man. The Falcons are now officially my ninth favorite team - - up from 20th.

 

[Jersey Girl]

It's definitely refreshing.

 

[JeffGollin]

Mr. B should have done this long ago. Now if he does it, it will sound like a cheap imitation.

 

[john h]

Originally posted by JeffGollin
Mr. B should have done this long ago. Now if he does it, it will sound like a cheap imitation.

The problem is Mr B does not think he owes anyone an apology the other owner does. The Atlanta owner recognizes the value of a fan.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Bidwill probably doesn't even know who the Falcons owner is,much less care what he does.I picture BB sitting in his office all day playing solitaire on his computer and a gallon of ice cream next to him.Once every few months someone will knock on his door and tell him there's an owner's meeting to go to..

 

[FanOfTheGame1]

Originally posted by Cbus cardsfan
I picture BB sitting in his office all day playing solitaire on his computer

It's a Commodore 64 which he has to share with a nearby grade school. He stops every few minutes to grumble about how someone promised him a new computer of his own many years ago.

 

[Mrospi]

Bidwill glad to be staying
Lee Shappell
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 17, 2000

In the aftermath of the passage of Proposition 302, which provides a tourist tax to help pay for a retractable-roof stadium for the Cardinals and the Fiesta Bowl, Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill hinted that he might have thought twice before moving to the Valley from St. Louis if he had known it would take until the dawn of a new millennium to get a stadium.

"Well, that's hindsight. It's hard to say what anyone would have done at that time," Bidwill said. "I think the Valley of the Sun is a wonderful place to be, a wonderful market for the Cardinals."

It is just as unlikely that he would have moved elsewhere without a signed agreement for a new stadium in another city if Proposition 302 had failed. He brought the team here from St. Louis on an oral promise from Valley civic leaders without getting anything in writing that a stadium would be built while the team played temporarily at Arizona State's Sun Devil Stadium.

"I think that's behind us, a long way behind us," Bidwill said. "Now it's done. We're moving forward."

Bidwill said it always has been his preference to keep the Cardinals in the Valley. After the Rio Salado Crossing Project was crushed at the polls last year, "We considered for many weeks what we should do. We
agreed that we would try again."

Regarding what he learned from the defeat of Rio Salado Crossing that might have helped the campaign for 302, Bidwill said: "Primarily that it's tough to get a 'yes' vote on a tax in Mesa."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well...... Valley Civic leaders seems to indicate it wouldn't be a problem based on this article & Sun Devil Stadium would be a temporary home....They don't name anyone specifically, I sure would like to know who the liars were..... Bill made a mistake and trusted someone he thought represented the Arizona community..... live & learn..... get the deal signed....

 

[SunCityCarl]

Here's the letter as it appeared in AJC

http://assets.sportvision.com/falcons/assets/images/6197.gif

 

[jon_nyaz]

Re: Here's the letter as it appeared in AJC

Originally posted by SunCityCarl
http://assets.sportvision.com/falcons/assets/images/6197.gif

What a kick-ass letter. Huge props to the guy.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Just reading that letter makes me hate Bidwill even more than I normally do - you guys really think Bill "wants to win"? BS - someone who wants to win does so at any cost and is smart enough to realize that a bona-fide established football mind - not his children and yes men who have never proven they deserve to run a football team - are what's needed to turn this horrendous franchise around. Skkorp has said that the Bidwill family is happy with Graves up to this point - that in of itself is the entire problem - no one should be happy with ANYTHING that has gone on this season.

 

[RLakin]

Originally posted by cheesebeef
the Bidwill family is happy with Graves up to this point

That alone should tell you what that family's priority is. As if you already didn’t know. Perhaps that is also why Mr. Graves was baffled by no one (outside of the office) congratulating him on his "managing" of the salary cap.

Kudos to Mr. Blank. His Falcons are one year removed from a playoff drive and have one of the league's biggest impact players on the injured list. He had every incentive to hide behind that, and yet he didn't. The contrast to this organization is maddening.

 

[kerouac9]

For the record, before Mike Vick arrived in the ATL, the fan base for the NFL there was nearly as apathetic as the one here. They got all geared up for the Super Bowl run lo so many years ago, but after that, the Georgia Dome was pretty empty. Signing a risky QB prospect, drafted #1 overall, and making gutsy personnell decisions (like signing undersized but exciting and community-minded tailback Warrick Dunn to an overvalued contract) have elevated the franchise to the point that 10,000 people showed up for the opening of camp this Summer.

Arthur Blank is a marketing genius. He knows that his fan base is fickle, and he needs to do stunts (like have a recorded message of Mike Vick call season ticket holders and remind them to come to last year's game against New Orleans) to keep them excited for football. Bidwill doesn't really seem to care that his city, in general, either hates the Cards (as the way they do business) or merely doesn't care about them.

I don't know what it's going to take (maybe 15,000 in attendance for the Cincinnatti game), but Bidwill needs to talk to the normal resident (not fan) of the Valley and, as cheese opined in a "ask the team" thread, tell us why we should go to the games.

 

[WizardOfAz]

Originally posted by RLakin
Kudos to Mr. Blank. His Falcons are one year removed from a playoff drive and have one of the league's biggest impact players on the injured list. He had every incentive to hide behind that, and yet he didn't. The contrast to this organization is maddening.

Did you hear what Ron Wolfley had to say on this subject today?

He likened Blank to "Little Danny" Snyder, simply taking a cheap shot at his head coach and front office staff for the less than stellar results this year. In fact, he went on to say it was the precursor to firing Reeves. According to Wolfley, he wouldn't be surprised if the "ad" had a detremental effect on the players in the locker room as well.