Sunday, January 16, 2005
SCREW IT, I'M PISSED
This is not going to be your typical worthwhile post.
This is just me venting.
I told David last night that I wasn't sure if I was going to really say a whole lot about Les Carpenter's column on Bob Whitsitt in the Seattle Times. But after hearing Jay Glazer commenting on FOX's pregame show that new Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson was kicked off the Qwest Field sidelines last week, I'm posting.
Bob Whitsitt is an evil scumbag. And that's being nice. He doesn't deserve to be working in a professional sporting team's front office after his stint with the Seahawks. I've known for a few years now that Whitsitt is not a nice man. And now, the majority of the fans are now finding out how terrible of a person he really is.
It makes me appreciate the fact that Tod Leiweke is in the Seahawks front office. NOW THAT'S A MAN WHO UNDERSTANDS THE FANS! We've documented here before about Leiweke's success in Minnesota with the NHL's Minnesota Wild. In his time in Seattle, Leiweke has brought the 12th Man Flag and the State Of Football mural into Qwest Field. I can't wait to visit the place again so I can see these two things in person. Keep in mind that I haven't been to Qwest Field since March 2003, so I haven't seen the 12th Man Flag or the State of Football mural.
Back to Whitsitt, that evil scumbag.
While working in the Seahawks Pro Shop, there were more than a few customers who talked to me about what the Seahawks were like in the 1980s. They were a classy organization. It got me to thinking, "well, I guess there was a reason why the Seahawks won in the '80s". I also noticed that there were many disgruntled fans as well. Can you blame them? These disgruntled fans were season ticket holders.
There's a reason why the Seahawks haven't won a playoff game in 20 years. While I do appreciate Whitsitt for helping save the Seahawks, it doesn't excuse the fact that he made the Seahawks headquarters an unbearable place. Now that he's gone, maybe, just maybe, the Seahawks can return to their past glory.
There's a story they tell around the team's headquarters, and it sums up the Whitsitt years precisely. The way one former employee says he heard it, is that Whitsitt was overseeing a meeting to discuss possible ways of marketing a charter-seat package for the new stadium. A package that at $72 a seat plus a fee in the thousands of dollars must have seemed like a pyramid scheme.
At some point, someone suggested they could put the purchaser's name on a bronze plate that would be attached to the seat, perhaps as a token of appreciation.
And as the story goes, Whitsitt snorted.
"Yeah," he reportedly said. "They could write 'suckers' on it."
Which is all Seattle fans were in the Whitsitt regime.
Suckers.
Unbelievable.
AND THIS MAN WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS???
I'm not just floored, I want to give Whitsitt a piece of my mind. If that's not disrespecting your fans, I don't know what is.
"It might be the best move Paul Allen ever made," said a league source. "Paul might come out of this looking great. He saved the franchise, and he got rid of Whitsitt."
For the second time.
Folks, regardless of what happens this offseason, Allen firing Whitsitt is a great move. Indeed, a dark cloud has been lifted.
Hire Randy Mueller.
This is just me venting.
I told David last night that I wasn't sure if I was going to really say a whole lot about Les Carpenter's column on Bob Whitsitt in the Seattle Times. But after hearing Jay Glazer commenting on FOX's pregame show that new Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson was kicked off the Qwest Field sidelines last week, I'm posting.
Bob Whitsitt is an evil scumbag. And that's being nice. He doesn't deserve to be working in a professional sporting team's front office after his stint with the Seahawks. I've known for a few years now that Whitsitt is not a nice man. And now, the majority of the fans are now finding out how terrible of a person he really is.
It makes me appreciate the fact that Tod Leiweke is in the Seahawks front office. NOW THAT'S A MAN WHO UNDERSTANDS THE FANS! We've documented here before about Leiweke's success in Minnesota with the NHL's Minnesota Wild. In his time in Seattle, Leiweke has brought the 12th Man Flag and the State Of Football mural into Qwest Field. I can't wait to visit the place again so I can see these two things in person. Keep in mind that I haven't been to Qwest Field since March 2003, so I haven't seen the 12th Man Flag or the State of Football mural.
Back to Whitsitt, that evil scumbag.
While working in the Seahawks Pro Shop, there were more than a few customers who talked to me about what the Seahawks were like in the 1980s. They were a classy organization. It got me to thinking, "well, I guess there was a reason why the Seahawks won in the '80s". I also noticed that there were many disgruntled fans as well. Can you blame them? These disgruntled fans were season ticket holders.
There's a reason why the Seahawks haven't won a playoff game in 20 years. While I do appreciate Whitsitt for helping save the Seahawks, it doesn't excuse the fact that he made the Seahawks headquarters an unbearable place. Now that he's gone, maybe, just maybe, the Seahawks can return to their past glory.
There's a story they tell around the team's headquarters, and it sums up the Whitsitt years precisely. The way one former employee says he heard it, is that Whitsitt was overseeing a meeting to discuss possible ways of marketing a charter-seat package for the new stadium. A package that at $72 a seat plus a fee in the thousands of dollars must have seemed like a pyramid scheme.
At some point, someone suggested they could put the purchaser's name on a bronze plate that would be attached to the seat, perhaps as a token of appreciation.
And as the story goes, Whitsitt snorted.
"Yeah," he reportedly said. "They could write 'suckers' on it."
Which is all Seattle fans were in the Whitsitt regime.
Suckers.
Unbelievable.
AND THIS MAN WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS???
I'm not just floored, I want to give Whitsitt a piece of my mind. If that's not disrespecting your fans, I don't know what is.
"It might be the best move Paul Allen ever made," said a league source. "Paul might come out of this looking great. He saved the franchise, and he got rid of Whitsitt."
For the second time.
Folks, regardless of what happens this offseason, Allen firing Whitsitt is a great move. Indeed, a dark cloud has been lifted.
Hire Randy Mueller.