Mike is setting everyone up for heartache

[Shake n Blake]

(03-28-2017, 09:19 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Loyalty? My only question is those who refuse to go to the stadium and buy tickets, refuse to support the owner/team, do you consider them loyal?

The Bengals are in a unique situation with Mike Brown, but yes I think fans that threaten boycott are loyal in their own way. Not to Mike Brown, but to the team itself (not saying this is the only way to show loyalty). You can't compare our situation with that of other teams though. We have a special one-of-a-kind owner.

(03-28-2017, 10:43 AM)3wt Wrote: We can't fill a stadium for a playoff team without the opponent's fans.

This is a Mike Brown related problem. Cincinnati loves football. People are just burned out on Mike Brown and the fact that we haven't won a playoff game in 26 years and have never won a championship. That's pretty much the feelings of every casual Bengals fan I've met, and most diehards (outside of a few people on this message board) as well. A new team and new ownership would bring hope. Mike Brown just isn't someone people believe in.

(03-28-2017, 11:03 AM)Whatever Wrote: I think every team has a responsibility to bargain in good faith with their current market.  However, let's be real.  Oakland's stadium has been a substandard shxthole for a long time.  A lot of the politicians simply won't do anything for the clubs as long as they have a current lease to hold the team hostage with.  They wait until the last minute to try and swing a deal, get outbid, then play the loyalty card so it doesn't seem like it's their fault.  Most of the teams who've recently moved are signing lease extensions because negotiations drug on so long.

If it was me, I'd put a new stadium levy up for vote this year and start getting investors lined up now, and start taking bids and getting my pricng locked up.  Stockpile the funds for 4-5 years and start construction 3 years before the PBS lease is up.  It's going to cost more the longer they drag their feet.

The Oakland stadium does suck. Did the Raiders offer to help in any way? What about the stadiums and negotiations with San Diego and St Louis? Were any concessions made? Did those teams really do all they could to work with and help those cities? I honestly don't know, but I somehow doubt it.