Game Of Owners
A pretty big thing happened yesterday in the ongoing perpetual saga of “Dan Snyder is a huge piece of shit”. Time will tell how it plays out, and I would blame absolutely nobody for being cynical and expecting nothing to happen (I sure don’t), but it still seems like it might prove to be a slight turning point. If something does happen down the road, Jim Irsay openly calling out Snyder might be considered the beginning of the final downfall.
So to recap, since everything feels like an ongoing chain now instead of a brand new mess every other year, Snyder was forced to testify to congress about the toxic swamp that was the Washington workplace. A cesspool so gross even From Software wouldn’t put it in their next Souls game. Snyder dodged the hearing for a while by hanging out on his boat. He eventually testified. Did anything come of that yet? No, that would require Congress to be useful, but the investigation also hasn’t officially concluded. But during the hearings, some other owners testified against him. Hmmmm. I’m not surprised some of the other owners don’t like Dan as he seems like a prick and his bullshit has been giving the league a black eye for his entire tenure.
However, keep in mind that one of the most recent scandals on the Snyder resume is lying about ticket sales and skimming it off the top instead of contributing it to the league-wide share. Meaning…he stole from other owners. Traffic some cheerleaders, that’s one thing. Take money away from my new yacht? Snyder, you done fucked up.
So lately, some reports came out that other owners straight up don’t like him, so that suspicion is confirmed. Last Thursday, during the war crime that was Bears/Commanders, Al Michaels just straight up started talking shit about Snyder on air and discussing how pretty much everybody wants him to sell the team. Announcers, even an untouchable titan in the industry, pretty much always skirt around those kinds of issues. You get vague references at best. You’ll see it later this year when they quietly pass over Deshaun Watson’s “off-field troubles”. But Michaels went for it, during a game with the Commanders playing. A few believed he was told to say those lines by NFL insiders. I don’t buy that. I think Michaels knew that public opinion was so against Snyder that he could just shit on him basically to his face. But what if that’s actually true? If Michaels was told to say Dan should sell the team by NFL people, that means that the internal strife is pretty serious and Snyder is absolutely in trouble.
Not long after that, Snyder was reported to basically claim he was untouchable because he has dirt on all the other owners. That’s a theory I’ve long held to be fairly accurate, that Snyder is too involved and that if they oust him, he’s going to go down swinging, and they can’t afford that or set the precedent of voting someone out (because then all of them could get voted out themselves, and lord knows many of them deserve it too).
But then on Tuesday, one of those owners actually said it out loud. Publicly. Jim Irsay, owner of the Colts. He claimed there was merit to removing him and that his behavior was “gravely concerning”. Irsay is one of the few owners who’s dirt is actually pretty public. I’ve made a lot of jokes at his expense, and make no mistake I am definitely still anti-billionare failson, but I’ve softened on Irsay as of late because his struggles are still human struggles. Addiction is bad. Mental health is a big deal. Irsay has worked on improving those things and making a difference there as of late, and I don’t think that should be ignored. Those aspects of him deserve more empathy even if I am inherently against billionaires. But importantly, this makes Irsay one of the best leaders in the Anti-Snyder brigade (if it exists). Snyder can’t really expose much on Irsay we don’t already know. He claimed that they still have to go through the full investigation but if they wanted to vote on it, they might have the necessary 24 votes to force him out.
Also on Tuesday, we found out that through a lawyer Snyder found out which other owners testified against him, and then the Commies sent out a classic threatening statement condemning Irsay, which frankly made him look like…well like our favorite petty piece of shit.
Will anything come of this? After 25 years of Snyder black eyes amounting to nothing, it’s a little hard to hope. But all of these black eyes are still mounting at a slow and steady rate. If it reaches terminal mass and the owners are forced to do something about it, Snyder is probably toasted. At this rate, it’s likely a matter of when. If we get lucky, he might be gone by the end of the decade. If we are extremely lucky, it might be in the next few years. If we are in the darkest timeline, they will protect their own until the planet melts and we all die anyway.
Discussion (19) ¬
“one of the few owners who’s dirt is actually pretty public”
‘whose’, dang it!
“one of the few owners whose dirt is actually pretty public”
beat me to it
hat tip to you good sir
I see that MR Rooney isn’t here. Dave you just earned a playgroup star 😀
Al Michaels is a few weeks shy of turning 78. I’m sure he’s long since blown past DGAF status. The idea that he was goaded into saying that doesn’t seem plausible to me.
It’s very possible someone asked him to say something, and he saw an opportunity and ran with it.
you done good but make an artrunny comic
He won’t get ousted. The owners are not going to tank the value of their 4-billion-dollar assets by forcing a sale
If you live around Indianapolis you would see all he does for the community. He donates a huge amount of money to mental health programs. https://www.colts.com/community/kicking-the-stigma/
I know he has a shady past but I’m glad Irsay is the Colts owner.
Irsay does a lot for the Indianapolis community. He has a program called kicking the stigma that collects money for mental health programs. He donated a few million to IU Health to study mental health issues. He does a lot of other cool stuff like handing out 100 dollar bills to fans. I know he is an evil rotten billionaire, but he genuinely loves the team and I’m glad he is the owner.
In lieu of the Pro Bowl, I’m okay with a pro wrestling cage match with all 32 NFL Owners. The winner gets coated in honey and 30 seconds in air blowing Money Machine. However, unbeknownst to the winner, the blowing air and money is replaced with bee and hornets.
With the “DIE!DIE!DIE!” chant from Creeping Death playing throughout the whole thing.
Honestly, fuck all of these rich pricks. They’re all awful and the fact that Snyder has still maintained control of this team after EVERYTHING is ridiculous. What’s worse is the fact that every time Snyder does some truly disgusting stuff he very clumsily tries to misdirect and just gets away with it.
For years people have been asking him to change the name of the team, he digs his heels in the sand and gives every half0assed reason and biased poll as to why that can’t happen. Suddenly when the sponsors force the issue, he fixes it right away. It’s so transparent and he just gets away with it.
Then, the report for the whole cheerleader nastiness comes out and he’s ready with a half-assed name change and uniform redo. It sucks, but it works and he dodges most of the blowback anyway.
The stadium is in disrepair and he refuses to fix it. Not to mention, he’s just a bad owner who hasn’t been able to hire a decent coach in fucking ages. He charges money for training camp. And he’s definitely been at the helm of one of the most toxic work cultures in all of professional sports. He does the bare minimum to cover it up and everyone lets him off the hook.
in summary: Fuck Dan Snyder, and fuck the league for letting him be a disgusting slime ball.
But of course don’t forget, he told the fans that their input would help decide the team name, there were 4 or so really popular choices, and he instead picked one that no one wanted. Absolute joke of a franchise.
I actively root against them at this point, and will until he sells the team. Go Ravens I guess.
Yeah, the whole vibe of the Commanders, from the name to the uniforms, just absolutely screams “Troll Job.” Snyder was forced to make a change and essentially followed through with as little effort and the most spite he could. Hell, say what you will about the Washington Football Team, but they actually looked surprisingly good.
I remember being struck by how good those sort of apple-shaded helmets looked. Very striking red.
[Responding to the alt-text]
I get the impression that Danny Boy has already pissed off Jerry, which is a huge mistake, as apparently JJ has been the main shield for Snyder in everything else. Jerry Jones is the NFL; Goodell may be the public face, but Jerry is the power behind everything else. Jim Irsay declaring what he did didn’t just come out of nowhere; yes, he’s the perfect guy to do it (because of his public laundry), but it still wouldn’t have happened unless he knew that it wasn’t going to upset Jerry or the other Big Powers.
LMAO just noticed Shad Kahn with the clown nose. Brilliant touch
This is probably the truest thing. The other owners don’t care about anything in the first panel unless it creates major waves or starts threatening their bottom line. However, they won’t put up with stealing from the common pot because it messes with their bottom line.