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Registered Members experience this forum ad and noise-free.
CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.People forget how Raiders-esque the Pats were from 1989-1992.
1989-5-11
1990-1-15
1991-6-10
1992-2-14
Their ownership was aloof and poor. You had the Lisa Olsen thing. You had terrible players and a terrible FO. The stadium sucked and the team was not even close to being competitive. It was THE worst franchise in the NFL hands down. If I remember, section 200 seats were I think $18. You even had a few local broadcast blackouts......It was pathetic and sad.
Another guy who does deserve some credit is James Orthwein (Busch Family). He started the revitalization project known as the Patriots. He bought it from Kiam & Fran Murray for about $61m. He assumes $45m in debt. He hires Parcells. Orthwein was a PR guy so he knew how to market products. The get an exciting, young Qb in Bledsoe ansd stabilizes the franchise and makes it attractive enough for a local owner to see value and future upside- Kraft.
Knowing a move to St. Louis would push his profitibility expectations out a couple of years, he flips the team a year later to Kraft for $161m. Not bad for one years worth of paint and new shrubs............$55m profit. Brilliant.
Orthwein was a PR guy so he knew how to market products. The get an exciting, young Qb in Bledsoe ansd stabilizes the franchise and makes it attractive enough for a local owner to see value and future upside- Kraft.
Not to be too picky, but Kraft has always had the dream of buying the team for a very long time- since the Schaefer days.
Kraft used the stadium's lease which he bought out of bankruptcy from Sullivan, as leverage to prevent Orthwein from uprooting the team and moving it to St. Louis.
Orthwein wanted to buy out the rest of the lease, but Kraft counteroffered with an at-the-time record offer of 175m to buy the Patriots and the rest is history.
My Top 5 are: (Besides Coach BB! and Mr. Kraft)
1) Rodney Harrison - I've seen the tapes and he's left his soul out there for this team.
2) Ty Law - Incredible key player.
3) Tom Brady - Monday Night bumped him up some spots.
4) Corey Dillon - I miss that 2004 season, was fun, especially how we handled Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
5) Tedy Brushi - Like Rodney, he left his mark and heart out on the field every game.