A million thanks to Mr. Wayne Weaver and family. It was an uphill battle all the way from getting the team (more like a miracle) to keeping the team here.
Because of Weaver's character I trust him that the team will stay here. I just don't know Kahn. Kahn may be as Wayne described him but he has no record as an owner. The trust I have for Kahn comes only grom the say so of Mr. Weaver and that helps somewhat.
I was a baseball fan until Bob Short packed up the Senators and left Washington D.C. I have not got attached to any baseball team since then. Jim Irsay bussed one of the best football teams, the colts, out of Baltimore in the middle of the night.
These experiences have left me with a helpless feeling when Billionaire owners control the fan base and the city. It's rather unfair to everyone and that is why it is so ;important to have an owner that has the character and is trustworthy like Mr. Weaver.
The uneasy feeling I have about owners is increased when the owner has no partners. Just as I was starting to think about a city owned team such as the Packers this happens. It would be nice if the city and the fans were shareholders in the team. I don't know how this could be achieved but I think the results would bear good fruit.
The closest we could get to that in Jax is for the public to buy into the team by getting and keeping season tickets. If the residents invest in the team there will be no need for the team to leave and that will continue to benefit the city in revenues and progress.
That is the fans part and now for the city. The city can't try to take advantage of this success and charge more stadium rent. We have to minimize greed to keep the team and the city.
Kahn lives here in central Illinois. There was a long article in the local paper this morning regarding his purchase of the Jaguars. He made it clear that he has no intention of moving the team and he intends to buy a home in the Jacksonville area.
ReplyDeleteKahn graduated with an engineering degree from the University of Illinois back in the 1960s. Since then, he has bought or purchased several businesses and accumulated a ton of money in the process. He tried to buy a 60% of the Rams a while back, but the 40% owner elected to exercise his option to buy the team instead.
The article said that Kahn will probably be a hands-on owner, but not necessarily in the day-to-day stuff that general managers and coaches are paid to do.
It's my sense that the guy is probably willing and able to do whatever it takes to have a championship team in Jacksonville.
Don Wiggins
Champaign, IL
Thanks don that helps. It also helps to know someone is reading this stuff
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