In case you needed any other reasons to hate Jerry Jones, let me give you some more. As you can see from the pics, he apparently thinks Steve Urkel is cool and can get down. Second, he apparently thinks the power of God will be unleashed from his new football stadium and that the entire human race will benefit from his latest rich-man's indulgence.
Disclaimer: I worship at the altar that is The National Football League. Long before Darius Rucker put those lyrics to music, the Miami Dolphins were in fact making me cry. So as a die-hard, lifelong Dolfan...I hate the Cowboys. Better yet, I hate Jerry Jones. Having said that, I will admit that Jones may very well be what qualifies as a "genius" when it comes to NFL owners. How else can you explain his keeping the idea of his team being "America's Team" alive despite the fact that it has been 12 years, 6 months and 21 days since the 'Boys last won a playoff game. Hell...the Raiders won all the way to the Super Bowl in 2003. I suppose if Jerry can call his team "America's Team" after a 4586 day drought, then Al "Cryptkeeper" Davis has every right to argue his team has a "Tradition of Excellence," doesn't he?
But I digress. I promised another reason to hate Jerry and here it is: this NY Times piece on Jerry and his new stadium. Check out the size of Jerry's ego in talking about his $1.2 billion new baby, funded in part by a $325 million tax-increase on the locals.
Jones says Cowboys Stadium will be its own stimulus package that will help “the
country and this world” dig out of the recession. Meanwhile, most studies show
little economic impact from new stadiums.
We don't even need to point out that "most studies show little economic impact from new stadiums." We don't even need to argue over Jones' boastful statement that the stadium will help the country, to show what an idiot Jones is. Instead we can just focus on his ridiculous statement that his latest extravagance is going to save the world. What. An. Ass.
How big of an ass is Jones? Take a look the writer checking him on his assertion that "The landowners came out really well on eminent domain,” Jones said. He's leaves out the fact that they only came out good after hiring attorneys to fight over the amount of their land. He just glosses over that fact with a simple, "That's correct."
Listen, this is a big legal issue nowadays. Eminent Domain is supposed to be used by the government to obtain property, at just compensation, for public or civic use. In June 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. New London that local governments may force property owners to sell out and to make way for private economic development, even if the property is not blighted. That has created a host of problems. A lot of people have a problem with the fact that their local city or county council can take their land if they decide a Wal-Mart would be nicer on the land than the landowner's home or business. In how many cases is that private landowner going to be on equal footing when it comes to fighting a battle like that against a Wal-Mart? How about against "America's Team?"
But Glenn Sodd, who represented property owners in legal challenges to the
city’s offers for their land, said the condemnation issue still resonates. “It’s
a misuse of the Texas Constitution and the U.S. Constitution,” he said. “To say
we in this community need this stadium is a gross mischaracterization. We might
desire it. We might wish to have it. But no one’s condemning land to build
grocery stores.”
So when all that fanfare comes pouring out all over the broadcasts of the Cowboys Stadium unveiling this upcoming season, remember how we got to this point. And remember...this stadium is supposed to save the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment