A Panthers fan on another board made a great effortpost about Jerry Richardson, Panthers owner. I'm just gonna c/p it cuz it's pretty good and some of you may find it interesting:
In the midst of their worst season since the disastrous 2001 one campaign, the carolina panthers' owner did something very rare tonight: he addressed the fans and media. Even stranger, he apologized:
"This has been a most difficult season in every respect," Richardson says Monday afternoon in his first public comments of the season. "With the way we finished last year, and many of the same players returning, we believed in our opportunity for success. It has not worked out the way anyone hoped and I accept full responsibility."I apologize to our fans who have supported us so well. Bringing a championship to the Carolinas has always been our goal and that will continue."
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/11/08/1823453/so-many-questions-no-one-to-answer.html#ixzz14kSnyqkA
If this reeks of insincerity to you, you're right. The apology is late in coming and meaningless until he addresses the glaring holes he himself has put on this team.
However, it's interesting in that this is the first time he's addressed the press/fans in over three years. Many of the who fans complain about an owner who won't shut up in the media have never experienced an owner who only exists behind the scenes.
It's an interesting development in the year of the life of a man who has gone out of his way to screw over the fraternity he is a part of. Many people have heard Jerry Richardson's name mentioned in the CBA, and have surely read me cursing him in weekly Open Letters thread, but I suspect that very few people actually know anything about the man. It's a very interesting situation, and I think it's the kind of thread the fine readers of SAS would enjoy. So here we go.
The Beginning
"Raymond Berry was split on the left and would make his cut into the middle underneath the linebacker. I lined up close to the tackle and would swing wide to the outside. It really was Berry's play all the way. He had done it a thousand times. But Unitas looked off Berry, and I looked around and saw the ball coming to me. I squeezed it tight and went into the end zone standing up. I never expected the ball and neither did the Giants."
Jerry Richardson's touchdown against the Giants in the super bowl was effectively the clincher. It was his rookie year and was his seventh catch of the season. However, instead of starting what would have likely been a long NFL career, he got bogged down in contract negotiations.
Unitas eventually got his $25,000, but not until he took his case to owner Carroll Rosenbloom. By then, Unitas was among the league's best players. Less persuasive, apparently, was Richardson, whose contract called for him to be paid $9,750 for his third season, in 1961, but who wanted a full five figures. He was drawing an Army stipend while fulfilling his military commitment in the off-season, had invested his '59 championship check—$4,674—and was living frugally. But he had a wife and two kids and a third on the way, and no, he wasn't Raymond Berry. Still, he had caught a touchdown pass in the championship game, and $9,750 just didn't seem right. Over $250, he walked. Left camp in 1961 and never played another down of football. Went home to Spartanburg, S.C., and opened a hamburger stand.
over a contract dispute with his ownership, Jerry decided to retire from NFL football after only a season and open a hamburger stand in his hometown of Spartanburg, SC, a mosquito filled hell hole that truckers stop at on 85 to visit strip clubs.
That hamburger stand became Hardee's/Carl Jr.'s, and he leveraged that into TW Services. In 1992, at the time he was lobbying to bring a team to his home state(s), TW owned:
the Denny's chain of 1,369 restaurants as well as 498 Hardee's restaurants, 216 Quincy's Family Steakhouses, 223 El Polio Locos, and Canteen, which provides concession services to everything from Yankee Stadium to Yellowstone National Park.
Buying the Team
In the early nineties, Charlotte was the biggest boom town in the nation. It was headquarters of Nations Bank which would eventually become Bank of America. Down the road were four universities pumping out skilled engineers and bankers to be. The local government was incredibly pliable to the interests of big business and would show very quickly they'd do whatever it would take to bring a team to the city.
Most importantly, Charlotte (and the surrounding areas) was absolutely rabid for professional sports. The Hornets had led the league in attendance since their inception (due largely to a now unthinkable 23,000 seat arena which they sold out nightly) and the Carolinas were a hotbed for football. While many people think of North Carolina as a basketball state, the real passion among people there is football. In the 70s and 80s, my Alma Mater South Meck would regularly seat 45,000 people for their football games. Many an SEC championship was built on talent siphoned from the basketball state.
Richardson was one of three major investment groups that were trying to bring a team to the Carolina. On top of the reasons I listed, Carolina (and Jacksonville) were projected to be the quickest growing regions in the country. Carolina got a team over Baltimore (that would have replaced the Colts and was eventually filled with the Browns) and the Panthers were born.
But how did they manage to pull this off?
Charlotte is a very interesting town. What started as a NASCAR town quickly became one of the banking centers of the country. It's essentially a large gated community with a very big down town. It's corporate as fuck and doesn't have anything resembling a soul. All you'll remember from Charlotte if you visit are the crisp, manicured lawns and clean down town streets. If you're in your twenties there's no reason at all to live in the city.
It's also one of the wealthiest cities in America.
Richardson represented the perfect pitchman for a team. On one hand, he was a homegrown product, having grown up just down the street in Spartanburg, SC. He would be the first (and to this day only) former player owner in the NFL. He had that down home quality that the common folk from around the city respected. Also, he's an incredibly imposing figure. My father was involved in the initial negotiations (when they were trying to line up corporate sponsors) and a 6 year old Fiz got to meet the man. All I remember was that he was huge, and my hand vanished in his. The proles loved him.
So did the bankers. Richardson was an absolutely ruthless businessman, and he presented a fairly novel at the time idea to construct what would become Ericsson Stadium: Permanent Seat Licenses.
The way PSLs work is that essentially you invest in the right to buy seats. For the business minded folks of Charlotte in the mid nineties boom years, this made perfect sense. Richardson had promised a Super Bowl within 10 years, and the Panthers were 12-4 after their second season, with a visit to the NFC Championship game to top it all off. SURELY these were only going to appreciate in value? Surely with an owner like Richardson they'd never have a string of crushing seasons.
what's that they say about pride, and where it goeth?
Richardson got the team and built the stadium. On one hand, very little public funds went into the construction of the stadium, and that should be applauded. All too often tax dollars go into stadiums for teams that have absolutely no incentive to actually win, as evidenced by the downtown Charlotte coliseum forced through the city council a year after voters turned down a proposal to build George "unrepentant rapist" Shinn an arena.
On the other hand, the PSL scam effectively priced out anyone but the wealthiest of prospective buyers. I very specifically didn't write fans in the previous sentence. Attending Carolina Panthers games in the lower bowl is akin to going to church. Profanity is an offense which can get you kicked out of the stadium. So is taking off your shirt, cheering too loudly, and standing up. No, I'm not kidding. On top of that, a Panthers ticket is the easiest in town to get. The owners of the PSLs aren't hard to talk into selling. There's not much of a homefield advantage there.
And so, the Panthers were born. A team fueled by the most fairweather of fans' dollars in a free stadium for a former player who bailed on the league after his rookie season over 250 dollars. This will turn out well.
The Shield
I'm not going to bore you with the history of the Panthers, how they've started 1-7 4 out of their 16 years in the league, or how they've never had back to back seasons, or how Richardson chased Bill Polian out of town.
What you care about is how he relates to your team, and let's get to that. In 2008, in the midst of a Panthers season to remember, some dumb hick from Alaska on the Carolinahuddle message board started a petition about something I honestly never noticed. At midfield at (now) Bank of America Stadium was the NFL shield instead of the Panthers logo. This might not seem like a lot at first glance, but think of another team that does this. Jerry has always been outspoken about his love for the NFL, but this was kinda scary.
The petition was mildly successful. They put a panthers logo near the sidelines, and the entire nation got to see its majesty as Jake Delhomme threw 5 interceptions in prime time. Great night for me. After that, Jerry Richardson would require a heart transplant and nearly die on the operating table. He acquired the heart under what many considered ridiculous circumstances (75 year old man suddenly at the front of a donor list?) and many people were grateful that "big cat" had pulled through.
The CBA
I highly recommend that everyone dig up Kalli's thread about the CBA. All the information you want in the world is in that thread.
For those of you that are :effort: about it, here's the tl;dr:
owners feel that Tagliabue cut the players a sweetheart deal so he wouldn't sully his legacy in the last year of his job. Because of this, the owners have been threatening a lockout for no reason except that they want to eat at a nicer cafeteria. on top of that, many owners in the league are angry about profit sharing, hating that their hard earned profits go to the Tampa Bays and Oaklands of the world. Jerry is one of them, somehow making his bottom five TV market team into one of the 12 most profitable franchises in the league.
Jerry Richardson, the former player who gave up on the league, charged his fans for their stadium, has the NFL shield at midfield, and actively works against the fans doing anything that might provide an homefield advantage, headed up a group of four owners who were leading the charge. The other three were Jerry Jones (obviously), Pat Bowlen, and SA2K's most hated owner Robert Kraft. Jerry carries a lot of clout with the owners, being one of the most cutthroat businessmen and the only former player.
And Jerry would lead them into the financial promised land.
Fuck you Panthers, Fuck you Fans
Leading into the 2010 season, Jerry decided to send a message. Payroll was slashed. The Panthers decided to part ways with/let walk Jake Delhomme, Na'ill Diggs, Brad Hoover, Muhsin Muhammed, Damione Lewis, Julius Peppers, Hollis Thomas, Maake Kemoeatu, and Keydrick Vincent. These were all starters. On top of that Chris Harris was traded for pennies after criticizing the administration.
However, the losses themselves weren't terribly debilitating. Peppers wasn't going to stay here (the previous year they'd offered to make him the highest paid player in the nfl), Moose was done, hoover retired, diggs is nothing, and all the other guys are doing hardly anything.
The main problem was who the Panthers went out and signed in the offseason: namely, no one. Well, specifically Derek Landri and Ed Johnson, but the point still stands.
On top of that, John Fox was entering the final year of his contract. Fox is generally considered a quality coach, despite his records. Since 2002, he's had three winning seasons, and none of them back to back. There have been specific seasons where you can't really blame him (2004 and 2007), but overall I'd say his tenure has been disappointing, due mainly to his lack of creativity and over loyalty to veterans, but I digress.
2010
Jerry Richardson's strategy in this writer's opinion was this. He was to cut salary as much as possible (it's down to 48 million this year after you take out Delhomme's remaining contract), maybe milk your way to 8 wins, go into a new CBA with tons of cap space, and you've sent a message to not only your own players, but the rest of the owners. That message is that we're not going to be held hostage to your ridiculous contract demands. The league is better than your union, and we'll prove it, regardless if I have to cut off my nose to spite my own face. Besides, he's in the perfect position to do this. because of PSLs, he's guaranteed money, and it's not like the suck ass bobcats are going to take his fans. Well, these things didn't work out.
Fox was offered the chance to walk prior to the season. Fox, not being a dummy and realizing A. he would forfeit 6 million dollars and B. he'll have a job regardless declined. Everyone on the team knew that this was his last season before it began, and many people have speculated that it has shown. The team lacked any sense of urgency heading into the preseason (not a single touchdown scored). Shit rolls downhill, and it rolled the entire season.
Add on to this the Panthers were completely inactive in free agency. Incredibly, on defense, the strategy actually worked, and that speaks volumes to I think Jon Beason and Ron Meeks. There is tons of talent on defense, in my opinion one of the more talented units in the league, and despite everything DVOA has them ranked as a top five unit.
The last ranked in absolutely every category offense is a completely different story. If you watch the Panthers offense right now, you'll notice a bunch of problems, namely offensive line depth, a number 2 WR, and a veteran QB.
Instead of signing or pursuing any of the free agents in the offseason (Boldin, Housh) they decided to go with a stable of rookie WRs and Dwayne Jarrett. Well, Dwayne Jarrett was cut, Brandon Lafell is terrible, and their number 2 receiver is David Gettis.
After letting Keydrick Vincent go and die in Tampa Bay, it would make sense that the Panthers sign some offensive line backups in case the unthinkable happens and someone misses a game. Well, Jeff Otah has yet to play and Mackenzie Bernadeau was terrible at right guard. Boy, sure would nice to have some options on the offensive line, wouldn't it?
Before anyone gives me shit about Matt Moore, I was screaming for them to sign a backup veteran QB during the offseason, if nothing more than to mentor for whomever started taking the snaps. They didn't of course and the worst case scenario happened. Matt Moore went full Jake Delhomme and was finally placed on IR today. Instead of being able to turn to a veteran QB who could manage the offense and not turn the ball over, the Panthers' QB depth chart is now Jimmy Clausen, Tony Pike, and Armanti Edwards. They did work out Keith Null today, so maybe there's hope on the horizon.
The result is the worst offense in the NFL, historically bad for the Panthers with the potential to be historically bad for the league. John Fox is deflecting blame, constantly telling reporters in press conferences to ask the personnel department about player problems. Steve Smith described the situation as "trying to pull a piano with one leg and one foot."
On top of this, three of the Panthers best players (DeAngelo, Davis, Kalil) are sitting without a contract after this years. Decisions are going to have to be made. Luckily Davis will be cheap, Kalil has to be resigned, and DeAngelo sitting out might help the team with his new contract. This says nothing about James Anderson who has inexplicably turned into one of the more productive linebackers in the league.
This is all for Jerry Richardson to prove a point, one that the rest of the owners in his group of four declined to do. Jerry Jones of course extended Miles Austin and went into this season with the full extension of hosting a super bowl. Bob Kraft stuck it to the players union by giving Tom Brady a record contract. Pat Bowlen signed Elvis Dumervil to a long term contract. Jerry Richardson played a fiddle.
The Aftermath
What does this mean for all of you? Not much. There likely won't be a holdout, simply because the NFL can't handle that many anti-trust lawsuits. At worst, there will be an 18 game season and a slight readjustment in the collective bargaining agreement.
For Panthers fans, they will have lost a season just for their power hungry owner to prove a point. He put a product on the field that couldn't compete simply to send a message to a a group of player making up the most stereotypical of rich white people nightmares: a destructive, malicious union blowing up cars in the parking lot and holding their owners captive. Except of course that's not what the union is, and they're only trying to hold on to what the owners gave them last time. And the Union isn't made up of rabid communists, it's made up of players, the people that make the league viable, and a group richardson used to be a party of.
It's too late for him to apologize to the fan base. He's done irreparable damage, and will likely be dead before the team turns it around again.
I don't know how to end this or anything. I guess it's a parable or something.
― Princess TamTam, Wednesday, 10 November 2010 20:56 (fourteen years ago)