Cincinnati Bengals-Houston Texans Playoff Preview—Taxpayers Have Already Lost

Two of my home town teams–The Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans–are in the NFL playoffs against each other this weekend. The game is in Houston on Saturday, January 7 at 3:30 PM CST.

(Above–Program From Providence–Green Bay game on October 25, 1931. Green Bay won this game 48-20.  Mention of the Green Bay Packers allows to me link to a post from last year about how Packer coaching icon Vince Lombardi was a Democrat. ) 

In my 44 years, I’ve lived in Providence, R.I., Cincinnati and Houston.

Both the Bengals and Texans have benefited in recent years from public money for new stadiums.

I’ve voted no every chance I’ve gotten against public money for sports stadiums.

Despite the massive public subsidy and sneaking into the playoffs this year with 9-7 record, the Bengals are best known for losing and losing year after year.  The last time Cincinnati won a playoff game was 1990.

Before the opening kick off, taxpayers in both Cincinnati and Houston have already lost. Taxpayers will also keep on losing after the game is over.

My enmity for the Bengals is eternal, as I was a resident of Cincinnati and a Cincinnati City Council staffer when the Bengals were scamming the money.

The taxpayer money the Bengals gouged will seemingly never be paid off. (Told you so.)

My boss at the time, a current Hamilton County, Ohio Municipal Judge named Tyrone Yates, voted no as a Cincinnati Councilmember on enabling the Bengals stadium deal.

Here is a 2004 Houston Chronicle article about publicly financed  stadium deals in Houston. 

This weekend I’ll root for my 3rd hometown team. The Providence Steam Rollers won the NFL title in 1928 and never–as I am aware–demanded public money.

The Providence Steam Rollers played in the NFL between 1925 and 1931. Here are facts about the team from the excellent Pro Football Reference.com.  

The Steam Rollers ask for nothing but that we keep them in our memories. Keeping the Steam Rollers in our memories is something which involves no corporate welfare at all.

Field of Schemes is a good blog about the business of building sports stadiums.

Non-Profit Community-Owned Green Bay Packers Win Super Bowl—Vince Lombardi Was A Democrat

The Green Bay Packers, who just won the Super Bowl, are the only community-owned non-profit team in American major league sports.

(Above–Citizen-owners at the Packers game. Photo by yunggunn2k3.)

From the Georgetown University newspaper The Hoya—

“Unlike the 31 other professional football teams, or any other sports team for that matter, the Packers are not owned by some wealthy individual (or group of individuals) seeking a profit. Instead, they’re owned and managed by 111,968 devoted fans. In that lies their power….Green Bay fans themselves vote on and serve as part of the board of directors, which appoints the pivotal managerial and coaching staff of the Packers. Unlike most other teams across the nation, when Packers fans are frustrated, they don’t have to suck it up. They have the ability to enact change through shareholder votes and air their grievances directly with Packer management.Socialism has worked pretty well in this case.”

Socialism seems to work pretty well for the Packers.

Not only that, legendary Packers Coach Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named, was a loyal Democrat.

Coach Lombardi was close friends with John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy.

Here is a great quote from Coach Lombardi—

“People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society.”

Congratulations to the citizen-owners of the Green Bay Packers.

Building on a foundation of teamwork provided in good part by the enduring example of the visionary Vince Lombardi, a true people’s championship has been won at Super Bowl XLV.

(Below—Coach Vince Lombardi–A Great American.)