- Posts: 1106
- Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2012 5:12 pm
Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:44 pm
As a former Marlins season ticket holder and someone who once attended 163 games in one year within the confines of Chicago, I firmly believe Luria and his unholy cabal should be facing criminal fraud charges.
I bailed on my tickets two years after the team's first World Series. I had a sneaky suspicion that the John Henry ownership would be a major step backward from Wayne Huisenga. Boy, was I right, and it's gone downhill from there.
Major League Baseball should have smelled the coffee when Luria ran the Expos into the ground after holding up the good people of Montreal for a new stadium. When it approved his move to Miami instead of D.C., opting to put an expansion team there, it opened the door for him to become a conniving, lying carpetbagger who systematically worked to fleece the taxpayers of Miami Dade County, in which, fortunately, I do not reside.
They gave him $600 million and he built a jewel of a stadium. But the fans in South Florida are fickle. The weather's too good and there are too many other options to draw them to the park every day. I'm sure Luria was already making plans for a fire sale early in the year when he realized his team was going to set a record for poor attendance in a new ballyard. He drew about 80 percent of the attendance he anticipated.
But here's what really galls ME as an outsider: After TWO fire sales -- one during and one after the season -- he's now positioned himself to make million$ off the poor saps who still shell out $45 for a decent seat to one of his games. Even worse, he could profit $500 million or so over his costs for the Expos franchise if he decides to sell, as some experts believe he'd do.
I made a vow when he bought the team that I'd never set foot in his building as long as he's the owner. Hopefully, the end will come soon.
And, thankfully, his team isn't the only one on the airwaves down here. We regularly get the Rays TV feed, and one of our radio stations broadcasts the Yankees on a regular basis.
As far as I'm concerned, the Marlins no longer exist!
I bailed on my tickets two years after the team's first World Series. I had a sneaky suspicion that the John Henry ownership would be a major step backward from Wayne Huisenga. Boy, was I right, and it's gone downhill from there.
Major League Baseball should have smelled the coffee when Luria ran the Expos into the ground after holding up the good people of Montreal for a new stadium. When it approved his move to Miami instead of D.C., opting to put an expansion team there, it opened the door for him to become a conniving, lying carpetbagger who systematically worked to fleece the taxpayers of Miami Dade County, in which, fortunately, I do not reside.
They gave him $600 million and he built a jewel of a stadium. But the fans in South Florida are fickle. The weather's too good and there are too many other options to draw them to the park every day. I'm sure Luria was already making plans for a fire sale early in the year when he realized his team was going to set a record for poor attendance in a new ballyard. He drew about 80 percent of the attendance he anticipated.
But here's what really galls ME as an outsider: After TWO fire sales -- one during and one after the season -- he's now positioned himself to make million$ off the poor saps who still shell out $45 for a decent seat to one of his games. Even worse, he could profit $500 million or so over his costs for the Expos franchise if he decides to sell, as some experts believe he'd do.
I made a vow when he bought the team that I'd never set foot in his building as long as he's the owner. Hopefully, the end will come soon.
And, thankfully, his team isn't the only one on the airwaves down here. We regularly get the Rays TV feed, and one of our radio stations broadcasts the Yankees on a regular basis.
As far as I'm concerned, the Marlins no longer exist!