Kraft wanted to serve bologna sandwiches and chips

[venecol]

I think Kraft has basically got off scot free for far too long.

It's time to shine the spotlight on Kraft now that Belichick isn't here to kick around, anymore.

Let's shine the spot light on Kraft:

1985​

Signs a 10-year lease, with an option to buy, on Foxboro Raceway, a horse track adjacent to the Patriots’ Sullivan Stadium. The deal prevents Patriots founder and owner Billy Sullivan from holding non-team events at the stadium while races are being held.

1988​

Bid to buy the Patriots from the financially strapped Sullivan fails. However, along with real estate developer Steve Karp, he buys the no-frills stadium out of bankruptcy court from Sullivan for $25 million, and locks the team into a lease through 2001.

1990​

NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, in a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, says the Patriots’ stadium is “the least suitable facility in the NFL.”

1991​

Uses the stadium lease to block Patriots owner Victor Kiam’s attempt to move the team to Jacksonville.

January 1992​

James Orthwein buys the Patriots with plans to move the team to his native St. Louis, and rename them the Stallions.

March 1992​

Kraft’s support of U.S. soccer is rewarded, as Foxboro Stadium is selected as one of the nine host venues for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The company later became the only organization to host FIFA Women’s World Cup matches in both 1999 and 2003.

December 1993​

Buys out Karp to own 100% of the stadium. Rejects a $75 million offer from Orthwein to be bought out of the stadium lease. Future St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke also fails in a similar attempt.

1994​

Buys the Patriots for $172 million, the highest price ever paid for an NFL team at the time. Jeremy Jacobs, CEO of the Boston Garden and Boston Bruins, had been among the bidders for the club and the stadium.

1995​

Becomes the founding investor/operator of the New England Revolution, part of the 1996 debut of the 10-team Major League Soccer.

November 19, 1998​

Signs a conditional agreement with Hartford to move the Patriots to a proposed $374 million taxpayer-funded downtown stadium. The Massachusetts legislature responds and agrees to pay what became $72 million for infrastructure costs, clearing the way for a privately funded stadium development in Foxborough.

January 2000​

Hires Bill Belichick as Patriots head coach.

March 2000​

Construction begins on the new stadium. It is the only NFL stadium with 100% of the facility, land and parking costs paid for privately and 100% of the infrastructure costs reimbursed to the public by the team.

March 2001​

Drew Bledsoe signed the biggest contract in NFL history, agreeing to a 10-year, $103 million deal.

____________________________________________

Reading this makes Kraft look like a cheap idiot (bologna sandwiches). Patriots fans are extremely unlucky they got stuck with Kraft.

Timeline: The life of Robert Kraft

Timeline: The life of Robert Kraft

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

I didn't know RK's fortunes were handed down by his father, who was a dress manufacturer and not rich, while Kraft was in the paper and packaging field. Kraft is a self made man, so your take is total BS.

Cornering the market by buying the stadium and the land around it for cheap was masterful. That's what got it all started. Give Kraft the kudos he deserves. He's made mistakes and is far from perfect but this smearing of the Krafts as cheap due to their Jewish roots is in bad taste.

It is racist to bring RK's faith into the discussion. Bad taste.

You can chose to not believe eye witness reports if you want to. The players rank the facilities and benefits at Gillette as bottom of the league. Having the lowest cash spend for players over the last ten years is not a blip, it is a trend. Let's hope that trend stops in 2024, but now Mayo has withdrawn his "burn cash" statement. We will see if the undeniable trend continues or stops. The proof will be in the pudding. Posting historical timelines is meaningless. What matters is the next few years.

 

[venecol]

You can chose to not believe eye witness reports if you want to. The players rank the facilities and benefits at Gillette as bottom of the league. Having the lowest cash spend for players over the last ten years is not a blip, it is a trend. Let's hope that trend stops in 2024, but now Mayo has withdrawn his "burn cash" statement. We will see if the undeniable trend continues or stops. The proof will be in the pudding.

The 2010 Brady extension had a record amount of guaranteed money and was the biggest contract in NFL history (briefly).

In 2021, Patriots spent a record amount in guaranteed money.

Posting historical timelines is meaningless. What matters is the next few years.

Yet the OP is from 25 years ago. You quote the last 10 years!

Fine. Let's see what happens in the next few years.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

The 2010 Brady extension had a record amount of guaranteed money and was the biggest contract in NFL history (briefly).

In 2021, Patriots spent a record amount in guaranteed money.


Yet the OP is from 25 years ago. You quote the last 10 years!

Fine. Let's see what happens in the next few years.

Great. Can we hold hands while we see what happens?

 

[venecol]

Great. Can we hold hands while we see what happens?

Can we share the Asians?

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Can we share the Asians?

Yes of course, if they want to. It is their decision, I am not restrictive. They all like the naked adult cruises in the Caribbean. Do you like those cruises? We are going in May and November this year. You have to be slender and perky.

 

[Betterthanmost]

Hilarious story by Pete Carroll when he was the Pats head coach. It starts at 3:30. Pete does not think much of RK. Parcels hates RK. I think BB was polite but thinks little of RK too. Clearly a trend.

My take away from this story is that Kraft is probably not aware of how he makes decisions and how it impacts the coaches. In his mind, the coaches are making all the decisions but he is not cognizant of his impact on how the coaches make decisions. This story is what happened here after Brady left and won a super bowl. If they don't hit on a QB this draft, this ship is sinking.

 

[1960Pats]

I think that's the price some other teams are charging for daycare. Kraft doesn't offer it. but most of this stuff is the nflpa trying to pressure teams into free stuff. Not that it's not accurate not trying to deny it but its agenda driven.

Thanks. I heard Holley saying it on BST and mistakenly figured he was talking about the Pats.

 

[1960Pats]

It was a dump. A ****ty, supersized POS high school stadium.

I had the 2nd worse experience at a sporting event during a Pats game there in the late 70's with my new wife and two cousins, all fine looking young ladies. My cousins had moved to Louisiana when they were younger and I decided to take them all to a Saints game. I've never been so disgusted by the comments that the drunks behind us were making. When we walked out one of my cousins said, "cousin, this is why we will never ever come back here." And they never did.

One of the things I appreciate about Kraft is how he cleaned up the nonsense in the stadium after he bought the team. At first I thought it was harsh to take away a fans STs because they gave them to someone who acted up, but the strategy seemed to work. It became a much more civil place.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

We always hear that Brady made Belichick. The story should be that Brady made Kraft and Belichick. I think BB was OK through 2000 to 2019, and somehow he collapsed after that. Kraft has been a basket case ever sense Parcells and Carroll. Simply facts based on eye witness stories, not my conjecture.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

I had the 2nd worse experience at a sporting event during a Pats game there in the late 70's with my new wife and two cousins, all fine looking young ladies. My cousins had moved to Louisiana when they were younger and I decided to take them all to a Saints game. I've never been so disgusted by the comments that the drunks behind us were making. When we walked out one of my cousins said, "cousin, this is why we will never ever come back here." And they never did.

One of the things I appreciate about Kraft is how he cleaned up the nonsense in the stadium after he bought the team. At first I thought it was harsh to take away a fans STs because they gave them to someone who acted up, but the strategy seemed to work. It became a much more civil place.

I would never take my wife to a game in the old stadium under the Sullivan's.

 

[Lavictoire]

Bill said in “dynasty” that he grew up around navy football so it was natural for him to think football teams should be run with military discipline.

 

[RobertWeathers]

There are millionaires in my village who also got a great start with daddy’s help and locals praise their business acumen. When in fact, if they were dropped in a city, without the backing, they’d not be rich.

People on this site grossly overestimate RK’s skills.

He can't even pick out a decent rub n tug joint.

 

[rogerthat]

Let's shine the spot light on Kraft:

1985​

Signs a 10-year lease, with an option to buy, on Foxboro Raceway, a horse track adjacent to the Patriots’ Sullivan Stadium. The deal prevents Patriots founder and owner Billy Sullivan from holding non-team events at the stadium while races are being held.

1988​

Bid to buy the Patriots from the financially strapped Sullivan fails. However, along with real estate developer Steve Karp, he buys the no-frills stadium out of bankruptcy court from Sullivan for $25 million, and locks the team into a lease through 2001.

1990​

NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, in a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, says the Patriots’ stadium is “the least suitable facility in the NFL.”

1991​

Uses the stadium lease to block Patriots owner Victor Kiam’s attempt to move the team to Jacksonville.

January 1992​

James Orthwein buys the Patriots with plans to move the team to his native St. Louis, and rename them the Stallions.

March 1992​

Kraft’s support of U.S. soccer is rewarded, as Foxboro Stadium is selected as one of the nine host venues for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The company later became the only organization to host FIFA Women’s World Cup matches in both 1999 and 2003.

December 1993​

Buys out Karp to own 100% of the stadium. Rejects a $75 million offer from Orthwein to be bought out of the stadium lease. Future St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke also fails in a similar attempt.

1994​

Buys the Patriots for $172 million, the highest price ever paid for an NFL team at the time. Jeremy Jacobs, CEO of the Boston Garden and Boston Bruins, had been among the bidders for the club and the stadium.

1995​

Becomes the founding investor/operator of the New England Revolution, part of the 1996 debut of the 10-team Major League Soccer.

November 19, 1998​

Signs a conditional agreement with Hartford to move the Patriots to a proposed $374 million taxpayer-funded downtown stadium. The Massachusetts legislature responds and agrees to pay what became $72 million for infrastructure costs, clearing the way for a privately funded stadium development in Foxborough.

January 2000​

Hires Bill Belichick as Patriots head coach.

March 2000​

Construction begins on the new stadium. It is the only NFL stadium with 100% of the facility, land and parking costs paid for privately and 100% of the infrastructure costs reimbursed to the public by the team.

March 2001​

Drew Bledsoe signed the biggest contract in NFL history, agreeing to a 10-year, $103 million deal.

____________________________________________

Reading this makes Kraft look like a cheap idiot (bologna sandwiches). Patriots fans are extremely unlucky they got stuck with Kraft.

Timeline: The life of Robert Kraft

Timeline: The life of Robert Kraft

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

I think this post is fair and he has done a lot of good along with some bad.

 

[BTTA]

you are the first and only person in this thread to connect kraft's religion to a common slur about it either latetly or patently.

I can't imagine his religion mattering enough to be a factoid that would stick in my brain.

Is the religion of other NFL team owners something that is talked about in their fan forums?

 

[signbabybrady]

I didn't know RK's fortunes were handed down by his father, who was a dress manufacturer and not rich, while Kraft was in the paper and packaging field. Kraft is a self made man, so your take is total BS.

Cornering the market by buying the stadium and the land around it for cheap was masterful. That's what got it all started. Give Kraft the kudos he deserves. He's made mistakes and is far from perfect but this smearing of the Krafts as cheap due to their Jewish roots is in bad taste.

It wasn't from his father. It was from his father in law.

 

[jimnance]

It finally dawned on me that a increasingly large portion of people in the future never have to do a damn thing except not screw things up.

Yet, it is amazing how many of them do.

 

[1960Pats]

I would never take my wife to a game in the old stadium under the Sullivan's.

I learned that lesson the hard way.

 

[HSanders]

I can't imagine his religion mattering enough to be a factoid that would stick in my brain.

Is the religion of other NFL team owners something that is talked about in their fan forums?

i don't know,but kraft has definitely connected publicly with his religion enough (the israel journeys,speaking out against anti-semitism,the pins) that most ardent pats fans would know he is of the jewish faith,and it seems to matter to him a lot.

 

[signbabybrady]

I can't imagine his religion mattering enough to be a factoid that would stick in my brain.

Is the religion of other NFL team owners something that is talked about in their fan forums?

There are several Jewish owners maybe as many as ten. I can't speak to their teams forums but I know I've read stories about other owners being Jewish and active in the community.