Kraft generosity

El Grandé Frank: I luv 'ya. I really do. But you got to get off that horse. You know: The-Revs-Are-Asking-For-Volunteers horse.

Would I do it? Maybe. But, given the state of affairs in my life, probably not.

The Revs staff came up with a plan they thought was feasible and worked seamlessly within the grassroots model.

They asked. It never hurts to ask. And, several fans and supporters complied. It's not like its Communism, and no one was forced to do it. My understanding of it was that it went well - last weekend - and they response they received was better than expected (both in the numbers that turned out and the feedback they received).

So what if they excluded the Revs' staffers. The reality is that they don't pay the bills. It's like I wrote before: Gillette's upscale housing for the Patriots, and, in some ways, it'll always be subsidized housing for the Revs. The Revs, financially, couldn't pull 400-pound Ted Washington's weight. It's the Pats who are bringing 99.9% of the notariety to this plot of land in Foxboro. When it's time for Super Bowl virtually everyone knows it. MLS Cup? Let's put it this way, there aren't many if at all locally who'd put up Five Large per person to travel to it. That's the best way I can put it to you in simple terms.

As for the Super Bowl, a good chunk of those folks who went down and are going down are both Pats and Revs staff (Brad Feldman's down there). I understand that pretty much everyone was given the option. A number of them are going down on Sunday because their day-to-day function within each entity didn't allow for travel outside of the weekend.

[Full disclosure: I'm not on the payroll a la some others] From a charitable standpoint, Bob and Myra Kraft's track record when it comes to donating and giving to benefit others is exceptional. I'd go on the record as saying they're in a stratosphere of their own in that regard. You can crack them for some things, but that's not one of them. They're extremely generous when it comes to digging into their pockets for that sort of thing.

 

Re: All aboard the Houston Express

So your real complaint with Kraft is that the Revs aren't the Patriots and that he isn't Lamar Hunt? The Revs are a tiny part of his revenue picture and a drag on his profit picture. If we are all very lucky that picture will change, and when it does, it mostly won't be because of anything Kraft has much control over. Then it will make sense to slam him for his priorities as they exist now.

Until then, it's just a business decision. I disagree with it, but I don't see the point of the kind of axe grinding you indulge in so often.

 

I would concur with Danizinho that the Krafts are bigtime into local charities, and by anyone's estimation, they are great owners for the Pats. It a lot of ways it's a (relative) rags to riches story. Bob Kraft had 4 season tickets around the 10 yard line in 1971, and from there he ends up owning the stadium and the team. He truly was a fan of the team long before he ever could think of owning them, and that's a lot of what makes this relationship special. How many other NFL owners fit that mold? Maybe the Maras with the Giants and the lineage of the Halas family with da Bears, but they've owned them since the 1930s, when they were the equivalent of MLS to college football being the NFL.

There was also an article in the paper last week about how the common perception is that the teams going to the Super Bowl will make extra money, which they generally don't. How many "super bowl champs" T-shirts and hats do you have to sell to cover the costs of player bonuses and travel expenses, etc. for the week-long party in Houston?

But there is a point to what Big Frank says. It's as if the Revs were run on a shoestring budget, cutting corners in any place possible. Sure, it's a business and they need to do what they can to keep afloat, but even if it is a perception vs reality situation, if people perceive that the Revs are a low-budget operation that won't advertise or spend money to build crowds, that's a problem even if it isn't 100% accurate.

Simple little things can go a long way to build "brand awareness" for the Revs. A few years ago they gave out those oval bumper stickers. I don't have that car any more, but I still see a few of them around. How much can that cost?

Tom

 

"But there is a point to what Big Frank says. It's as if the Revs were run on a shoestring budget, cutting corners in any place possible. Sure, it's a business and they need to do what they can to keep afloat, but even if it is a perception vs reality situation, if people perceive that the Revs are a low-budget operation that won't advertise or spend money to build crowds, that's a problem even if it isn't 100% accurate..."

Can't disagree.

 

Bumper Stickers

I love those oval stickers and have been meaning to ask about them for some time now. Are they available anywhere (either for free or for sale)? It seems the the pro shop did not have them last time I looked.

 

I have a hoarded pile of those great stickers and I try to place them where they might do the most good. For example, one is on my son's laptop at college. Another is on the clipboard for attendance sheets that I pass around in my classes. A few are on my equipment cases, wherever they go. And, of course, the cars.

It is the best possible free advertising and community building. Whenever I see one of those stickers I honk, wave, yell or whatever is the most appropriate, friendly gesture I can do in the circumstances.

JIM DOW

 

sounds reasonable to me. now, BF, next time you want to make a point, you should have tom make it for you. (why do i get the feeling i will regret this later )

sure there are always things that can be better. that doesn't make the revs & krafts evil incarnate. and people pointing that more moderate view are not 'apologists' or 'on the payroll'. people (Danizinho) should not have to quailify any point that might cross BF's viewpoint with " I don't work for the Krafts but... "

the 'evilness of kraft' topic is a bit old, and is now a BF signature. BF is now the Triumph the Insult Comic Dog of the rev board.

...What a nice Rev promotion... for ME TO POOP ON!

 

I didn't read the article Tom's referring to, but I believe that most, if not all, NFL merchandise revenue is shared among the 32 teams. Even if the Patriots are one of the hottest-selling jerseys, caps, T-shirts, etc., that doesn't necessarily mean they profit much from that fact.

 

Yes, that is correct. So any merchandise sales, not to mention extra ticket sales generated from the home playoff games go to the league, to be split up. I dunno about the playoffs, but I know for regular season games, it's like a 60-40 split, so a team that sells out its stadium every game isn't going to make that much more than the Arizona Cardinals who have drawn some pitiful sized crowds. The teams do get to keep all the money from luxury boxes, so that's why you see such a push for all the new stadiums in the NFL.

On the other hand, a lot of guys have clauses in their contracts for bonuses if the team wins a championship or if he makes the pro bowl/all-star team or is the MVP. These are paid by the teams, so Krafty could be out several mill this year. He said in the article I referenced that he didn't mind paying the extra bonuses, since winning is worth it.
This is not to be confused with the fact that the NFL itself pays bonuses for teams in the playoffs, and the winning SB team's players will each get something like $400,000 extra, on top of their regular contracts.

So the point is Kraft thinks the prestige of winning the super bowl 2 times in 3 years is worth a financial hit because he himself is a fan and relishes the team's triumphs as much, if not more, than anyone. Good for him. I'm not asking him to put that kind of money into the Revs, but take the same approach, that it is important to run a first-rate organization, and if you do, the rest will take care of itself.

Tom

 

Heh, maybe Bob can call Ted Kennedy if.. ahh.. err.. WHEN the patriots win the Super Bowl - and take advantage of the timing to swing an emminent domain deal.

Now, what T/Rail stations need alot more parking... add retail, offices.....

..... Soccer Specific Stadium

 

Ah, like "W" did to get taxpayers to take land away from its rightful owners (forcing them to sue the state for fair compensation) and build a baseball park for him.

Thankfully we're not THAT gullible in Massachusetts.

 

I did not read the article, but if this was the jist of it, they missed the boat by the length of an ocean.

Being in and or winning the Super Bowl has NOTHING to do with mechandising.

It has EVERYTHING to do with sponsorship. Every business wants to be associated with a winning team. The Kraft's can continue to crank up the sponsorship costs because they gain huge leverage and eventually huge dollars. Pregame shows, post game shows, radio, in stadium sponsorship etc, they are all affected.

Also, it certainly helps luxury box sales in that ,again, the big wigs will pay pretty much what ever price tag he puts in.

The money the Krafts are making off the Patriots is amazing and they deserve every penny of it. Good for them. They worked hard and for lack of a better term, "did things right".

Of course none of that will make me any less disappointed in them for pinching pennies on the Revs side of the organization.

Andy

 

Andy, you are correct. There is a ton of indirect benefit from being associated with a winner,and the Pats certainly will gain in the sponsorship area if they win Sunday.

I read an article about the retail sports merchandising area, and there is almost always a run on gear of the team that wins a championship right after they win. Nothing like being a front-runner. I was in S. Florida the week after the Marlins won the WS, and there was a story on the news a (by our old pal Dave Kartunen!) of how people were lining up overnight to buy Marlins gear. Where were these people 6 weeks earlier when the team couln't draw more than a good-sized MLS crowd?

The basic gist of the article was that there's no direct extra revenue for the Pats, considering that they have sold every ticket to every game for the forseeable future, and that they will have to pay out extra bonuses to players, costing the bottom line. Kraft considers it money well spent, but not all of his NFL owners share that view.

I guess the best we Revs fans can hope for is that maybe they will use this leverage of people wanting to jump on the Pats bandwagon as a package deal, that to do a Pats pre-game show, they have to do something else for the Revs as part of the deal...

Tom

 

There may be a side of this whole question of what the Krafts spend on the Revs that we aren't considering.

The league is working as a unit to break even (become profitable) and each team/owner is being expected to keep costs at rock bottom. Heck, the Cap hasn't even gone up enough to keep pace with inflation. Mr Kraft may just be doing his part to make the league and lean and mean as possible. Combining staffs et al are a good way of cutting costs. When the League trys to sell a new Franchise and they can show MLS is not afflicted with the same bloat that is starting to sink teams in other leagues they are on solid ground. Team owned stadia, single entry,a low, strict salary cap and smart business practices are starting to make MLS attractive to outside investors. I suspect that Mr Krafts actions must be viewed within the context of that overall business plan.

George

 

I agree with much of what you say.

I don't have any problems with combining the two staffs to save money. It certainly is not optimal but KC has proven that is can work with the right leadership.

Where I jump off the boat with this theory is on cost cutting items like only opening up one side of the stadium or refusing to play home games in important competitions etc. These cost cutting methods are counter productive because there is no way to erase the minor leage stigma that they give to the team and to the sport.

Andy

 

I agree with Andy. I did read the Globe article, but there is no way I'm buying the argument that winning the Super Bowl does not financially benefit the Krafts.

I understand what the Krafts are doing as regards the Revo. Their feeling is, we made the initial investment to get the league up and running, we've lost money, and now we're going to put the franchise on autopilot and run it on a shoe string, while the league as a whole shows promising signs of inching towards profitability. We're going to let others do the heavy lifting now to make the league viable long term.

It's still disappointing because i believe the franchise could be doing so much better. Who were all those people in Gilette two years ago for the Cup Final?

 

They're the "Big Event People". You see them when U2 comes to town, when a local team makes the playoffs, etc. When nothing is happening, they go back to their townhouses and their lexus SUVs.

 

Preach to the choir.

My family lost millions by ED.

Shed a tear for me, OK?