txpd
Registered User
ResidentAlien said:Do you really think that any of them are really losing money in the bigger picture? I am not just talking about this little corner(insert hockey team here) of their empire.
These guys dont buy teams to make a profit- they buy them to support their huge egos, they buy them to win, they buy them because they can.
I could just turn this around and ask you to explain to me how they are not greedy, but leave out the Poor Owner bunk, cause I dont buy it.
You dont get to that level of monetary success wihout being greedy, plain & simple..not that there is anything wrong with that..IMO
I think that fully depends on who the owner/owners are now doesn't it. I dont know who owns all the teams, but some of the owners are publicaly traded companies. Maybe Atlanta has been sold, but they were owned by Time/Life. Anaheim was owned by Disney. The Rangers are owned by a publically traded company. any team that is owned by a company, like say the Maple Leafs, are not in it for the ego boost.
While its true there may be a few teams like the Detroit Red Wings that have ownership that can lose any amount of money to get a win, there are teams like St. Louis and Washington that are getting bled dry by those teams. After a time their ego isn't worth it anymore.
I have a friend that is pretty successful. He bought a Ferrari for his ego. He could afford it, so he bought it and loved it. UNTIL....he found out that an oil change and basic maintainance was about $2,500 every 3,000 miles. After a couple of years of that he couldn't stand it anymore and sold it. Same thing with the hockey teams.
Ted Leonsis was willing to lose some money so that the Capitals could win more and make a bigger/better place for themselves in the local sports market. The loses were an investment in the long term growth of the team. Instead it became just a money pit and he stopped with the spending.
I think too many posters lump ALL these owners into the same catagory when there are a wide variety of personalities, motivations, and companies at play.
The guy that bought Buffalo and the guy that bought Ottawa did it to save the teams. Not to lose millions of dollars. Mario owns his team because he would lose money that the team owed him. He didnt buy for ego. Some people have hockey teams because they came with the arena and the basketball team. You think they are all in it for personal ego?
For every Ilitch, Snyder, and Hicks there is a Lemieux or Comcast that has the team for a different reason.