BillnutinHouston Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 Fox News Sunday just did a feature on Washington Capitols owner Ted Leonsis. This guy answers every email he gets from fans. Fox even published his email address at the end of their story so fans could try it. When asked what the biggest mistake of most sports owners is, he said, (paraphrasing here) "acting like they know enough about the sport to call the shots. I would not even pretend to know what I'm doing and act like a GM. My job is to pay for what the team needs, and make sure the beer is cold." Other quotes (paraphrased) “Every owner holds the mental health of their community in the palm of their hand.” “winning a championship can make grown men cry.” “I will not rest, or die a happy man until I win a title.” Heavy sigh....
JohnC Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 Fox News Sunday just did a feature on Washington Capitols owner Ted Leonsis. This guy answers every email he gets from fans. Fox even published his email address at the end of their story so fans could try it. When asked what the biggest mistake of most sports owners is, he said, (paraphrasing here) "acting like they know enough about the sport to call the shots. I would not even pretend to know what I'm doing and act like a GM. My job is to pay for what the team needs, and make sure the beer is cold." Other quotes (paraphrased) “Every owner holds the mental health of their community in the palm of their hand.” “winning a championship can make grown men cry.” “I will not rest, or die a happy man until I win a title.” Heavy sigh.... I live in the DC metro area (Maryland)and have watched Ted Leonsis grow as an owner. When he first took over the Capitals he tried making a splash with expensive free agent pickups, most notably was Jamir Jagr. That was an unmitigated disaster. He admitted his mistake and decided to build through the draft and build a strong organization. He is doing the same thing with the Wizards, which he recently got the controlling interest. Ted Leonsis is one of the most responsible and accessible owners in sports. Not only does he answer e-mails but he mingles with the fans at games and responds to their concerns. His priority is winning within a fiscally responsible way. The Bills are stuck with an owner who has sucked the oxygen (and last nickle) out of the franchise. What I would give to have an owner like Ted Leonsis.
Bob in STL Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 (edited) I live in the DC metro area (Maryland)and have watched Ted Leonsis grow as an owner. When he first took over the Capitals he tried making a splash with expensive free agent pickups, most notably was Jamir Jagr. That was an unmitigated disaster. He admitted his mistake and decided to build through the draft and build a strong organization. He is doing the same thing with the Wizards, which he recently got the controlling interest. Ted Leonsis is one of the most responsible and accessible owners in sports. Not only does he answer e-mails but he mingles with the fans at games and responds to their concerns. His priority is winning within a fiscally responsible way. The Bills are stuck with an owner who has sucked the oxygen (and last nickle) out of the franchise. What I would give to have an owner like Ted Leonsis. Yes Wilson is an old school guy and he is not going to email fans. Wilson committment to winning has always been counter-balanced by the financial bottom line. However ... lets at least give him some props for keeping the team in Buffalo and voting against all the franchise moves in the past. Please recall that many owners have moved their teams from more lucrative marklets than Buffalo (Baltimore Colts, St. Louis Cardinals, LA Rams, Oakland Raiders, LA Raiders and the Cleveland Browns). Edited October 24, 2010 by Bob in STL
purple haze Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 (edited) I live in the DC metro area (Maryland)and have watched Ted Leonsis grow as an owner. When he first took over the Capitals he tried making a splash with expensive free agent pickups, most notably was Jamir Jagr. That was an unmitigated disaster. He admitted his mistake and decided to build through the draft and build a strong organization. He is doing the same thing with the Wizards, which he recently got the controlling interest. Ted Leonsis is one of the most responsible and accessible owners in sports. Not only does he answer e-mails but he mingles with the fans at games and responds to their concerns. His priority is winning within a fiscally responsible way. The Bills are stuck with an owner who has sucked the oxygen (and last nickle) out of the franchise. What I would give to have an owner like Ted Leonsis. I'm a Bullets fan. Emailed Ted Leonsis back in June when he officially took over the team with some things I wanted to see change about the organization. Lo and behold a couple weeks later I have an email in my inbox from Ted addressing my suggestions. Yes, he is a breath of fresh air. Edited October 24, 2010 by purple haze
CodeMonkey Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 Fox News Sunday just did a feature on Washington Capitols owner Ted Leonsis. This guy answers every email he gets from fans. Fox even published his email address at the end of their story so fans could try it. When asked what the biggest mistake of most sports owners is, he said, (paraphrasing here) "acting like they know enough about the sport to call the shots. I would not even pretend to know what I'm doing and act like a GM. My job is to pay for what the team needs, and make sure the beer is cold." Other quotes (paraphrased) “Every owner holds the mental health of their community in the palm of their hand.” “winning a championship can make grown men cry.” “I will not rest, or die a happy man until I win a title.” Heavy sigh.... Is he looking for a football team???
outsidethebox Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 Fox News Sunday just did a feature on Washington Capitols owner Ted Leonsis. This guy answers every email he gets from fans. Fox even published his email address at the end of their story so fans could try it. When asked what the biggest mistake of most sports owners is, he said, (paraphrasing here) "acting like they know enough about the sport to call the shots. I would not even pretend to know what I'm doing and act like a GM. My job is to pay for what the team needs, and make sure the beer is cold." Other quotes (paraphrased) “Every owner holds the mental health of their community in the palm of their hand.” “winning a championship can make grown men cry.” “I will not rest, or die a happy man until I win a title.” Heavy sigh.... Wow! For a minute there I thought this was about Ralph!
JohnC Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 Yes Wilson is an old school guy and he is not going to email fans. Wilson committment to winning has always been counter-balanced by the financial bottom line. However ... lets at least give him some props for keeping the team in Buffalo and voting against all the franchise moves in the past. Please recall that many owners have moved their teams from more lucrative marklets than Buffalo (Baltimore Colts, St. Louis Cardinals, LA Rams, Oakland Raiders, LA Raiders and the Cleveland Browns). If you are primarily going to judge the caliber of an owner by staying in a location then he is in your evaluation system a resounding success. What you leave out is that as much as the owner whines about the economic environment of the area the owner is not paying a financial penalty in keeping the franchise in western NY. He has been richly rewarded by the franchise located in western NY. The owner has made in the vicinity of a quarter of billion $$$ over the past eight years off of this franchise and market. The public authorities built him a stadium and upgraded it without him contributing a penny. Putting the money issue aside there is little doubt (at least in my view) that the Bills are one of the worst if not the worst run franchises in the NFL. The Bills are the most ridiculed and ignored franchise in the league. The organization is in a shambles. The Bills are presenlty no better than being an expansion caliber of a team. I primarily fault the ineptitude of the owner. He is the primary decision-maker in hiring and designing the organizational structure. Whether the team is located in Buffalo or anywhere else what is the point of owning a NFL franchise if you are not trying to compete? If you are trying to compete and can't compete then again I ask what is the point of owning a franchise? The Bills are what they are because the owner is who he is. It is a sad state of affairs.
C.Biscuit97 Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 Yes Wilson is an old school guy and he is not going to email fans. Wilson committment to winning has always been counter-balanced by the financial bottom line. However ... lets at least give him some props for keeping the team in Buffalo and voting against all the franchise moves in the past. Please recall that many owners have moved their teams from more lucrative marklets than Buffalo (Baltimore Colts, St. Louis Cardinals, LA Rams, Oakland Raiders, LA Raiders and the Cleveland Browns). I agree with most of your point but I think the bottomline isn't as big of a problem as you think. The Bills always spend money on players (a lot of times the wrong ones). The 90s Bills must have had one of the highest payrolls in league history. And he spent a lot of money on players while charging by far and away the least for tickets in the league. There's no a doubt in my mind that RW wants to win badly. Unfortunately i nthe NFL, there's a lot that goes into winning. The last time RW hired a "football guy," TD destroyed the franchise. TD has full control and led us no where. As a result, he then chose to hire people he trusted (Marv, Brandon) and get more involved. Now, he has gone back to the regular GM style but it's gonna take patience. RW is a very good man. I have nothing but the highest respect for him. It saddens (and pisses me off) the stuff some people write about him. We all want to win, unfortunately it hasn't happened in a decade. They try (Bledsoe trade, Losman, RJ) but the moves jsut haven't worked. But face the facts. 99% of sports owners would have move the Bills a long time ago. As much as it sucks, we are very lucky to still have a team. And I really believe RW has a plan to keep the team here. He is a HOFer and no one deserves to see a winner more than he does. It will be a very sad day when he passes and maybe people could give him the respect he deserves then.
birdog1960 Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 I agree with most of your point but I think the bottomline isn't as big of a problem as you think. The Bills always spend money on players (a lot of times the wrong ones). The 90s Bills must have had one of the highest payrolls in league history. And he spent a lot of money on players while charging by far and away the least for tickets in the league. There's no a doubt in my mind that RW wants to win badly. Unfortunately i nthe NFL, there's a lot that goes into winning. The last time RW hired a "football guy," TD destroyed the franchise. TD has full control and led us no where. As a result, he then chose to hire people he trusted (Marv, Brandon) and get more involved. Now, he has gone back to the regular GM style but it's gonna take patience. RW is a very good man. I have nothing but the highest respect for him. It saddens (and pisses me off) the stuff some people write about him. We all want to win, unfortunately it hasn't happened in a decade. They try (Bledsoe trade, Losman, RJ) but the moves jsut haven't worked. But face the facts. 99% of sports owners would have move the Bills a long time ago. As much as it sucks, we are very lucky to still have a team. And I really believe RW has a plan to keep the team here. He is a HOFer and no one deserves to see a winner more than he does. It will be a very sad day when he passes and maybe people could give him the respect he deserves then. couldn't disagree more. wilson has treated bills fans with contempt for most of 50 years, selling false hope to desperate gullible fans. some have wised up. some haven't
C.Biscuit97 Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 couldn't disagree more. wilson has treated bills fans with contempt for most of 50 years, selling false hope to desperate gullible fans. some have wised up. some haven't Contempt??? You're kidding yourself if you think any other owner would have keep the Bills here for over 40 years. I could be an age thing. I'm 30 and have spent half my life seeing awesome Bills teams and the other half seeing crappy ones. Maybe I'm just not as jaded as some older fans.
PromoTheRobot Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 Fox News Sunday just did a feature on Washington Capitols owner Ted Leonsis. This guy answers every email he gets from fans. Fox even published his email address at the end of their story so fans could try it. When asked what the biggest mistake of most sports owners is, he said, (paraphrasing here) "acting like they know enough about the sport to call the shots. I would not even pretend to know what I'm doing and act like a GM. My job is to pay for what the team needs, and make sure the beer is cold." Other quotes (paraphrased) “Every owner holds the mental health of their community in the palm of their hand.” “winning a championship can make grown men cry.” “I will not rest, or die a happy man until I win a title.” Heavy sigh.... Let's ask him to buy the Bills. PTR
C.Biscuit97 Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 Let's ask him to buy the Bills. PTR So he could move them?
JohnC Posted October 24, 2010 Posted October 24, 2010 I agree with most of your point but I think the bottomline isn't as big of a problem as you think. The Bills always spend money on players (a lot of times the wrong ones). The 90s Bills must have had one of the highest payrolls in league history. And he spent a lot of money on players while charging by far and away the least for tickets in the league. There's no a doubt in my mind that RW wants to win badly. Unfortunately i nthe NFL, there's a lot that goes into winning. The last time RW hired a "football guy," TD destroyed the franchise. TD has full control and led us no where. As a result, he then chose to hire people he trusted (Marv, Brandon) and get more involved. Now, he has gone back to the regular GM style but it's gonna take patience. RW is a very good man. I have nothing but the highest respect for him. It saddens (and pisses me off) the stuff some people write about him. We all want to win, unfortunately it hasn't happened in a decade. They try (Bledsoe trade, Losman, RJ) but the moves jsut haven't worked. But face the facts. 99% of sports owners would have move the Bills a long time ago. As much as it sucks, we are very lucky to still have a team. And I really believe RW has a plan to keep the team here. He is a HOFer and no one deserves to see a winner more than he does. It will be a very sad day when he passes and maybe people could give him the respect he deserves then. There is no need to go back and forth. My simple point is that the Bills are a dismal failure on the field because of his own decisions. They have been disasterous. The owner has owned the franchise for half a century. The general history is mediocrity. The irony with Ralph Wilson is that the few standout people who have been responsible for its success on the field have been driven out of the organization by the manner in which the owner has run the team. Polian, Butler/A.J. Smith and Chuck Knox. Lou Saban is in a separate category by himself. Does Ralph, as you suggest, have a plan to keep the team in western NY? I don't know. Only he and his close advisors know. That in itself is an odd approach to take. Why not let the region know what his plans are? As an owner I have little regard for him. That doesn't mean I wish him ill will or that I look forward to the time of his departure (as some crude posters do). I detest that ignorant sentiment sometimes posted here. I hope you don't think that I fall in that disgraceful category? The owner is 92 yrs old. There comes a time when you have to realize what you can and can not do. The Bills are in a shambles. It is going to take many years (as you noted) to undo the damage that has been done by the owner's own handiwork.
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