NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue recently made some negative comments regarding the possibility of moving the New Orleans Saints franchise to San Antonio, Texas on a permanent basis. Was he correct or misinformed? Who is Paul Tagliabue?
We are all quick to label him the NFL commissioner, or perhaps the most influential man in sports. However, to understand the man one must examine his past.
Mr. Tagliabue was born in New Jersey City, New Jersey in 1940. He went on to become a basketball star at Georgetown University, holding the all-time rebounding record for over 20 years before broken by All-Star center Patrick Ewing. Mr. Tagliabue then went onto become an honors graduate of New York University Law School. Following his educational endeavors he became a senior attorney with the NFL before being chosen as the NFL Commissioner following Pete Rozzelle’s retirement in 1989.
You ask, why is this important? Because Mr. Tagliabue is a trained advocate who chooses his words with care to have a particularized and direct effect.
His recent negative comments regarding the City of San Antonio have two purposes: (1) to create a false national perception of San Antonio as a small town, little brother to Houston and Dallas; and (2) to further prove the first point by seeking to dissuade San Antonians from making the Saints venture within the city a successful enterprise.
Make no mistake, Mr. Tagliabue has made his opening statement and is seeking to secure his conviction before San Antonio has even had the opportunity to present its case.
Mr. Tagliabue has sought to define the San Antonio market in a limited way so as to support his assertion that we are not a large enough market to support an NFL franchise. However, by limiting the definition of "San Antonio" to merely the metropolitan area of Bexar County is a myopic viewpoint.
Ask any marketing professional and he or she will quickly tell you that San Antonio and Austin are universally referred to as a single market. Furthermore, within 300 miles from the Alamo Dome exists three of the ten fastest growing metro areas in the country: (1) McAllen-Edinbrug, (2) Austin-San Marcos, and (3) Laredo. San Antonio alone ranks as the 37th largest television market, larger than several other markets currently housing an NFL Franchise.
However, if we add in Austin, Corpus Christi, and Laredo we suddenly become the 16th largest market. This is without even taking into account the McAllen-Edinburg area which, because of unprecedented growth, is not currently being tracked by the latest Nielson Ratings. If we add a conservative estimate for this area San Antonio would easily be within the top 15 television markets in the United States.
Does that sound like a small down?
In the infamous words of the late Johnny Cochran, "if the [glove] don’t fit you must acquit."
Mr. Tagliabue has presented half-truths, misrepresentations, and outright lies in an attempt degrade San Antonio. It is our duty to disprove these representations and show the rest of the country that San Antonio is not a small market, but a truly unique and diverse American city. Words will quickly be forgotten if the City continues to take action. It is imperative that all three Saints home games in the Alamo Dome are sellouts.
Additionally, with KENS-5’s recent decision to show the Saints-Bills game over the Texans-Bengals game, we must prove our might by increased television viewership of this exciting game.
Mr. Tagliabue may have gotten the first shot at attempting to persuade the jury, but San Antonio has the opportunity to rebut his falsities by blowing the Commissioner’s arguments out of the water. If the City puts its heart and soul behind supporting the Saints; Mr. Tagliabue, Tom Benson, other NFL owners, and the nation will have no choice but to take notice.
Simply put we must show that the lies told by the Commissioner do not fit with the true City of San Antonio and the South Texas Region. San Antonio is in the midst of unprecedented economic growth, population expansion, and cultural diversification.
Instead of adopting Mr. Tagliabue’s mindset, we must remind others that the NFL would be lucky to count San Antonio as one of its members
4 replies on “Who Does Paul Tagliabue Thinks He Is?”
you don’t need to write this as an essay Write shorter paragraphs. Each paragraph can easily be split up into two or three separate paragraphs.
Good Story I like your points and I see nothing wrong with bringing an NFL franchise to the San Antonio Metro area. The Spurs seem to have plenty of support, even when they are down.
Saints and San Antonio You may well deserve a team, but get your own! These sorry losers who the referees continually stick the bone to, belong to us. Tom Benson is the lowest scum on earth for his latest attempt at robbing Louisiana. This man has taken Louisiana for every dime he can get, all the while putting a loser on the field. Now in the midst of one of the worst tragedies in American history, he tries to slip off quietly into the night. We want our Saints, but San Antonio can have the scum that owns them.
Loyal Saints Fan Since 1969
I dont know much about Benson But weren’t the saints rumored to be headed to LA anyway? I don’t know that he’s using it as an excuse so much as it’s just the straw that broke the camel’s back.