NFL Responds to WhoDey Revolution

For Project Mayhem Task #7, we sent a letter to NFL Commishioner Roger Goodell, sending a copy to all NFL owners, imploring Mr. Goodell to intervene and radically overhaul the organizational structure of the Cincinnati Bengals after the team’s 18 years of failed management.  The NFL has now officially responded, joining Steelers owner Dan Rooney.

Check out the full NFL response here.

The NFL letter, penned by Greg Aiello, the Senior VP of Public Relations, goes through the same standard Bengals excuses - every season there are going to be winners and losers, the Bengals went to the playoffs in 2005, things will get better soon. 

Today, WDR will be sending Mr. Aiello a response, again sending a copy to all NFL Owners. 

Here is the letter we will be sending to Mr. Aiello.  Here is the cover letter we will be sending to all NFL Owners.  All letters will be sent via overnight FedEx.

Full text of the letter to the NFL below the jump:

January 22^nd, 2008

Mr. Greg Aiello
Senior Vice President, Public Relations
National Football League

Dear Mr. Aiello:

Thank you for your January 21^st, 2009 letter responding to my letter of December 17^th, 2008 addressed to Commissioner Roger Goodell pleading for the NFL to intervene in order to radically overhaul the organizational structure of the Cincinnati Bengals after the team’s 18 years of failed management.  While I certainly appreciate the sincerity of your correspondence, there are a few fatal flaws in your reasoning that I would like to correct.  Additionally, I’d like to ask your advice on what you think we as Bengals fans should do in light of our situation.

But first, here are the facts.

You stated that “there are going to be losing teams every year.”  I am well aware that more than a few teams will have losing records each year.   But over the last 18 years, the Bengals have had only one season with a winning record!  It is not bad luck that the Bengals continue to be one of the teams with a losing record.  Over this span, the Bengals have the lowest winning percentage among every team in all four major sports. This is a failure that starts right at the top.

To defend your claim that the Bengals “have enjoyed success,” you cite two Super Bowl appearances from the 1980s, one fluke season and a recent 3-game winning streak against non-playoff teams that led the Bengals to finish the season a pathetic 4-11-1.   To call that success is a delusion of the highest magnitude. 

We understand that there are always going to be winners and losers, but it is not bad luck that the Bengals are always losers.  The Bengals are a team that refuses to face reality.  Despite the lowest winning percentage among every team in all four major sports for the duration of Mike Brown’s tenure as Owner and GM, the team refuses to hire outside football minds in the front office.  Despite claiming with a straight face every year that they intend to rebuild through the draft, the team continues to employ the smallest scouting department in the NFL. This team claims that they want to "compete"—note that they usually never say they want to "win," just that they want to "do well" or "be competitive."

All things being equal, would the organization prefer to win? Of course! But they are not taking the common sense steps to actually make that happen. 

Despite another losing season in 2008, the Bengals don’t seem poised to make any changes.  Out of the teams who have a top 10 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, the Bengals are the only team that have not made a change to their coaching staff or front office. 

The Bengals are in gross violation of the good faith effort implied by the NFL revenue sharing agreement that is intended to level the playing field for all teams.  Without direct intervention from the NFL or divine inspiration from above, rational Bengals fans have little hope that the Bengals will ever become a winning franchise. 

Given that, what do you propose Bengals fans do in response?  At Who Dey Revolution, we have launched PR stunts to bring attention to the cause and are leading a boycott of the team.  But with the popularity of the NFL in this country and revenue sharing, this is an uphill struggle.  What would you recommend Bengals fans do to impress upon Mr. Brown that his current way of doing business has failed?  Please advise the best approach to take as fans.  I think as reasonable men, we can agree that asking the fans to hang in there after 18 years of losing with no changes in sight, spending hard-earned money on tickets in the face of a recession is not a reasonable approach and, frankly, is borderline insulting.

The NFL has done a tremendous job building the most profitable and popular sports league in the country.  It is unfortunate that the Bengals continually fail to put a winning team on the field.  Your input on how Bengals fans should proceed is much appreciated.

 

Regards,

Andrew Simon
President
Who Dey Revolution, LLC

Cc: All owners

Comments

[Ben]

A good metaphor for the Bengals winning 3 straight games after starting 1-11-1 would be your ex-wife winning the lottery after you divorced her.

[Josh]

Very nice "canned" response from them. I like your letter back. It is very well written.

[Toddle In]

I hope the national media covers this emerging story. There has to be chatter about these letters among the clubs' different owners. Although they probably won't do anything to convince Mr. Jack Ass Brown to make changes and allign himself with the 21st century NFL, at least enough buzz might be created for this story to garner the attention of media giants, e.g., ESPN, SI, and/or NFL Network.

Either way, it makes Mike Brown look like a complete moron.

[Ray]

I wonder what specific "best practices" have been shared with the Bengals.

anemic scouting....check
predictable playcalling....check
failed medical staff....check

[BIGboner]

A good question - what can fans actually do? Isn't there any recourse for Mike Brown's behavior? I know WDR hasn't promoted it yet, but I think there needs to be picketing outside of his personal residence. It has to be something he can't ignore... he can (and has) easily overlook billboards and websites.

[Thom Tadsen]

"A good question - what can fans actually do? Isn't there any recourse for Mike Brown's behavior? I know WDR hasn't promoted it yet, but I think there needs to be picketing outside of his personal residence. It has to be something he can't ignore... he can (and has) easily overlook billboards and websites. "

Now that is what I'm talking about. But is that illegal?

[JMo]

No there is no recourse for Mike Brown's behavior and that is what has held this franchise back the past 18 seasons. The fact that this guy can hire incompetent unquallified members of his family to play pro football team has taken its toll on the team, the city and its loyal fans. We have had some pretty good players over that span and tons of potential that was never fulfilled due to poor coaching, inept contract negotiations, no sense of team. It has always been the front office against the team and it will never change until the man either dies or resigns.

[Hofbraunow]

I also commend Mr. Simon for the letter he wrote back after reading the NFL vicar's response.

The WDR is on the right track. Our success may not happen the way we think it will, but either way, I believe it will...you never know who is reading, or paying attention to this blog...SI and other local/national media, to say the least...

¡VIVA la WDR!

[PAl]

Minimally, this has to make it at least a little uncomfortable for the Brown family. Nobody likes to be made a fool of. I know that some will write in claiming that Mikey doesn't care, all he cares is about money but you're wrong. Mikey is a "redeemer" and deep down does want to be liked. He just so delusional. It's possible that with the increasing pressure from WDR, he may "come around". You saw how Katie responded in Dallas. Keep up the great work.

[WC]

...And you expected anything different?

I told you all before, the NFL doesn't care if the Bengals suck the ass out of a dead milkcow -- so long as they don't hurt the NFL in an appreciable way. Thos of you who think that by putting out a piss-poor product -- hurts the NFL, as I also stated before... All the other owners are praying when the schedule comes out -- that they can play the Bengals. They could give a shit less that the Bengals play competently (or not). They look at it as an expected win --one that puts them EXACTLY 1/16th closer to going to the post season. That means that the better their record, the more merchandise THEY will sell. Sure, MBB doesn't get the full cut and the selling team makes more individual profit, but as I told you before, MBB only cares about the concept that he's made a profit -- he doesn't give a rip about how much -- just that he's made a profit. Anything over one penny is just 'icing on the cake' for him.

You want to try something that *might* work on MBB, try shaming him. Try telling him that the only reason that he is making a profit is because of revenue sharing. Tell him that he can come into his office every day promptly at 0900 take a seat, fart in it and leave and just as before he broke wind, he was profitable -- so it is that after he shits himself -- he is profitable. Tell him that to be a decent business man he has to discard anything that he gets communally from the league and he has to turn a profit on his own. With the current 'uprising' maybe such a thing would show him in the red. Maybe that would appeal to his business acumen ego?

For those of you who like to tout (why I don't understand... ...one the face of it it is anathema to your points) that he was one of two who voted 'no' on the revenue sharing plan, keep in mind that:
1) It was a public/open vote so each owner knew what the other was going to do before the gavel came down. That means that kinda like Sheila Jackson Lee (and a few other Democrats in Congress (Barbara Boxer et. al.)) he could change his actual vote to what he thought would make him look the best (Jackson-Lee changed her vote and a real stinker of a piece of legislation after the legislation had gone through -- simply because she knew it would hamstring her and as she said to the effect, I wish to change my vote as my vote would not make a substantial change in the way the vote for the question turned out). So with MBB being able to 'read the tea leaves' he could try to endear himself to fiscal conservatives who might no longer pay attention to his team if he voted in a socialist/liberal way.

The next thing that is not being stated (or at least I haven't seen it here) is what was his actual opinion. You know, he could have voted 'no' because he didn't think things went far enough -- now couldn't he? Everyone is assuming that he voted 'no' because he didn't want 'socialism' to creep into the league.

No matter which way you slice it, holding up his 'no' vote is a 'red herring' as it doesn't mean squat.

Just remember people, other owners, the NFL itself... they might tell you that they are concerned etc., but those are just words and they don't reflect their true feelings. Billy Bidwell could care less if the Bengals got a winning team. It is like a balance sheet, for what the Bengals cost the league due to their ill play, they make it up on the team that destroys them -- and then some. That is why the rest of the league is comfortable with the Detroit's, the Cleveland's, and Cincinnati's of this league. I would feel comfortable in saying that Bidwell is making a shot at winning the big one before he sells the Cardinals -- he is getting too old. So he's set aside a budget and has a time frame and it is a case of: win what you can within a certain set time, then after that, you guys are effectively on your own.

It's a fact of sports -- get used to it -- rather you should already be used to it. You've had since 1968 to get used to it. You'd think you'd learn.

[WC]

In regards to the reply to Mr. Aiello,

Please tell me what 'Good faith' the Bengals are in violation of -- regarding revenue sharing? (My apologies to my sixth grade English teacher!). I never once remembered hearing that the reason (or 'A' reason) for the revenue sharing encompassing a teams record other than the abstract -- if a team wins more, they make more personal money before it gets divided up in the revenue sharing scheme; and the answer to that is if a particular owner is ok with the minimums he receives -- assumedly, the Bengals take in very little in the way of merchandise sales etc., then that is up to said owner. If he doesn't like it, he needs to make his team more marketable. If he doesn't care -- say he is fine with just making a profit -- no matter how litte (as is the case with MBB), then that is also his choice -- not yours, not can you force this into a situation for which it is no -- to begin with. So again, I ask, tell me 'good faith' violation is in effect? Do you mean the one that you are reading into it?

The next thing is the statement about 'PR Stunts' -- are you aware that this is probably the worst wording you could have used? This confirms that what is happening is exactly that -- stunts -- not meaningful discourse. Do you understand that the media sees it this way? Do you understand that they like to see people pissing in the pot -- it makes for bigger ratings? Do you think those same organization give a flyin' rip about WhoDey revolution? Just because you were able to get on Cunningham's idiotic show doesn't mean anything. As for him, he is a laughing stock in the media. BFD! Let me ask you... the first newscast after the last game of the season -- it was on Fox19... ...Did they cover the 'party' downtown offered up by WDR? NOPE! They covered some beer swillers who had some God-awful carboard casket rendition of a Bengal in uniform. If you guys actually meant something to someone, don't you think that WCPO, WLWT, and WKRC -- as well as WXIX would have been down there with mics shoved in your faces and live reports from the scene -- that something would have made it to television?

You have to understand that anything that can remotely be considered a stunt is not going to be considered a sincere attempt to ask for redress on given issues. The NFL is going to see it that way. Of course, if they write you back, they aren't going to tell you this the same that I am, they are going to tell you similar to their original response -- which is: Bullshit them. Tell them a ton of things that amount to telling them exactly "NOTHING."

Look, I hate to say it but if it stays like it is right now, there is nothing that you can do about the Bengals. It will have to come autonomously from MBB. Maybe he sells the team? Maybe he moves the team? Maybe he does a "Billy Bidwell" and gets religion -- at least for three to five years? All of these things are things that COULD have been back in the 1990's but for the selfishness of quite a few, no one bothered to tell MBB to go to Baltimore. No one told him to sell the team... Instead of standing up for what was right -- in accordance with the actions that MBB had started up front -- some people just were too selfish to let things go -- they had to have their football.

I can tell you one thing... I would bet that if the truth were told, about 85% of the people on this website (or more) were ones that voted FOR the stadium tax and coincidentally enough, they are the ones bitching about this the most. At least I can hold my head up high and say that: "I knew, way back when, that MBB was a turd and that the City should have told him to go piss up a tree, and that we shouldn't have a new stadium etc." I was one of the ones that walked door-to-door with petition in hand. Although my 'side' lost, I am proud of what I did and all I can tell you is that you 'reap what ye sow.'

[t bengal]

wc is the key. y'all know the man is right. each and every one of us bengal fans HAS to get to that point where we don't care if the team moves. if we don't then MB will continue to sit with Pocket Aces while we have 7 deuce off-suit. i know we're all preaching to the choir here on this site, but the bulk of this revolution needs to remain grass-roots though the national attention helps no doubt. more needs to be said how to convince our brethren at bengals.com & GB(good luck with that) that you don't have to go to the game to have a good time on sundays. as far as the letter to Aiello, you wrote it so your the better man, but WCs right. theirs 31 other fanbases who want the same thing we want every year are we any more special than them that the NFL would intervene with our situation? nope

[TigerJ@w]

at least WDR is trying, WC. they got a response back from the league. what have you received to try and change this old man's ways of trying to put a winning team together? you wrote a book in your last two posts and i quit reading after the first couple of rants. so, what are you here for anyways? to stop this site? shut it down? make people see your way? what is your way? are you a MFB lover? you say you hate the man, but are set in your ways knowing nothing will change, well, then get lost! nobody wants to read your drivel on here.

don't buy season tickets, don't buy merchandise, don't go to the games so you will not buy food, etc...

this will get the attention of the other owners and the Commish, it worked before PBS was built and I will say again this is when MFB threatened to move. it will only take a couple of years and then you will see change. Keep up the great work WDR and don't listen to the trolls or MFB lovers!

We are behind you! The only thing about the letter I would have added is, I would have asked what if 20,000 less fans start coming to the games then would you do anything?

as Jimmy V would say, Don't give up, Don't ever give up!

[TigerJ@w]

I forgot to add about the letter, you should state Mike Brown was not the owner at the time of the so called success of going to 2 Super Bowls. It was his Father. Yea, he was around, but he had no control just like he is proving nobody else has any control on what he does as the owner now. BTW, how it a success to just show up at the Super Bowl and not win them? The NFL wants the Bengals around because just as they stated, they need losers.

[PAl]

WC, you write one hell of a letter, a joy to read, seriously. I voted for the tax mainly because I thought that the Reds stadium would logically be built at Broadway Commons thus stimulating the economy/growth of Over The Rhine, the key to the revitalization of Cincinnati. I underestimated the self centered pigs that fixed the second "election" on the location of the Reds stadium. They, Lindner,Bedinghaus,Brown, etc. didn't give a shit about what the obvious benefits of the Broadway Commons location would be to the city of Cincinnati. They only cared about how the riverfront location would benefit them. We all now see who benefitted and who didn't.

As far as WDR goes, even if it doesn't accomplish it's goal, it gives me joy feeling that it has to creating at least a little pain in Mike Brown's tight sphincter.

[Red Scourge]

I nominate WC as "An Enemy of the Revolution." His only contribution here seems to be long, rambling rants aimed at discouraging the activities of the people on this site. It appears is only positive suggestion is that we not vote for the stadium deal. If we already voted for it, we should just shut up and suffer in silence. That attitude undermines the revolution just as much as the people who say "It will be better next year."

[Joe]

Threaten them with an NFL-wide boycott. They don't give a crap about the Bungles. They gave you a thoughtful response because the NFL recognizes that new media sites are power brokers. Don't underplay the hand - maybe even tell them how many site visits you get to make clear exactly how much damage you can do to the brand.

They probably need less convincing that the Bengals suck - they know it, and repeating the "case" that they suck because of management is unnecessary. What they need to know is that fans in Cincinnati are not going to stand for it, and it's going to start hurting the NFL's bottom line, along with the rest of the owners.

Do it big. When you start threatening their cash that's when they start talking to Mikey behind the scenes...

[PAl]

Don't get upset at WC. Every blog has at least one guy like him. I got pissed the first few times I read his posts but then realized that that is what he wanted to accomplish. I've grown to appreciate his semi-coherent ramblings. I actually found myself chuckling a few times while reading them and as mentioned above I've found some to be "interesting".

The tax issue is old now. Yeah, most of us voted for that Brown/Bedinghaus con but who hasn't voted for something or someone in the past that we have regreted later. Unfortunately, we often put trust in people we shouldn't. In this case the Brown/Bedinghaus team won the only bowl it then and now cares about, The Cincinnati Stadium Tax Bowl.

[K. Phelps]

I like that letter man, you don't sound like you are asking too much of the league by asking them how to handle the situation, its always good to start small and work your way up.

[Hofbraunow]

Red Scourge, funny as as hell :) and *true*...

...therefore, let's retroactively not vote for the stadium deal (even though it's not on the table anymore...did I say 'retroactively'?)

and, if we did vote *for* it already, let's shut up and suffer in silence...LMAO, Le Mao, Le Mao Tse Tongue, Le Mao Say Hold-Your-Tongue, ah hee hee

Damn that was funny

¡VIVA la WDR!