Sunday, January 30, 2011
For the Mets It's Cuban or Bust
Over the past few days, reports have begun to surface that the Wilpon Family, the majority owners of the New York Mets are looking to sell upwards of 25 percent of the team. The Mets are probably one of the few teams that is almost entirely owned by one family or person. To my best guess, I would say it is safe to assume that the Wilpons own somewhere in the neighborhood of 99 percent of the team. So even if the Wilpons sell 25 percent, they will still be by far and away the majority owner. To Mets fans like myself, this should come as a big surprise. The Wilpons for years have been adamant that they would not sell any portion of the team. Now a few years later with a rumored one billion dollar lawsuit being levied against them due to the Madoff ponzi scheme, the Wilpons need to raise money by selling off some of the Mets. The Wilpons are persistent in saying that they will remain the majority owners, but Matt Cerrone of Metsblog.com raises an interesting question, "What happens if one person or a large group decide to blow the Wilpons out of the water with an offer they can't refuse, especially in this economy and knowing the family is being sued? Then What?"(Metsblog.com) In my opinion, this is where Mark Cuban enters the room. Cuban who is a wild and crazy sports fans owns the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, but has wanted a baseball team for a long time. When the Cubs were up for sale in 2008 Cuban put in a very strong bid for the team, and again last year when the Texas Rangers were on the market, Cuban put together a 355 million dollar cash bid for the team that was ultimately rejected. A year or so later Cuban has a glorious opportunity to make the big splash he seems to desire. If Cuban can somehow become the majority owner of the Mets, he would control one of the most popular teams in all of sport, and more importantly he would own them in the largest media market in the world. As a Met fan I would be ecstatic if Cuban buys the team. Cuban has a ton of money and is not afraid to spend it, that and his desire to win, win now and win often would make many Mets fans extremely happy. If Mark Cuban becomes the new owner of the team could we see the "New Boss" but this time with the Mets?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Interesting idea. I wonder if Mark Cuban has seriously considered it? It would be a boon for Mets' fans, who have always seemed to play second fiddle to the more-market-dominating, more-decorated Yankees. Cuban would give them the bravado (not to mention the bullion) to help them emerge from that shadow. He's so hands-on and in-your-face, which is something that I think Mets' fans dream of.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, I'll believe it when I see it. Cuban is such a character that his name gets thrown around every time there's an opening. He may be too busy trying to eviscerate the BCS and replace it with a playoff system, something that all sports fans want.
My follow up question to you Brad, would be this: as a Mets' fan and a sports fan, would you rather see Cuban buy the Mets or Cuban get rid of the BCS?