Self wrote:Coach wrote:Self wrote:4/5 wrote:Coach wrote:This was a "perfect storm."
1. You have the Pats coaching staff, which has been enamored with Tebow.
2. You then have Bob Kraft, the owner, who sees $$ signs with this.
3. Publicity - don't forget there's a big rivalry between the Red Sox and Pats for media attention in this town.
4. Kraft's mentor is Jerry Jones....he's taking a page from his book on this one.
5. The deal is cheap and the Pats can back out.
You really think anything besides #1 and, more importantly, 5 are at play here?
I'll take #5 over #1. If they were "enamored" with Tebow, it never would've taken this long to sign him.
perhaps enamored is too strong of a word - I'd say McDaniels and Belichick were very, very, very, very interested.
I think it's time to put the pipe away, Coach. And, if you still think the Pats feel the need to "out-headline" the sox, you might as well pick the pipe back up because it doesn't fucking matter anymore.
This piece in today's Herald further emphasizes the rivalry for attention in the media between the Sox and Pats:
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/lo ... n_for_fans
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The admission by Larry Lucchino yesterday on Boston Herald Radio that the Red Sox view the Patriots as a rival is less a bombshell and more a timely reminder of the enormous impact played by sports in this region.
If this golden age of sports is one byproduct, unintended or
not, of some fierce competition
between John Henry and Robert Kraft for the worship of local fans, then let’s keep stirring the pot between the two.
When the fans win — right now, they’re romping — then bring on the gridiron, diamond, parquet, ice and even newspaper battles.
When Lucchino was asked about a remark by an out-of-town losing Boston Globe bidder that the Red Sox hate two institutions, the Yankees and the Patriots, he answered in the singular.
“The answer is no, I don’t hate the Patriots,” the Red Sox president said. “Are they rivals of ours? To be sure. Do I root for them? Yeah, I do. I’m also a Pittsburgh Steelers fan from my youth, so I guess I have to plead guilty to that, too, so I guess it creates a bit of a conflict come playoff time.
“I think there is room for several successful franchises in this sports-crazy town and area of New England. I’m glad we have them. I’m also a Celtics fan. I’m also a Bruins fan, and if you are not a fan of all these major sports teams in Boston there is probably something wrong with you because they’ve offered great product for several years.”
John Henry understands, and Robert Kraft may be on the verge of understanding, what happens when that great product suffers.
When the Red Sox wandered away from their winning core philosophy the last couple of years, they paid the price. They missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, and TV ratings suffered before their sellout streak came to a screeching halt.
The Red Sox needed a quarter-billion-dollar mulligan, courtesy of last year’s blockbuster trade with the Dodgers, and then a rededication to a disciplined approach to right their ship, and they have: The 2013 Red Sox team has an inside track on a playoff berth and the farm system is replete with blue-chip prospects.
In the wake of injuries, free-agent departures, the Aaron Hernandez murder case and the realization that Tom Brady may not be quarterback at 50, the still hugely popular Patriots have enough to worry about.
That Kraft once considered buying the Globe and then Henry did so is a fascinating plot twist. Henry needed to announce that he will not steer the Globe’s coverage of the Red Sox, since he grasps that readers around here can sniff out bias as easily as they can turn their backs on losers.
Boston supports its four sports teams and its two newspapers for many reasons, but the bottom line is that when institutions compete, a winning product is all that matters.
Rivalries are good.
They sell.
And when they do, fans win — to be sure.
