What Happens When You Fight Back?

by Jeremiah Tittle

The expectations of entrepreneurs and real estate moguls seeking to build state-of-the-art coliseums in cities across America are that the public will gladly pay for a portion (if not all) of the costs associated with making billionaires dreams come true. In this morbidly twisted version of the Make-a-Wish Foundation, sports stadiums began this practice in earnest once Camden Yards was built on Baltimore’s tax funds some 20 years ago. The industry has anticipated taxpayer help ever since as the rule rather than the exception.

While absorbing tax dollars from cities like a Dyson vacuum has become commonplace, there have been a few instances where citizens have fought back. One of the most recent examples of this is a story of the twin cities legislature standing up to the Minnesota Vikings winning slim margins in their government votes against a new stadium finance proposal.

While the pillaging Vikings-owning Wilf family sought to live up to the history of their Nordic mascot, the people of Minneapolis showed them where they can submit their complaints. Much to their disappointment, the Vikings must wait another year before bolting for LA or reaching an agreement to stay where they belong in the upper mid-west.

The people of Minneapolis have clearly won the battle, but the war is not over.The Wilf family has conceded that it has been forced to allow this bill to die another day. If the good taxpayers of the twin cities have anything to say about it, die, it will.

Let this encourage all those who believe it is futile to tango with those in power. This is what happens when you fight back and force your representatives to listen to you. Join SFC in the fight against public funding for stadiums, and enforce public demands when tax monies are used. Stand up and be heard!

Jeremiah Tittle is the Managing Editor of SportsFansCoalition.org. Reach him at Jeremiah@SportsFansCoalition.org.