Feb 05 2011

XLV: Steelers v. Packers

You will know how to root

The Green Bay Packers: Cheese Heads of the People

Rachel reports how the history and financing of the Green Bay Packers makes it a unique team.

The Steelers Have Already Lost

by Howard Fineman, The Huffington Post

Posted: February 4, 2011 06:06 PM

WASHINGTON — As a Pittsburgh native it pains me to say this but here goes: Even if the Steelers win the Super Bowl, they’ve already lost.

Fate, fashion and their own faults combine to put the Steelers in a no-win situation in Sunday’s matchup with the Green Bay Packers.

The Steelers are the bad guys. There is nothing they can do about it. If they win, it’s because they are rotten and brutal, or so it will be said. If they lose, they will have deserved it, because they are rotten and brutal, or so it will be said.

Why? Well, let’s start where we must, with Big Ben. His actions last year in that Georgia college town — even though they didn’t result in criminal charges — are too awful for most of the country, and (still) for many people in Pittsburgh, to stomach. Where diehard Steelers fans see a brave quarterback, millions of others see a cowardly, spoiled kid who used his posse to assist his sexual predations.

So Kobe Bryant and Michael Vick against the team who as Rachel and I have pointed out in the past–

The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned franchise in American professional sports major leagues. Typically, a team is owned by one person, partnership, or corporate entity, i.e., a “team owner.” The lack of a dominant owner has been stated as one of the reasons the Green Bay Packers have never been moved from the city of Green Bay, a city of only 102,313 people as of the 2000 census.

…

As of June 8, 2005, 112,015 people (representing 4,750,934 shares) can lay claim to a franchise ownership interest. Shares of stock include voting rights, but the redemption price is minimal, no dividends are ever paid, the stock cannot appreciate in value – though private sales often exceed the face value of the stock, and stock ownership brings no season ticket privileges. No shareholder may own over 200,000 shares, a safeguard to ensure that no individual can assume control of the club. To run the corporation, a board of directors is elected by the stockholders.

…

Green Bay is the only team with this form of ownership structure in the NFL; such ownership is in direct violation of current league rules, which stipulate a limit of 32 owners of one team and one of those owners having a minimum 30% stake. However, the Packers corporation was grandfathered when the NFL’s current ownership policy was established in the 1980s, and are thus exempt. The Packers are also the only American major-league sports franchise to release its financial balance sheet every year.

Of course Howard isn’t the only Versailles Villager hating on the Packers–

“Does Paul Ryan hate the Green Bay Packers?” Blue America’s New ‘Super Bowl’ Ad

By John Amato, Blue America

Wednesday Feb 02, 2011 9:35pm


We’ve targeted Paul Ryan, one of the biggest health-care hypocrites of all and a guy who should probably be rooting for the Green Bay Packers. By the way, Think Progress is reporting that Ryan was also at the Koch Brothers Billionaire Caucus meeting that I protested on Sunday. The Packers are the model sports franchise, because there are no greedy owners demanding profits over people and players above everything else. Check out this great article on ESPN, written by Patrick Hruby, called: "The right way? The Green Bay way Here’s how to fix professional sports in one simple lesson: Use the Packers model"

Since 1923, Green Bay has been the only publicly owned, nonprofit major professional sports team in the nation. And that doesn’t just make the franchise a charming anachronism, or the answer to a barstool trivia question.

It makes them an example. A case study. A working model for a better way to organize and administer pro sports.

Namely, through public ownership, a system that could mitigate some of the most irritating ills plaguing our games — and with little downside, to boot.

It’s a fascinating article that explains how incredible their franchise is and how it differs from the ideas of the Paul Ryans of the world. It’s also a non-profit entity, which fundamentally is everything that Ryan stands against. Let’s face it, he had the chance to proclaim his radical views on how to fix our economy to America when he gave the first GOP SOTU rebuttal, but he instead ignored his own frightening Randian bill because he was either too embarrassed to say it out loud or was ordered by the Big Shots of the GOP to keep quiet about it. When a man wants to privatize Social Security and turn Medicare into a coupon-cutout system — well, let’s just say the rest of his party wasn’t too keen to be tarred with his ideas.

But I said you’d know how to root-

James Jones, Formerly Homeless Super Bowl Star, Gives Back To Kids In Need

The Huffington Post

02/4/11 05:38 PM

Green Bay Packers wide receiver James Jones recently opened up about growing up homeless and how his past informs his generous spirit today.

Jones told reporters Wednesday he was “homeless from coming out of the hospital until I was a freshman in high school.” Now, the NFL star is enjoying a successful career with the Super Bowl-bound Packers, but he hasn’t forgotten the struggles of his early life — and he’s doing what he can to help children in need.

In other Super Bowl news of nuts-

Bill O’Reilly: Obama Super Bowl Interview Will Be ‘Most Watched In History Of Mankind’

The Huffington Post

02/4/11 11:59 AM

Oh, you like to watch… commercials.  These are the 10 HuffPo thinks most deserving of your eyeballs-

  1. Best Buy
  2. Audi
  3. CareerBuilder.com
  4. GoDaddy.com
  5. Pepsi
  6. Snickers
  7. E-Trade
  8. Anheuser-Bush
  9. Sketchers
  10. Volkswagen

I see I’ve neglected to include a link for you Steelers fans.

Now I have.

If the game gets boring (and you know I’m rooting for that, provided the Packers are winning) you might try the links for amusement.  Here’s the one to all of this year’s Throwball Playoff coverage on The Stars Hollow Gazette where we are already looking forward to Formula One on March 12th and March Madness in general as well as Pitchers and Catchers next week (Valentine’s Day?  What is that?).

2011 Throwball Playoffs

I keep telling you this is not a political blog.

rustymancuso581

216 comments

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  1. TMC wins her pool?

  3. I know 28 – 17  

  4. Bud Light Poker playing dogs.

  5. That last Pepsi Max commercial was lame.

  10. Steelers go for 2 and make it.

    7:30 to play.

  11. Sorry we got our domain names from them.

  12. commercial

  13. Almost makes me want to root for Schumacher and Rosberg.

    Not.

  14. 3rd in 10

  15. for the pack

  16. ist & gaol

  17. 3:30 to play

  18.  now or never

  20. coming up on the 2 min mark

    1. Forgot the second INT.

  23. Is there some sports event on?

    Oh. PS what was up with all the BS patriotism stuff in the pre-game show.

  24. Steelers at their 11.

  25. Jurassic Park meets Lost?

  27. This game is over!!

    1. or a blackberry

  28. Game over dudes.

  29. Good.

  31. shower.  I heard somewhere you could bet on the color in Vegas.

  32. My system is a slug.

    Time to hit reset.

  33. Trophy goes back to Green Bay

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