Can they fire the owner?

 My mother dragged us to Florida in 1960. I lived there until 1983 when my wife and I moved to the Greensboro area. Living in Tampa, I experienced the start of a new NFL team with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1976. I wasn't much of a fan. 

The Bucs lost all of their 14 regular season games in the first season. In their second season in 1977, they lost their first 12 games before defeating the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans. In the final game of the season, the Bucs faced the St. Louis Cardinals at Tampa Stadium. A friend was going out of town, so he gave me his two tickets to that game. 

The Bucs actually beat the Cardinals for their second victory of the year. I watched as the fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts to celebrate a 2-12 record for the year. The game was a sellout so there were a little more than 72,000 people in attendance. In the 47 years since that game, I have talked to about half a million people who all claim that they were there for the victory. Who knew Joe Biden was a Bucs fan?

Why am I writing about this? The NFL season started today, and the Carolina Panthers were in New Orleans to face the Saints. I don't watch the NFL. I aged out of that several years ago. Watching millionaires run up and down the field beating their chests when they actually do their job and make a tackle or catch a pass is just more than I can stand. 

In 2018 David Tepper bought the Panthers. They haven't had a winning season since then. I think that they have had seven people (including interims) serve as the head coach. David Tepper has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no correlation between being able to make billions with a hedge fund and successfully operating a pro sports team.

Tepper's first problem is that he is a Yankee trying to show Southerners how smart he is. Memo to Tepper: You are failing badly in this endeavor. An appropriate colloquialism would be "Dave, your ass sucks wind." 

Beyond this, Tepper needs to turn the team over to a professional and go enjoy the beauty of the Carolina mountains in the fall. He should not return until around Christmas and then just make a call and check in on the team. Maybe they can get it done without him helping. Let's be honest here. Could they do any worse?

When I turned on the computer a few minutes ago, one of the lead stories was the Panthers getting their asses handed to them by the New Orlean Saints in a score 0f 47-10. The Panthers did not score the 47 points. On the first offensive play of the season, the quarterback threw an interception. It kind of spiraled down the drain from there.

If the Panthers were winning, people might be able to tolerate the arrogance of Tepper. Only Joe Biden's circle of friends is shrinking faster than Tepper's. But there are still people who believe in the Panthers and David Tepper. As long as their Amway income is large enough, they will keep buying tickets. As for myself, I am just blocking any source that reports NFL news.

I just can't end this on a negative note. When I was in Tampa in 1977, I had a customer who started selling T-shirts in the second season after they had started 0-5. John McKay was the Bucs head coach. My friend sold T-shirts that read "Throw McKay in the bay!". The best seller was the shirt that read "Go for 0". He sold thousands before they finally beat the Saints. "When God gives you lemons, sell lemonade!"  Maybe Tepper can get in the T-shirt business? Or maybe there's a market for me selling "Yankee, go home" shirts.