Rick Bonnell and Tommy Tommilson

[panthers55]

dude.. I feel ya on wanting more explanations and all that.. but this guy lost me here...

so JR told a joke and he uses that to bash JR?

LOL

come on man... this was a poorly written article with an agenda..

I understand the points you've raised, but I can't tell if the article makes just enough similiar points that you are heated about or if you really like hte article..

to me the article is a joke and up above is pretty clear why.. "it didn't improve after that" clearly spells out the agenda when he's referencing JR telling a joke..

if JR was a comedian and this was standup, perhaps that's a good lead in to an article.. since that wasn't the case, the writer is looking for anything to jump JR's bones..

The media asked him questions.. JR didn't just stand up and berate them.. The media asked them the questions they wanted to ask and JR set them straight. "Do you think paying 11 mil to a coaching staff is cheap? do you think being top 5 in coaching salaries is cheap?" Reporter: long pause... "No"..

so where did JR come out and start ripping the media a new one? was it when he took 2 minutes to point out 2 newspaper articles.. 1 he didn't talk about, the other he did, when he called the media out for being unaccountable with their sources? well I don't know about you, but this has been one of my BIGGEST pet peeves, and I'm glad someone took 2 measly minutes to address that...

the questions had as much to do with the direction of the press conference as anything.. matter of fact, that's the point of the Q&A. Reporters, you direct the flow now.. ask me anything.. but I fail to see why JR being stern and setting the media straight is a bad thing.. more owners should do this, as with more coaches and players.. and public figures in general..

JR told us 2 important factors of the future... Winning back to back seasons and reloading the roster with new talent instead of riding the wheels off of old vets.. I mean, I don't know how deep you want him to go but right there he told us WINNING is the #1 priority and drafting/coaching up our young guys needs to improve like hell..

I like hearing that..

I understand your irritation with JR, but is there anything JR could have really done differently other than say, again, Sorry fans, I thought it would be better? and I don't know the deal with ticket prices other than he raised them 1 in the last 3 years.. 2 in the last 4 after this year.. is that bad? if he did raise it in '09 instead of this year, would you all feel better?

just my response to you.. I've been over this with others and all I hear are generic, non-factual responses that are really neither here nor there to my rebuttals.. I know you'll do a better job..

That isn't how I took the article at all. And in fact JR called Tommy today and apologized and went into specifics about how we were going to come back. Exactly what I was asking for in the first place.

It wasn't what JR said so much as the arrogant condescending way he said it. He waited 9 years for a press conference and failed miserably if that was the best he could do. As for Tomlinson, I have read his articles in the past and he is not vindictive, negative or self serving most of the time.

[panthers55]

Well, here's my long-winded response

I can understand having money tied up in something and wanting a good return for it. I'd like nothing better myself. But I know what is on that PSL agreement. There is nothing on there stating "you are promised better than a 2-14 season, or an apology". You are not promised back-to-back winning seasons. Nor is there any promise that you will get all of your money back if you decide to sell the PSLs. You sign it, you accept it as-is. If you bought PSLs as an "investment", then maybe you should have invested in something with less risk.

I know there is going to be an argument that in buying a PSL, "I have helped build that stadium, and thus helped JR bring the NFL to Charlotte, and he owes me an explanation/apology." Well, yeah... in a way you/we did. But all that was promised to you in return on that PSL agreement was the rights to specific seats and the rights to purchase season tickets for those same seats every year. That is all.

As a PSL owner, you don't "own" the team, or even "co-own" the team. You do not have any partnership rights to the team. You have no say in how the business or the team is run. You have to take the bad along with the good. If someone signs that agreement thinking otherwise, then they are setting themselves up for a huge disappointment, as some seem to have done.

If you own a PSL and don't like what JR is doing, then there are two options you have, as I see it:

1 - Ride it out

2 - Sell out

Actually, that goes for non-PSL owners too.

I do have a stake in the Panthers and my PSLs help fund that stadium plain and simple. Am I guaranteed good seasons? Of course not. But a business that puts out a crappy product won't survive and JR didn't get rich without knowing that.

Most people who bought PSLs didn't buy them as an investment at all. We bought into the idea of the Panthers and watching football and wanted it in Charlotte. So we bought them knowing if we didn't, we wouldn't have a team. I like most folks don't expect to win every year but I do expect a lot more than the crappy press conference he gave on Tuesday.

As for selling my PSLs if I don't like it, that is a bunch of crap. They aren't worth much at this point because of what JR did intentionally so only someone who really needed the money would sell right now. As for riding it out, what other choice is there? That kind of trite advice is useless.

We bought into JR and the Panthers to help him bring them here, he can do everything in his power to give us the best team possible. And he clearly didn't do that this year. So yeah he owes us all an apology for abusing our trust in him.

[Debil]

I do have a stake in the Panthers and my PSLs help fund that stadium plain and simple. Am I guaranteed good seasons? Of course not. But a business that puts out a crappy product won't survive and JR didn't get rich without knowing that.

Most people who bought PSLs didn't buy them as an investment at all. We bought into the idea of the Panthers and watching football and wanted it in Charlotte. So we bought them knowing if we didn't, we wouldn't have a team. I like most folks don't expect to win every year but I do expect a lot more than the crappy press conference he gave on Tuesday.

As for selling my PSLs if I don't like it, that is a bunch of crap. They aren't worth much at this point because of what JR did intentionally so only someone who really needed the money would sell right now. As for riding it out, what other choice is there? That kind of trite advice is useless.

We bought into JR and the Panthers to help him bring them here, he can do everything in his power to give us the best team possible. And he clearly didn't do that this year. So yeah he owes us all an apology for abusing our trust in him.

What we bought were seats and the tickets to go with them. Plain and simple. Asking for an apology for a bad season is like asking the house for an apology because you got beat at Blackjack.

You are getting your panties all up in a wad because you think JR "intentionally" raped your wallet and gave you leftovers for dinner, and now he somehow owes you something. He may have picked your wallet - which is going to be a fact of life for PSL owners, or anyone else who attends a game and buys anything. But I do not think for a minute that he expected things to be as bad as they were this past year. He's pretty much said that to PSL owners already, and a lot of other people through phone calls.

Hell, if you are so upset about it, write him a letter or email. Maybe he'll call you back and stroke your coat if that will make you feel better.

[panthers55]

What we bought were seats and the tickets to go with them. Plain and simple. Asking for an apology for a bad season is like asking the house for an apology because you got beat at Blackjack.

You are getting your panties all up in a wad because you think JR "intentionally" raped your wallet and gave you leftovers for dinner, and now he somehow owes you something. He may have picked your wallet - which is going to be a fact of life for PSL owners, or anyone else who attends a game and buys anything. But I do not think for a minute that he expected things to be as bad as they were this past year. He's pretty much said that to PSL owners already, and a lot of other people through phone calls.

Hell, if you are so upset about it, write him a letter or email. Maybe he'll call you back and stroke your coat if that will make you feel better.

A stupid analogy at best. Asking an owner who intentionally screwed the season for an apology isn't at all the same as asking for an apology when you lose a bet in a casino. One I have control over and can choose to bet or not, the other I don't. JR holds the cards and can do what he wants sure, but the value of his company depends on how he is perceived and how well the company does on and off the field. He screwed the pooch and can go a long way to retain fan support by admitting it.

If he didn't think we'd be this bad he was the only one. Every ratings guy had us anywhere between 25-32 going into the season.

What investment do you have in the Panthers this year? Any financially?