Kraft admits he sold the team out

[Soliel]

It makes perfect sense once you realize that (a) he doesn't care about you or any fan (other than perhaps the big $ ones), and (b) he only cares about the team to the extent it lets him rake in the cash and capital gains and allows him to get a self-esteem flash from hanging out with the Other 31 and Roger and Being An Owner. The team selling much of its Superbowl ticket allotment to scalpers...I mean partners...instead of putting them into the STH lottery and turfing out decades-long STHs to build the Optum Lounge are just two examples of just how much Kraft "cares" about the fans.

Now, it's nice for the fans that his management style is to let BB run all the football, to be sure. So I'll certainly give him credit for that and for learning from his own past (remember the stopwatch days and letting players bypass the coach to whine to the GM and to him personally). But don't confuse that with giving a damn about the fans.

I’m afraid you are correct. I’ve seen stuff like this before in other places in life. Do you know what eventually happens when the big brass doesn’t care at all for the little guys. It doesn’t seem to end well at some point.
Not that I expect kraft to care, I don’t mean that really but this is a symptom of something.

 

[Ring 6]

Uhhh, he’s right.

You realize they didn’t take away our superbowls, right?

You realize we’ve won two more since that game against Indy, right?

GET OVER IT

What in the world are you talking about?
It’s ok that we got screwed and kraft did nothing because they didn’t take away our super bowls?
Anything else is ok?

 

[Ring 6]

He consulted his lawyers and they said there wasn't much he could do.

Another thing you made up.
He has said himself that he decided what was good for the other owners was more important than what was good for the franchise.
The fact that you don’t take his word and have to create an excuse for him proves he is wrong and you just won’t afmit it.

So, he won 2 SBs and still made plenty of money and Brady certainly seems to like him. I couldn't care less about him. He built a stadium in a horrible place to do it, being fan since 1961 and an observer of Boston corruption too. He's a good owner, by any measure. I like watching the game, but I don't slit my wrists over things.

He is a good owner by the measure of hiring Bill Belichick.
But now at least it seems like we agree that he screwed this one up but you are just willing to give him a pass on it because you couldn’t care less.

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

He supported Goodells extension? I didn't know that.
I know Kraft advised Jerruh to "suck it up, as Jerruh advised" him.

But I haven't read anything about Kraft supporting Goodells extension.
I guess I missed that. If so, I'm not aware.

I've read that the compensation committee was unanimous on extending Goodell. Kraft is on the compensation committee.

 

[IcyPatriot]

I think some are way over analyzing the issue. Neither Kraft or any owner can come to the side of tbe union without affecting the other 31. It has nothing to do with right or wrong ... to them it's just business as they told Sal before they ended him in The Godfather. They justify their unsavory business practices with all the charitable endevours of tbe NFL. If the owners truly had a conscience they would replace Goodell with a 5 million guy and put the other 35 million into the retired players healthcare program

. To them punished players are future negotiating leverage and nothing more. You are who you roll with and Kraft rolls with Goodell. Away from Goodell Kraft is an extremely charitable man and lots of that money is derived from the NFL cabal ... lots of conflicting issues .... too many to ever derive some form of absoluteness.

 

[BTTA]

It makes perfect sense once you realize that (a) he doesn't care about you or any fan (other than perhaps the big $ ones), and (b) he only cares about the team to the extent it lets him rake in the cash and capital gains and allows him to get a self-esteem flash from hanging out with the Other 31 and Roger and Being An Owner....

All of the angst and pain expressed here about Kraft is due to delusional thinking that he should be someone other than the character sketch above.

He's part of a tribe (NFL Owners) that depends on another tribe (NFL fans) to meet their goals (financial success in a fun industry). The idea that he'd forsake loyalty to his own tribe is magical thinking. The quality of his life has been improved by his stance on deflategate. And his most recent statement isn't an attack on his tribe, it is a marketing tactic with the goal of getting more money from us.

The problem for us is that being a fan of a sports team requires some "suspension of reality" mindset. We need to believe that there is a Patriots Nation that the owners, employees, players, and fans are all part of. All this drama pops that bubble.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

It's a shame that Bob Kraft can't be a fan of his own team...

I think there's room for being both, but he chose to be one over the other. He's rather be liked by the few than adored by all the fans. Though, I'm sure there are plenty fans who adore him that he barely notices those that don't.

 

[Soliel]

All the positions I’ve seen taken here are fair and lucid. I guess I’m not able to see things through krafts eyes. Why he would vote to keep roger is feeling to me like the blackest form of betrayal but as others here have said, he doesn’t think like most people here do. I am sorry, I can’t give him a pass, I’d like to but my ways are what they are. All I really expect from any owner is to just do the right thing or at least attempt to. 2 learn from mistakes and not repeat them. 3. If there’s something preventing that, explain it.

I’m an old guy anymore. I see things the way I always have. How can I agree with and therefore be party to selling your own mother for a dollar? If you believe that way what’s the point of anything?

 

[Shed83]

Really Kraft has only made 2 good decisions in his tenure......

1. Keeping the organisation in Mass.
2. Hiring Bill B

The rest has very little to do with Kraft being a good owner.

Just another money hungry P.O.S

 

[RobertWeathers]

Really Kraft has only made 2 good decisions in his tenure......

1. Keeping the organisation in Mass.
2. Hiring Bill B

The rest has very little to do with Kraft being a good owner.

Just another money hungry P.O.S

Building a new stadium? Patriot Place?

I hate what he did but he done a lot of good.

 

[PrairiePat]

I think he's mostly been a top-notch owner. I just think his capitulation to Goodell and the other owners on Spygate and Deflategate are 2 terrible decisions that have impacted how the world views his team.

 

[Deus Irae]

The problem for us is that being a fan of a sports team requires some "suspension of reality" mindset. We need to believe that there is a Patriots Nation that the owners, employees, players, and fans are all part of. All this drama pops that bubble.

No

As threads such as this one demonstrate, being a fan doesn't require a suspension of reality.

 

[Simpelton]

Robert Kraft is a great owner. He has made many positive changes to the Patriots organization and is ultimately responsible for the dynasty. But at the end of the day expect him to think and act like the owner of a franchise rather than a player coach or fan. That's the bottom line. Once you understand that Robert Kraft is an owner and will act like an owner in the interests of himself and other owners, you begin to understand why he acted the way he did on deflategate.

If you have problems taking the good with the bad or maintaining your sense of perspective, it might be easy to condemn Kraft or what he did in this instant. At the end of the day deflategate and Robert Kraft reaction to it are a blemish on an otherwise awesome performance of an owner. Both the blemish and the overall Excellence of the job he's done as an owner should be taken under advisement. Neither should be ignored.

Even with that blemish we are very fortunate that our favorite franchise is owned by Robert Kraft.

 

[sean10mm]

I think the answer is really simple: Kraft didn't think he could win the fight, so he punted.

Saying he did it for "the good of the league" or whatever is just him trying make a virtue out of a necessity. It's all just after-the-fact rationalizing what was an extremely simple decision on his part. If he believed he could bury the entire league for his own personal benefit and assert himself as "first among equals" he would have done so.

This doesn't make Kraft right, it just means that in his opinion he couldn't win the fight, so he didn't do it.

 

[XLIX]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxz

Yes....
If it wasn't for TB and BB, I would have been done a few years ago.

I don't like the current philosophy of the league, in general.
I am most certainly in the group of , "F' the league, but support the Pats".
IMO.
It's a very difficult position to be in.

Who says the Pats wont be good when TB and BB are gone?
But they are the ones I saw getting abused by the "system".

It's a very difficult situation for me. Pride or complacency?

It's not about Kraft, it's about the league becoming the WWF.

You choose what you like. But don't scrutinize my decisions.

TB and BB are the last, of the few with " Integrity" as I view it. If you see that as being "Band wagon", fine.

Yes it’s pretty much the textbook definition of a bandwagon fan. “I’m so mad at the NFL that once we stop winning Super Bowls every couple of years, I’m done!!”

 

[Kontradiction]

You guys that are defending him realize that he isn't writing you into his last will, right? I like the pivot, though. You all went from: "He didn't screw up. There was nothing he could do. He's a great owner though because he bought the team a couple of decades ago and made some sound financial decisions based on nothing more than making some gains toward the bottom line", to now "Yeah he screwed up. He's a great owner though because he bought the team a couple of decades ago and made some sound financial decisions based on nothing more than making some gains toward the bottom line". So at least progress is being made with some of you on that front. You should feel proud of yourselves.

Taking a bigger picture look at some of the reactions and the absolute mental gymnastics to defend what is indefensible, "can-do-no-wrong" attitudes like this toward men in power are how dictators rise.

 

[sb1]

I know Bob was told by other owners he had no support from them on these issues. It doesn't matter. The perception is out there that the acceptance of these two penalties as they were is an admission of guilt. That's 100% on Bob. I am happy he owns this team but this was a big time screwup, tainting his legacy as an owner of this team. Period.

Thankfully there are no questions about Bill's and Brady's HOF credentials now... because if there were... Kraft's screwup may be justification for voters to keep them out.

 

[Tunescribe]

Robert Kraft is a great owner. He has made many positive changes to the Patriots organization and is ultimately responsible for the dynasty. But at the end of the day expect him to think and act like the owner of a franchise rather than a player coach or fan. That's the bottom line. Once you understand that Robert Kraft is an owner and will act like an owner in the interests of himself and other owners, you begin to understand why he acted the way he did on deflategate.

If you have problems taking the good with the bad or maintaining your sense of perspective, it might be easy to condemn Kraft or what he did in this instant. At the end of the day deflategate and Robert Kraft reaction to it are a blemish on an otherwise awesome performance of an owner. Both the blemish and the overall Excellence of the job he's done as an owner should be taken under advisement. Neither should be ignored.

Even with that blemish we are very fortunate that our favorite franchise is owned by Robert Kraft.

Once you learn how to spell "simpleton," perhaps a few more folks around here will give your wayward pontifications some credibility. The fact remains that Bob Kraft was overtly disingenuous to his own fan base on multiple occasions, cynically expressing faux outrage on both cameraplacementgate and framegate, even to the point of intimating that "action" would be taken on the Patriots' behalf. His current reputation as a man of relative principle (or none at all) is well earned and is extremely hard for a 25-year season ticket holder like myself to reconcile. The success this franchise has enjoyed under his watch -- attributable foremost to an aligning of the stars under BB and Brady -- does not mitigate that fact.

 

[Soliel]

Yes it’s pretty much the textbook definition of a bandwagon fan. “I’m so mad at the NFL that once we stop winning Super Bowls every couple of years, I’m done!!”

I disagree with this concept. Under normal circumstances I’d agree but things are different now. You see, there are people even now after this has been debunked who swear it’s true anyways.. there’s a nastiness that’s over the top. In my case, I won’t find it enjoyable any longer. I have days where I go back and forth and in the end I’ll be probably still connected as four decades doesn’t go away easily. Things have to change though, roger has to go and things need to be sanitized if that’s possible. I want good football to watch. How we get to a point where this crap stops?

 

[Kontradiction]

I disagree with this concept. Under normal circumstances I’d agree but things are different now. You see, there are people even now after this has been debunked who swear it’s true anyways.. there’s a nastiness that’s over the top. In my case, I won’t find it enjoyable any longer. I have days where I go back and forth and in the end I’ll be probably still connected as four decades doesn’t go away easily. Things have to change though, roger has to go and things need to be sanitized if that’s possible. I want good football to watch. How we get to a point where this crap stops?

You don't. Goodell on top of the recent discoveries about the effects football has on the brain (especially when played at a young age) have all but signaled the end of football as we know it. It's declining as we speak and will continue to decline. Kraft is to blame for the former just as much (if not more) than the rest of the owners.