So I’m listening to a local sports talk show while driving the other day and Bengal Bob or Who Dey Steve or Delhi Dave or whoever the guy’s alter ego was, says something I’ve heard oh, about 12,489 times over the past few years. He says, and I quote’ “Mike Brown’s a good businessman but he doesn’t know anything about football.” It was at that point, I guess just due to years of repressed stern disagreement, that my brain had finally had enough. I started seeing blue and pink spots, tore the steering wheel clean off its mounting and careened headlong into a side-of-the-road fruit stand. Actually, I just muttered “what a moron” to myself and jammed my banana smoothie back in to the cup holder, but you get the idea. The point is, can we please invoke a moratorium on the whole “Mike Brown is a Good Businessman” theme? I mean, Jesus, people, it’s not only not true, it’s false (whatever). It’s borderline blasphemous, annoyingly egregious and downright insulting to bonafide businessmen everywhere.
Why is he a good businessman, because he negotiated a lopsided deal with Hamilton County and the City of Cincinnati? We’re talking about negotiations with the likes of Bob Bedinghaus and Jim Tarbell, etal. Anyone could’ve distracted those groups by rolling out a brightly colored ball of yarn and some tinsel and written their own ticket. Oh, and beating the IRS in court, you say. Um, Mike Brown didn’t beat the IRS, his attorney, James Malone, beat the IRS. You think Mikey Boy with his speech impediment and monotone delivery is eloquent enough to sway a high level judge? Whatev.
Since when could someone inherit a business, fail miserably at one of the two main goals of that business, and be referred to as a good businessman? Uh, never. Unless your name is Mike F. Brown (more on the “F” later)> The two main indisputable goals of any professional sports franchise are to a) make a healthy profit, and b) win games, if not championships. While MFB has succeeded with a), he’s been horrible at b). Now, some will argue that ultimately, making money is more important than winning, so MFB has succeeded at the more important, and most important, goal of his business. I can’t and won’t argue with that but I will contend that the two goals are not exclusive of one another. Plenty of owners accomplish both goals with the understanding that winning often parlays itself into more revenue (see: Kraft, Robert; Irsay, Jim; Rooney, Family).
Obviously, the bottom line of any company, hell, any household for that matter, is affected by two things: money coming in and money going out, MFB limits the amount of money going out better than any owner in the history of owners but he does a terrible job of maximizing money coming in. Think of it this way: If your wife tells you that the checking account is getting frighteningly low and the household budget is in the red each month, you have three choices- 1) cut expenses, 2) work hard to get a promotion, raise, bonus, etc., 3) cut expenses and work harder for more money. MFB’s mindset is to cut expenses to the bone. This doesn’t make him a good businessman; it merely makes him an unimaginative tightass. On the flipside, someone like Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (and about 29 of the 32 current NFL owners) has the mindset to work harder, win more games, expand the fan base, market to new client bases, and increase demand to he can raise prices and increase revenue. It’d be one thing to give MFB a pass on this because, well, who are we to say how he should keep his business afloat but that’s not what we’re talking about. What we’re talking about is increasing profits. MFB cuts to the bone to increase profits, not to make ends meet. Hell, in today’s NFL, the negotiated television contracts combined with the negotiated salary cap have set up the owners to the point where they are guaranteed a healthy profit for the year before they even roll the tackling sleds out for training camp.
I like to compare the NFL to McDonalds. It’s a unique product, widely loved and consumed, part of the fabric of America, with a brand name that makes it nearly impossible for one of its franchises to fail. Outside of having to fund a rabid cocaine habit or a serious gambling addiction, it’s basically impossible to fail with a McDonald’s franchise. Mike F. Brown’s like the owner of the shittiest McDonalds in town. Sure, he makes a healthy profit but the coffee’s always cold, the floor’s always sticky, the drive thru is mind-numbingly slow, the workers always seem to screw up your order, and the bathrooms smell like a homeless guy with four cats lived in it for the past week. But people begrudgingly go there because it’s the only McDonalds in the neighborhood and they need their weekly Big Mac fix (or McRib, depending on your part of town). If he just hired better management, spent more to get better front line help and put the needs of his customers first, he’d make a much larger profit. Why cut back and piss off your loyal client base when you can spend a little more, make a little more, and improve your image? Especially when your client base is not only paying for your product but also paying taxes to pay off your building for you.
Side note: If MFB actually did own a McDonalds, it wouldn’t be more than three months and Ronald would be asking to be traded and Mikey Boy would be trying to rehabilitate the Hamburglar, right?
MFB was handed a golden goose by his father and instead of taking care of the goose, feeding it well, giving it a good life and putting it in a healthy environment where it can yield the most golden eggs, he’s got it leg-shackled to a pipe down in the basement, feeding it month-old bread crumbs under the flicker of some failing fluorescent lights while blasting propaganda messages and German death metal through an old loudspeaker. He has not been an adequate caretaker of the goose. Nor has he been an adequate businessman. A good businessman would know his or her own limitations, react to customer feedback, reward productive and loyal employees (Willie Anderson), weed out poorly producing an malcontented employees (Cinco and Henry), feed revenues back into the company to increase product quality and productivity, look for innovative ways to get a leg-up on the competition, and strive to help improve the overall good of the community in which the business resides. That’s not Mike F. Brown. Never has been, never will be. Oh, and the “F”, it stands for “Fucking”. (Because it fits and it flows beautifully)
Now that we’ve debunked the MFB “good businessman” myth, whaddya say we shoot down some other commonly accepted falsehoods around the NFL?
Bring on the matchups….
Thursday Night
Saints at Bears-
Myth: It’s been widely reported (at least amongst my friends) that the mother of Bears head coach Lovie Smith was a huge Gilligan’s Island fan and named her son after Thurston Howell III’s wife.
Reality: Surprisingly, this is not true. His real birth name is Lovie Lee Smith and he was named after his great aunt Luvana. Lovie grew up in Sandy, Texas with his parents and three brothers- Ginger, Mary Ann, and Skipper.
Sunday
Buccaneers at Falcons-
Myth: From almost the time it was initially unveiled, the Bucs original logo, Bucco Bruce, was thought to have been a tribute to a band of gay pirates that roamed the Caribbean in the early 1800s.
Reality: Actually however, the logo was the creation of then Tampa Times cartoonist Lamar Sparkman who was commissioned to design a logo that didn’t look too much like that of the other “pirates” in the league. You may recognize some of Sparkman’s other works such as....
Seahawks at Rams-
Myth: Recently, it has been rumored that the terminology used by Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in this commercial was just jibberish and had no meaning whatsoever.
Reality: Well, while it’s true that it is not actual terminology from the Seahawks playbook, it does have meaning. Its code formerly used by Matt and his brother Tim when they were younger and chasing tail. This particular code was the one Matt texted to Tim when Tim first introduced Elizabeth (now his wife) to the family. It decodes as follows: Change Right (Republican Hottie), A Right (Nice Ass), Two Jet Dancer (Nice perky tits), Fake Forty (You should definitely get her drunk by spiking her drink), at Shallow Cross (in the back of your XR7).
Bills at Jets-
Myth: It’s been a common belief that Fireman Ed, the fan wearing a Jets-themed fireman helmet who starts the J! E! T! S! cheers during the Jets home games, is an actual NYC fireman. In reality, the clown’s name is Ed Anzalone and indeed he…..Wait a minute, I’m getting way off point here-
Reality: J! E! T! S! Suck! SUCK!! SUCK!!!
Titans at Texans-
Myth: Titans head coach Jeff Fisher has a pet ferret named Pastorini that he keeps in his mustache.
Reality: There is no animal living in Jeff Fisher’s mustache. But he does have a pet ferret. During the season, it lives with Mama Squintz, usually taking warmth inside her girdle and occasionally heading south to forage for crumbs stuck in her pubic hair.
Packers at Jaguars-
Myth: Everyone in Green Bay is fat and lives on a steady diet of cheese, sausage and Krispy Kremes.
Reality: This is a completely overblown stereotype. Our studies show that at least seven people in the Green Bay area are not, I repeat, not morbidly obese.
Chargers at Chiefs-
Myth: Due to the disappointing season in San Diego, the natives are restless and fingers are being pointed. A local fan group which calls itself The Current, has started circulating negative talk directed at quarterback Philip Rivers. On their official web site which doesn’t exist, the claim is made that Rivers is nothing but a quick-tempered red neck with a bad haircut and a weakness for roasted possum.
Reality: Rivers is actually a pretty decent red neck quarterback with a quick temper, bad haircut and a weakness for roasted possum.
Niners at Dolphins-
Myth: Before the game winning two-minute drive against Cincinnati in Super Bowl XXIII, Joe Montana lightened the mood in the huddle by pointing out John Candy sitting in the stands.
Reality: It’s true. Damn the Niners, Damn them straight to Hell!!!
Lions at Colts-
Myth: If the car industry bailout does not get through Congress, the Ford family will be forced to sell the team. On the list of prospective new owners is Detroit native Robert James Ritchie, aka Kid Rock.
Reality: William Clay Ford is on record as saying that he will never sell the Lions, bailout or no bailout. Ford says the Lions are “part of the Ford family and have a special place in our hearts, just like the Tempo, the Festiva, and the Pinto.”
Redskins at Bengals-
Myth: The name “Redskins” is a derogatory term used since the European colonization of America to describe native American Indians, referring to the reddish tint to their skin. The Native American community continues to be outraged by the use of this term by a major sports franchise residing in our nation’s capital.
Reality: The term “Redskins” hasn’t been hurled at anyone as a racial slur since about 1792. In fact, in 1933, George Preston Marshall, the owner of the team, which was then located in Boston, renamed it the Boston Redskins in honor of the head coach, William "Lone Star" Dietz, an American Indian. When the team moved to Washington in 1937 it was renamed the Washington Redskins. George Marshall clearly did not consider the name disparaging. Marshall also owned one of the original ABA teams, the Blacksburg Blackies, and also a fledgling Texas League baseball team, the El Paso Beaners.
Vikings at Cardinals-
Myth: It’s been widely reported in the blogosphere that Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner sold his soul to the devil this past summer in return for one more MVP type of season.
Reality: True, but this is not the entire story. Warner actually sold his soul, a couple of rare Mick Jagger-autographed copies of the Stones’ Beggar’s Banquet album, and a case of Shiner Bock. Apparently Shiner Bock is very hard to find anywhere east of the river Styx.
Steelers at Ravens-
Myth: The Ravens defense has a bounty out on Hines Ward.
Reality: Roughly ten different NFL defenses have a bounty out on Hines Ward.
Patriots at Raiders-
Myth: The secret to Bill Belichek’s success lies somewhere within his hoodie. Some even claim that it contains the contents of the briefcase from Pulp Fiction.
Reality: The hoodie is simply a fashion statement. Belichek’s success comes from a power crystal surgically implanted into his navel which harnesses an incredible amount of wisdom and positive energy which he then transfers to his team.
Broncos at Panthers-
Myth: Broncos head coach Mike Shannahan wears dentures.
Reality: Surprisingly, no dentures. He just grinds his teeth a lot. But he does have a lazy eye and knee-buckling halitosis.
Giants at Cowboys-
Myth: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has had several cosmetic surgeries, including an earlobe reduction.
Reality: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has not had any cosmetic surgeries. He stays young by dancing with former child actors.
Monday Night
Browns at Eagles-
Myth: The brass at ESPN and NBC are seriously regretting the scheduling of the Browns for so many prime time games this season and are vowing not to get caught up in the same type of hype over a similar team next season.
Reality: ESPN and NBC are already internally committed to four prime time games each for the Texans, Dolphins, and Cardinals in 2009.
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