For all of the crap that the Dan Snyder era brought in DC, well, one thing he never did was throw a drink on an opposing team’s fans.
So, as much as him selling the team got rid of Snyder as the worst current NFL owner, what happened in Charlotte Sunday with Panthers owner David Tepper appearing to douse a Jags fan in liquid refreshment might have exonerated ol’ Danny Boy from the all-time top spot, too.
“Don’t cry for him, because he’s a hedge fund multi-billionaire who has a net worth of $20 billion, and bought the Panthers for $2.2 billion in May 2018,” Cakes said. “That’s a bargain considering what the Commanders went for, but that team has been a complete forest fire since he's taken over.
They've been no better than 7-9, and that was in his first year as the owner of the team, and they’re had six head coaches or interim head coaches – and at 2-14, they’ve clinched the number one pick in the draft, but they don’t have that pick because they dealt that pick to the Bears in the Bryce Young deal.”
A lot to unpack there, which apparently led to Tepper flinging his beverage out of the window of his suite onto a Jags fan on Sunday, ‘a really awful look for an owner to engage with a fan like that’ in Cakes’ (and everyone else’s) mind.
“It’s just embarrassing for the league when an owner of one of your 32 crown jewels is throwing a drink on a fan who's enjoying the game in the stands, because he's thin-skinned and apparently can't handle some ribbing,” Cakes said.
“He’s probably psychotic, probably got some neurotic issues, but I don’t know what they can do,” Bish replied. “Tepper has been a big failure as an NFL owner.”
Cakes wonders how we don’t have some more video of the situation given today’s world, and Valdez chimed in to wonder if there was anything more to it than just an in-the-moment frustration.
“Some of the still photos have Tepper looking over the front section of the suite at some of the fans,” Bish said, “so maybe there was a back and forth, but you can't really tell.”
“This is what I don't understand: any NFL owner should not have the window of the suite open, and allow any kind of access to the commoners,” Valdez shot back. “I’m sorry, but if I'm worth $20 billion, I'm not gonna get in the mud and start slinging it around with all the drunkards, because I have a lot more to lose than, Joe Schmoe in the stands.”
This was in Jacksonville, so who knows what the setup is in Carolina, but yeah, wouldn’t you be worried about reverse interaction with one like Tepper had in Jacksonville? Sure, and that led to the guys laughing about bulletproof suites with one-way glass, but it showed Drabby something.
“It’s just absolutely ridiculous; there are 100 ways to show anger other than throwing a drink at a fan, and what it shows me is that David Tepper is a tyrant who wants yes men all around him and full control, and wants to intimidate people,” Drab said. “That's a terrible person you want for your franchise.”
“He’s gonna own that team for the next two decades, so best of luck to you, Panthers fans, with that maniac in the suites!” Cakes laughed, as Bish wondered this: “How are you gonna get good people to work for you? He’s an awful person, and it’s a horrible look for the league – and this won’t be the last time it happens, either, with him.”
Even Dan Snyder would never do that, Bish thinks, although he would never be ‘with the commoners,’ but hey, we’ll take it if it knocks Dan down the naughty list!