http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/sh...n-helped-start-the-Patriots-dy?urn=nfl,173305 Without Adam Vinateri, the New England Patriots wouldn't have won three Super Bowl titles. Without Tom Brady(notes), Adam Vinatieri(notes) wouldn't have been in a position to give the Patriots those titles. Without Bill Belichick, Tom Brady's quarterbacking wouldn't have set-up Adam Vinateri to hit the kicks to win those titles. And without Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick wouldn't have been in New England to help both Brady and Vinateiri win those titles. And without Michael Jackson (yes, that Michael Jackson), Bob Kraft wouldn't have bought the New England Patriots and the dynasty that was may never have been. As Forbes described in a 2005 article, Michael Jackon's 1984 Victory tour was directly responsible for Kraft purchasing Foxboro Stadium in 1988, a transaction that eventually led to him being able to buy the team in 1994. In 1988 Kraft and a partner put up $25 million to buy the Foxboro stadium from the Sullivan family, besting a $16 million offer from the Pats' owner, Kiam. (Kraft would buy out his 50-50 partner for a small premium five years later.) [Former Patriots owner, and current Foxboro Stadium owner] Charles Sullivan had used the stadium as collateral to fund [Michael Jackson's] Victory Tour back in 1984. Overleveraged, Sullivan went bankrupt and was forced to sell the arena. To this day Kraft's collection of photos and mementos includes a poster from the ill-fated tour. Basically, Sullivan got in over his head funding Michael Jackson's Victory tour (something that those concert organizers in London can commiserate with now) and was forced to sell the stadium because of the bad investment, a move which furthered Bob Kraft's quest to own his hometown Patriots. (Because Kraft owned the stadium, the team couldn't be sold without his approval. When new owner Victor Kiam wanted to sell to a St. Louis businessman intent on re-selling the team or moving it, Kraft stepped in and bid 50 percent more, buying the Patriots for $172 million in 1994. It was a transaction that began a run toward three Super Bowls, a perfect regular season and the career of one of the greatest coaches and quarterbacks that the league has ever seen. And to think, it was all set in motion by the guy with the glove moonwalking across the stage. "Wanna' Be Startin' Somethin'" indeed.
Fucking stupid Sullivan.... Vic Kiam was a scumbag too. "Buy my razors or I'll sexualy harrass female reporters in my locker room"
The story is close, but Kraft bought the team from James Orthwein who had purchased it from Kiam in 1992. Orthwein made some good changes to the team, including hiring Bill Parcells to coach the team. Starting with Billy Sullivan (the original owner), the Pats were run on a shoestring. They played at braves Field, Fenway Park, Harvard, and a few other stadiums before they scraped together enough money to build the piece of shit cement slab known as Schaeffer, Sullivan, then Foxboro Stadium. Billy's boy Chuck decides they need to strike it rich by doing the Jackson Brothers "Victory" tour and loses all their money! If it wasn't for Kraft stepping up and buying the stadium (in which the Pats had a ridiculously bad lease) James Orthwein (Anhauser Busch family) was planning to move the team to St. Louis, but Kraft was willing to sue to make him honor the lease, which had like 25 years left. Orthwein instead let Kraft buy the team.
Because it wasn't painfully obvious at the time that Brady was better than Bledsoe, Belichick wasn't a good talent evaluation until the tuck rule, and Ty Law wasn't an all pro corner either. They wouldn't have won that one, no, but either way they are probably pretty close to where they are now. So no, it's not. edit: if you were going to say something like that, you should have at least done the reasonable thing and blamed it all on spygate and some vague nfl conspiracy to prop up the pats
Thank God MJ had the decency to off himself on the day Farrah died, at least that way the day wasn't a complete loss.
