Get a Load of New York Writers Begging Mr. Kraft to Buy the Mets
NY Post - On May 25, 2016, Madison Square Garden erupted with warmth and excitement upon welcoming Yeshiva University’s commencement speaker: Robert Kraft.
“Well, thank you,” the owner of the enemy Patriots said as he took the stage, and then he quipped: “That’s not the reception I typically get when entering sports arenas in New York.”
What happened that day will look like a golf clap compared to the next time Kraft sets foot at a Big Apple athletic facility.
What happened last week, in fact, has me thinking bigger than treating Kraft as a regal rival.
As big as this: Robert Kraft, Mets owner.
Yes, Kraft should ride his wave of New York love all the way to serious discussions with the Wilpons, whose efforts to sell the Mets to Steve Cohen unraveled worse than Rich Kotite’s tenure as Jets head coach. The 78-year-old Kraft could be just the savior the Mets and their emotionally weathered fans need. ...
As The Post’s Mark Cannizzaro wrote, Kraft has earned family status here.
Imagine if he built on that profound generosity by turning the Mets into the Patriots of Major League Baseball. He wouldn’t be a mere family member. He’d be the godfather of every National League household from New Haven to Trenton.
Well, well, well.
Listen, I'm not about to mock the very sincere and genuine sentiments of New Yorkers. Especially not now. When they are, to use the word of one of their favorite sons strug-gl-ling.
Nor is it time for a history lesson about Border Wars I & II between Mr. Kraft and the Jets over Parcells and Belichick. Or the different accusations over the years. Fredo Mangini. Tampering with Darrelle Revis. Not to mention the two Super Bowls That Shall Not Be Named. This is a time for healing. And letting bygones go by.
Just that in New York's desperation to have two viable Major League franchises, don't come looking to my friend RKK.
He's got enough on his plate already. He's got to transition his football team from the Brady Dynasty to the Stidham Dynasty. Meet with world leaders. Got to Hollywood parties with his Manhattan doctor ladyfriend. Get guys like Meek Mill out of jail. Oh yeah, and save the world through magnanimous gestures. And while I'm not suggesting he doesn't have the extra energy necessary to run another sports franchise, he already is running another franchise. Two, actually. The New England Revolution in MLS and the Boston Uprising in the Overwatch League.
With all due respect to the little MLB franchise they're worried about in New York, these soccer players and esports gamers aren't going to run their teams themselves. It takes a man of singular vision who has his priorities straight. And his do not include getting the stench the Wilpon family has gotten all over that once proud franchise all over his signature footwear.
So while I respect the sentiment, and know I would feel the exact same way were I in Mets fans' shoes, no sale. For obvious reasons, if RKK is going to buy any MLB team, we'd all like it to be the Red Sox. Best of luck with literally every other thing, though.