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Rush
head of scouting
529 posts
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Fu: 99.57 |
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Posted - 4/17/2012 3:51:47 AM |
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This is the end!
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| Well, last night about 10:15 on April 16 the Minnesota legislature voted down in comity any state funding for a new stadium. This in short is the end of the Vikings tenure in Minnesota.... I could rant on about political shortsightedness or other options that were available to them at no cost to the state, but I just don't have the heart to do it right now. Nor do I have the heart to participate in Ragnarok or any other fantasy football leagues. My team dues are paid so find a new owner on me, I'm just going to watch this last season by myself. |
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Posted - 4/18/2012 3:33:33 PM |
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That sucks!
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On both accounts. Damn man. We'll certainly miss you, but know that you may have a change of heart before the season starts. I know we'd all say "Stay with us." But I hear you. Best of luck for you and your team! You still have time before you officially sail into the sunset...
Z. |
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Posted - 4/18/2012 4:21:03 PM |
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Say It Ain't So!
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| Don't do it, Rush. |
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Rush
head of scouting
529 posts
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Fu: 99.57 |
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Posted - 4/18/2012 11:33:24 PM |
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I wrote this last night trying to put in words how I feel
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| The winters in Minnesota have always been a little too long for my taste. Those stretches of long nights when the mercury huddles down in the bottom of the thermometer, seem a little longer as you listen to the wind whistling through the empty branches of slumbering trees. Barren. Gone are the days when leaves filled those limbs, birds perched and singing, playful squirrels running and jumping, all have left to find quarter elsewhere. It should come as no surprise, it happens every year. The gardens ripen, the days become a little shorter, the first bit of frost grows across the windshield hinting of what is soon to come. But still it shocks me how cold this place is fated to. Hunkering down to look in on my fire to see if another log is in order. Warming my hands not because they are cold, but because I know they will be cold next time they grab the shovel to clear the walk, like a camel taking on extra water before a long journey. One might think I hate winter or living in Northern Minnesota, which is not true. I have been all over the world and there is no other place that I would have have rather been raised. However seeking a refuge from the long cold season is only natural. I would find my refuge each Sunday afternoon watching a game, and now that too will soon be gone. |
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Posted - 4/19/2012 6:50:32 AM |
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welcome to the jungle, er, wilderness
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on a related note to the trials and tribulations of the Vikings, about a year ago i started experiencing a shift in my approach to my favorite team. and more accurately, this same thought process started applying to my perception of pro football as a whole (is there any other sport?).
the Vikings' latest stadium woes were the catalyst for this change.
before i shotgun blast my thoughts, let me first stress that american football IS the greatest team sport on the planet. i will always be a fan of the game.
i will always be a fan of the game, but my LOYALTIES ARE CHANGING. yes, i know that such a statement is hearsay to some people; but i submit that these are people who are either spoiled or who have not objectively evaluated the landscape.
back to the points at hand:
1) who really profits from public subsidies and funding? if a new stadium is significantly funded by the public, it vastly increases the value of the home team and all of that immediate increased valuation is privately held. let's say a new stadium is built and the city/state had put up the $550,000,000.00 being requested. how much will the Vikings be worth then? more accurately, how much will Zigi Wilf personally gain from it? their annual revenue streams will increase, and when he finally sells the team it will be for far more money. will any meaningful part of that be redistributed to the public that financed it? nope.
you see this same scenario play out in all of the major sports, in city after city. and the people flipping the teams are making out like bandits.
all of these team owners are rich, rich, rich. ENOUGH with the corporate welfare.
2) considering that there is a salary cap and revenue sharing, how much money do teams "need" in order to be competitive in the NFL? all of the nfl teams are profitable as they stand now, so the argument fails after one moment of analysis. any team can be competitive RIGHT NOW, and they don't need to build a series of revenue generating luxury boxes to do it.
3) where is the loyalty to the fan base of the Vikings (and, frankly, 30 other teams)? simply put, there is none. do you think Zigi gives a fuck about the fans? how many years have we been going through this process where they continually threaten to move the team?
4) face it, NFL teams are big megacorps within a bigger megacorp. it's delusional to pretend that there is some sort of mystical connection between you and your favorite team. or that they give a fuck about you.
5) if there is no loyalty to you, why give it in return?
6) hey Kent, if the Steelers got sold and moved to Los Angeles, honestly what would be your response?
all these ideas have been swirling in my mind for about a year, and i'm willing to COME OUT OF THE CLOSET and SAY WITH PRIDE:
A) i hereby declare my favorite football team of all time to be the Jotunheim Skullsplitters.
B) hail to the Green Bay Packers! they are a non-profit, community owned team. and they give their profits to charities. and they will never blackmail their fan base.
that's right, i said it. fuck the rest.
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Rush
head of scouting
529 posts
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Fu: 99.57 |
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Posted - 4/19/2012 11:44:15 PM |
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Don't forget the Pangea
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7 Billion dollars annually that is how much corporate NFL is making from CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, Direct TV, and the NFL Channel. I will leave out the payments from Nike for the right to make jerseys, New Era and Hats, GMC is the official truck, and don't forget the Pangea is the official hotdog brander of the NFL. All of whom add to the coffers of corporate NFL. Knock off 100 million to run NFL Corp, and divide the 6.9B by the 32 teams that leaves $215,000,000.oo for each team subtract the $136,000,000,oo salary cap. That leaves 79 Million to pay staff,coaches, operating expensive, etc. Averaging 27 Million each, depending if they own their stadium or not. What is left is a hell of a lot to line the coffers of Ziggy, Jerry and all of the rest of the NFL owners club. You can bump that up an extra 11M if you pay the salary floor like Mike Brown of the Bengals. That is an overwhelming number. That is like hitting the Powerball every year that you own the team. Still not enough for some.
To be honest I had a hard time with this issue. I love the Vikes. I want very few things more than the Vikes to stay in Minny. Some of you know that I am engaged politically, I frequently write my representatives, on the federal, state and local issues. I couldn't write them on this one. Using taxpayer dollars and giving them to billionaires pisses me off. I don't care if it is the TARP bailout, Sugar subsidies, or paying $450 million to build a new dome. I'm the lead guy of Occupy Wall Street, Osage.
But there are other ways.
I'm going to write about this one because I like it. About 10 miles from where Keith, Eric, and I grew up is the White Earth Indian Reservation. It is the poorest tribe in Minnesota. It lies within the 2 poorest counties in Minnesota. They proposed paying for the entire public portion of the new stadium including the 450M the state would put up as well as the 150M the county or city would need to front. In exchange for the opportunity to build a casino/hotel near the stadium in Arden Hills that they helped pay for. The also stated they would fund gambling addiction programs. So why would such an easy solution fail so soundly? First there are 7 other Native Tribe closer to the cities, and they lobbied to not allow this proposal to come to a vote. The Minneapolis Business Association as well as the hotel and restaurant industry does not want the competition. Finally the Minneapolis Representatives in the state chamber, 3 of whom are on the Government Finance Committee where the stadium bill failed, blocked any attempt to fund a stadium outside of downtown Minneapolis.
Granted, gambling has it problems, but it is legal. Nearly all Americans participate in some type of gaming. Hell, Ragnarok by definition is gambling. (for some not you Koo)
Keith is right. The Packers have something very special. Lucky for their fans as long as the NFL exists their team will never leave them. Shit! maybe I'm a communist. But the Packers are not my team. I love my team the Viking, but they don't love me.
Happy 4:20 everyone! |
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Posted - 4/23/2012 10:43:16 AM |
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don't do it, Rush...
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You're obviously a true Vikings fan who knows much more about the franchise than just the wins or losses. You need an outlet for your passion when your franchise lets you down--what better form of displacement than Ragnarok? We'll even let you yell at Kent for a bit if that would help.
Seriously, we'd hate to lose you. But a man's gotta do... |
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Posted - 4/25/2012 6:42:12 PM |
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NFL Draft Party, my house, tomorrow, 7:30pm
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Billy, Mike--you're definitely invited. Email me or call me if you're interested.
Out of towners, you're invited too though I'm sure none of you fuckers can make it. |
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Posted - 4/27/2012 7:46:48 PM |
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This is Pretty funny
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Animated reactions to all 1st round picks. http://www.draftcountdown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52641
Dave, don't go. This league is bigger than your team, my team and the NFL. |
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