Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Thoughts and Prays to the Glazer Family.


I was saddened to learn of The Bucs owner, Mr. Malcolm Glazer suffered a stroke on April 16th and was admitted to a hospital in Cleveland. According to the bucs.com.

"The stroke has impaired Mr. Glazer's speech and mobility in his right arm and
leg."On behalf of the entire Glazer family, I want to thank everyone at the
Cleveland Clinic for their outstanding care," said Joel Glazer. "My father's
spirits are high and doctors expect his condition to improve with
rehabilitation."

As I have stated over and over again, being a Bucs fan since they were established, I have been through the Hugh Culverhouse years as a fan. Although Culverhouse was initially seen as a hero for making Tampa a major-league town, he soon became one of the most detested owners in the NFL. He frequently shifted money from the Bucs to his other investments. He kept the Bucs' payroll one of the lowest in the league. Unfortunately, this kept the Bucs from attracting quality players in an era when teams with large payrolls were all but required to contend. The few who did rarely stayed long; Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon was the only genuine star who stayed with the team for a long time. In most other cases, Culverhouse either traded quality players away or wouldn't pay them enough to keep them in Tampa. For example, he traded Steve Young after his only full season at quarterback.

Malcolm Glazer eventually bought the team. Unlike Culverhouse, Glazer was not afraid to pump money into the team, and the Bucs have been a contender for most of the last decade, including a win in Super Bowl XXXVII. So as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer fan, I have the up most respect for Mr. Glazer, and we wish you a speedy recovery, because we got another Super Bowl to win.

2 comments:

mhofeld said...

I read in SI where Glazer took Rhonde Barber to Europe to celebrate his birthday. Sounds like he is a class guy.

Cutthroat Pirates said...

I did not know that, but he is a class act, just public shy.