DKSB Lifetime Pass: Paul Allen

Though I hate the inflammatory title (more on that down below), the PI has an interesting article today: "How many wins can Paul Allen's money buy?"

The point? Only Jerry Jones spends more on his team than Paul Allen, and PA does it without all the plastic surgery and bugf*#k insanity. It's like having Marc Cuban for an owner, but not having to deal with all of Cube's self-aggrandizing antics. From Qwest Field to the VMAC to hiring people like Holmgren and Ruskell, Allen has shown a strong commitment to running a classy, competitive NFL franchise.

To me, that's great... But it's less important than the fact that Allen saved NFL football in Seattle, which led to the building of Qwest Field, and eventually to the birth of the town's newest sports darlings: Seattle Sounders FC. Just based on stepping in, ponying up the cash and rescuing the team from the Behring Dark Ages, Allen gets a lifetime pass in my book. There could be an accident at the Allen Institute for Brain Science that allowed genetically engineered, super-intelligent, radioactive waste-covered ants to wreak havoc on the land, and I'd still love the guy.

This can't be overstated: Without Paul Allen, the Seahawks would have skipped town in the mid-90s, and would now be some ungodly Southern Cal abomination (Probably the L.A. Stallions or something). Your kids would probably grow up 49ers or... guh... Raiders fans. Now, not only do we still have a team, we have one of the best-run organizations in sports AND, without a doubt, the best practice and game-day facilities in the NFL. Allen also allowed people like me to become season ticket holders... He made the upper deck end-zone seats in the Kingdome $10 before the 1997 season, and I snapped up a pair of season tickets (in the TOP ROW of the dome). Even though those seats are $37 a pop now, you'd have to pry them from my cold, dead hands.

So if you're fixin' to complain about the $5 transportation charge to attend Training Camp at the VMAC, I'd advise stepping back and looking at the big picture. There wouldn't even BE a VMAC if that glorious sci-fi loving nerd hadn't stepped up over a decade ago.

Back to the title of that PI article... You KNOW that if the Seahawks win the Super Bowl, some ass-tard will dig that piece up and say "The Seahawks are just like the Yankees! They bought a championship!" Never mind that the Yankees haven't won dick since 2000, despite outspending every other MLB team by a wide margin, or that you just can't compare the financial structures of MLB and the NFL... None of that logic or any of those facts matter... Some idiots will piss on our parade by whining that our billionaire owner bought us a Lombardi Trophy. Don't say I didn't warn y'all.