Quote:
Originally Posted by valo403
And you think that the current ownership group is any different? Based upon what?
|
Based upon the fact that before this all happened, Tom Hicks was hated by every single fan of his team. He singlehandedly destroyed Corinthians in Brazil(who were a powerhouse who needed a stadium...when he sold them they were relegated and in the same stadium), his Stars always spent under the cap, and the Rangers didn't make the playoffs under his tenure.
Gillett was the more sensible of the two. He owned the Habs, which is obviously a cash cow and spent to the max and built the new stadium(I believe).
NESV on the other hand, came into an eerily similar situation in Boston. The team hadn't won it's desired trophy for 84 years, Fenway Park needed to be remodeled or a new stadium built, and they were fast becoming an afterthought to the Yanks.
He re-did Fenway, better than anyone expected, he was a pioneer in hiring sabremetrical baseball minds(advanced stats), including a 28 year old out of Princeton(who nobody else would have hired), he changed the manager quickly, and there was a new air about the club. He spent money to bring in top class players, and 2 years later the team broke the "curse of the Bambino", and won a 2nd one the year after that to make it 2 titles in 4 years and now the Red Sox are in the same discussion with the Yankees again.
He also owns a highly successful NASCAR team, and just the other day, he cut off the engine supply to George Gillett's team - basically showing how far advanced he is compared to our former owner.
Within the first day of buying the club he set up meetings with SOS, a group of posters from the forum which spearheaded the Cowboys ousting(RAWK) and he talked with HJC(Hillsborough Justice Campaign). Upon entering the stadium for a tour, he took pictures with every single person at Anfield that day, leaving behind everyone in a smile.
Now you'll say what about the Marlins? The Marlins were a failing franchise. NESV saw an opportunity to improve the club both fiscally and results wise. He wanted to build a new stadium to move out of the aging Dolphin Stadium but was denied by the City. This left him no choice but to seek moving the club because frankly nobody was watching the team, the team sucked, and there was no hope on the horizon.
Suddenly his boyhood club, the Boston Redsox, come for sale. He sees an opportunity to really make his mark, so he makes his move there.
Now should there be an air of cautiousness? Yes, we'd be stupid, and fooled for the 2nd time if we assumed these guys were jesus reincarnated. But is there a cautious optimism surrounding these guys? Yes. We feel that the respect between the owners and the supporters are back, and we feel that the job they did with the Red Sox will be repeated here as best they can - which is the main reason Martin Broughton labeled this the preferred bid to Peter Lim's.