Right?
The NFL lockout is one of the most potent and relevant analogies for the labor debate in our sports-obsessed country.
I'm also curious, given the average kossack's interest in sports, how many of these similarities are apparent to those who don't really follow sports at all, versus folks who are somewhat to hyper-aware of sports stuff. The guy that owns this site also runs sports sites, and Disney's ESPN networks get a heckuva lot more eyeballs and water-cooler conversations than C-Span. Sports is big buzz, and easier for Joe Schmoe to 'understand' than politics.
Wisconsin, the NFL Lockout, the GOP theme of pitting public worker rights vs low-wage private sector jobs, union-busting, billionaires' unprecedented greed, the defrauding of taxpayers, the "evil socialism" propaganda, and hypocritical lies about money.....
There's a fascinating number of parallels between Wisconsin and the NFL owners' tactics in the impending NFL lockout. So much so that, unfortunately, it will require a much better writer than I to weave all the strands together. For some background...
See: Laura Clawson--NFL Lockout No More Football in 2011?
And this diary by 'willynel' : "Rid wisconsin of Socialism, Get Rid of the Packers"
Has there been any recent time where politics and sports have intersected quite this powerfully?
There was also a great Frontpage post on the NFL, but I cannot seem to find it.
[By the way, what a double whammy it would be for Wisconsin to lose its CBA AND also lose the NFL season after winning the Super Bowl, the most coveted title in sports! That would be an absolute travesty for the state's NFL team, employees, players, vendors, and fans.}
First, let me introduce you to some fun facts about the NFL owners, who are the ones that broke the CBA ahead of schedule in order to wrestle about $1 billion in cash more into their coffers. Also, keep in mind that this past season scored new highs in TV ratings, and highly profitable for the vast majority of NFL teams despite the owners' desire to kill revenue-sharing. By the way, revenue-sharing has helped make the NFL both competitive and successful, but a few billionaires have decided that it's more important to squeeze out a few more bucks for themselves instead at the expense of the entire league.
Hmm...sound familiar?
So, about those poor, poor owners who aren't getting a fair shake, and will impose a lockout that costs thousands of jobs. Just to prove a point. Like Boehner. Just to be dicks, basically. What about them?
- Estimates of their combined net worth come out to over $40 billion.
- The owner of the seattle seahawks has a 414 foot yacht, as well as two submarines and two backup yachts.
- The owner of the washington redskins (D.C's backyard) got busted for trying to sell stale peanuts from a defunct airline to his fans at the stadium. Daniel Snyder is regarded as a d-bag within the sports world for many other reasons beyond that.
- The owners won't open up their books to show why they need an extra billion of the revenue pie. Hardly good-faith negotiations, that.
- Jeffrey Lurie, who owns the Eagles, has an 18-bedroom estate, three-hole golf course, bowling alley, two story rec center and indoor tennis court.
-Stan Kroenke, who owns the St. Louis Rams, has four houses, four ranches and three vineyards. ---"He once ordered his employees to destroy $3 million in wine because he didn't think it was up to his standards."
-part-owner of the miami dolphins, jennifer lopez, spoke of auctioning off her kids' clothing because she does not want her kids to ever wear the same clothes twice.
So many parallels to what GOP is doing nationwide. Koch bros are using scott walker as their own roger goodell (the head of the owners' association). Multiple sources have confirmed the job kills that would results from a lockout:
NFL Lockout Could Cost $160 Million, 115,000 Jobs
They've even dragged Obama into the debate:
“You've got owners, most of whom are worth close to a billion dollars; you've got players who are making millions of dollars,” President Obama said. “At a time when people are having to cut back, compromise and worry about making the mortgage and, you know, paying for their kid's college education…the two parties should be able to work it out without the president of the United States intervening.”
The president, a Chicago Bears fan who refused to announce whom he was rooting for in the Super Bowl, said, “I'm a big football fan, but I also think that for an industry that's making $9 billion a year in revenue, they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way and be true to their fans, who are the ones who obviously allow for all the money that they're making.”
-abc news
Keep in mind the average NFL career is only 3 or 4 years, whereas these teams stay in the same owners' hands for decades. 1 billion dollars is 1000 times as much as 1 million, but your average American doesn't see either of those numbers in their bank account, ever. Just how rich are NFL owners? Disney's ESPN.com has this take on the numbers:
http://espn.go.com/...
New England Patriots owner and paper magnate Robert Kraft tied for 655th with an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion. Kraft maintained his net worth from the 2009 Forbes list, but plummeted 187 spots in the world rankings. To show how much the ratings can fluctuate, he ranked 843rd in 2008 with a net worth estimate of $1.4 billion.
The New York Jets' owner is Woody Johnson. He's part of the Johnson & Johnson medical and pharmaceutical fortune. The Johnson family ranks perennially among the top 10 richest American families. Forbes estimated the family's net worth at $13 billion last year.
Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson doesn't appear on the list. Forbes estimated the Bills' franchise was worth $909 million last year, 26th in the NFL.
Other owners who appear on the 2010 Forbes list: Malcolm Glazer (400th at $2.4 billion), Jerry Jones (556th at $1.8 billion), Jim Irsay (721st at $1.4 billion), Arthur Blank (773rd at $1.3 billion) and Bud Adams, Dan Snyder and Alex Spanos (tied for 880th at $1.1 billion) and Randy Lerner and Jeff Lurie (tied for 937th at $1 billion).