37 replies to this topic

[haroldsnepsts]

Presumably by "what he's done for the city of Detroit" you mean not paying any taxes, rents, etc. while at the same time asking actual taxpayers to heavily subsidize his "redevelopment projects"?  If so, then yes, he's done a lot for the city of Detroit haha. 

 

But yes, he has spent a lot of money to make the Tigers a contender thank God.  I wouldn't know what to do if I couldn't go straight from watching the Wings dominate to watching the Tigers do the same. 

I know there's some dispute about taxes he owes and whatnot, but that doesn't erase the good that he's done for the city.  Of course he wants to make money off it but he's carved out an area of Detroit people can go to sporting events, concerts, eat, drink, etc.  And dealing with the city of Detroit and the city council in particular cannot be an enjoyable or easy task. 

 

Point being, Ilitch has done a lot of good for Detroit and certainly deserves praise for buying the Dead Things and restoring the Wings to their former glory.  It's one thing to poke fun at that awful rug on his head, but implying he's some senile drunk is pretty classless.

[GoWings1905]

When the Tigers won the ALCS, it was the first time I truly noticed how far Mr. I has slipped. Even earlier in the year, he seemed better at varying PC's like for the Fielder signing and Nick's retirement.

 

I just really hope the Tigers can finish it off this season and get him a World Series title. He wants that more than anything.

[Euro_Twins]

When the Tigers won the ALCS, it was the first time I truly noticed how far Mr. I has slipped. Even earlier in the year, he seemed better at varying PC's like for the Fielder signing and Nick's retirement.

 

I just really hope the Tigers can finish it off this season and get him a World Series title. He wants that more than anything.

 

I for one am rooting for my team, GO JAYS!

[StormJH1]

Any Wings fan who can tell you with a straight face that they don't have respect for Illitch is absolutely nuts.  He's the definition of a "fan-owner" and his businesses have been extremely important in providing jobs, interest, and morale to a city that is about as dysfunctional as it gets, as anyone who's ever lived anywhere else would tell you.  He basically spent the Tigers out of the cellar.  Four Cups, Six SCF appearances, and two decades of consecutive Playoff appearance for a team that doesn't have a single draft pick higher than #19 overall (IIRC) on its roster.  I'm 31 now, and if you take the Tigers, the Red Wings, and even friggin Little Caesar's Pizza away, I'm not even sure I recognize my childhood.

[kipwinger]

I know there's some dispute about taxes he owes and whatnot, but that doesn't erase the good that he's done for the city.  Of course he wants to make money off it but he's carved out an area of Detroit people can go to sporting events, concerts, eat, drink, etc.  And dealing with the city of Detroit and the city council in particular cannot be an enjoyable or easy task. 

 

Point being, Ilitch has done a lot of good for Detroit and certainly deserves praise for buying the Dead Things and restoring the Wings to their former glory.  It's one thing to poke fun at that awful rug on his head, but implying he's some senile drunk is pretty classless.

 

I agree, many of the things that Illitch has done have benefited the city.  He pursued projects which made him rich AND which tangentially helped the city.  I never followed the logic that you have to show some sort of reverence to Illitch because he's done so much for Detroit, and by "done so much" we mean "built himself a casino".  I'm glad he doesn't mind spending money on his sports teams, I love watching them win.  But he's as susceptible to ribbing as anyone else and perhaps more so, when he does things like announce a new arena with all it's fanfare, buy up all the property around the new arena which will skyrocket in value after the arena is built, and then ask the public to pay for the arena.  What a charitable soul!

[kipwinger]

Any Wings fan who can tell you with a straight face that they don't have respect for Illitch is absolutely nuts.  He's the definition of a "fan-owner" and his businesses have been extremely important in providing jobs, interest, and morale to a city that is about as dysfunctional as it gets, as anyone who's ever lived anywhere else would tell you.  He basically spent the Tigers out of the cellar.  Four Cups, Six SCF appearances, and two decades of consecutive Playoff appearance for a team that doesn't have a single draft pick higher than #19 overall (IIRC) on its roster.  I'm 31 now, and if you take the Tigers, the Red Wings, and even friggin Little Caesar's Pizza away, I'm not even sure I recognize my childhood.

 

I agree.  I have the greatest respect for Illitch for building and managing a billion dollar empire from scratch.  I also respect his ability to manage him public image consistently in his favor.  Those are serious accomplishments. 

[haroldsnepsts]

I agree, many of the things that Illitch has done have benefited the city.  He pursued projects which made him rich AND which tangentially helped the city.  I never followed the logic that you have to show some sort of reverence to Illitch because he's done so much for Detroit, and by "done so much" we mean "built himself a casino".  I'm glad he doesn't mind spending money on his sports teams, I love watching them win.  But he's as susceptible to ribbing as anyone else and perhaps more so, when he does things like announce a new arena with all it's fanfare, buy up all the property around the new arena which will skyrocket in value after the arena is built, and then ask the public to pay for the arena.  What a charitable soul!

 

While of course he's done things that benefitted him financially (he is a successful businessman after all), he's also made business decisions that benefitted Detroit when he could've gone elsewhere. 

 

I wasn't saying the guy is a saint.  My main point is I think it's a little childish to slander someone as senile and drunk, particularly on a website called "LetsGoWings" when he's a large part of the reason there's something to root for with the franchise.

[ami]

You make it sound like he just gave everyone that out of the good of his heart. I'm pretty sure he made a hefty profit on all of those things.

and you made it sounds like everybody would be better off if he did not. smart.

Edited by ami, 05 February 2013 - 04:51 PM.

[Z Winged Dangler]

I'd do him

[kipwinger]

While of course he's done things that benefitted him financially (he is a successful businessman after all), he's also made business decisions that benefitted Detroit when he could've gone elsewhere. 

 

I wasn't saying the guy is a saint.  My main point is I think it's a little childish to slander someone as senile and drunk, particularly on a website called "LetsGoWings" when he's a large part of the reason there's something to root for with the franchise.

 

That's a perfectly reasonable position and I agree.  I don't even know where the "drunk" criticism comes from.  Senile makes sense because he's old, but I've never heard drunk. 

[Z Winged Dangler]

Hence why I made my earlier comment.  Someone needs to lighten the mood...  Ilitch is the man, end of story.  Any Wings fan that has anything negative to say about him needs to take a step back and look at the pre-Yzerman era.

It's a good thing that the opinions of douchebag knowitalls on this forum aren't taken seriously by anyone in the real world.

Edited by haroldsnepsts, 05 February 2013 - 09:33 PM.
Removed quoted post that I deleted because it was a general but still personal attack

[Hockeytown0001]

I know there's some dispute about taxes he owes and whatnot, but that doesn't erase the good that he's done for the city.  Of course he wants to make money off it but he's carved out an area of Detroit people can go to sporting events, concerts, eat, drink, etc.  And dealing with the city of Detroit and the city council in particular cannot be an enjoyable or easy task. 

 

Point being, Ilitch has done a lot of good for Detroit and certainly deserves praise for buying the Dead Things and restoring the Wings to their former glory.  It's one thing to poke fun at that awful rug on his head, but implying he's some senile drunk is pretty classless.

 

This. The four most recent Stanley Cup banners at JLA wouldn't be there without Mike Illitch.

 

Regardless of what you may think now, we will all sorely miss him when he's no longer with us. 

[F.Michael]

Doesn't have Harpo's awesome hat, though.  

...or the horn.

[dirtydangles]

regardless of the hair dying, the man has been a great owner. we are lucky to have the opportunity to sign anyone each year and spend right to the cap without even flinching. many teams can't do that, and the fans must be frustrated. holland's ability to sign good talent with illitch money has been another story.

[haroldsnepsts]

regardless of the hair dying, the man has been a great owner. we are lucky to have the opportunity to sign anyone each year and spend right to the cap without even flinching. many teams can't do that, and the fans must be frustrated. holland's ability to sign good talent with illitch money has been another story.

One of the stories on Ilitch (in the USA Today I think?) made reference to how much he hates the salary cap in hockey and is glad in baseball he can still spend what he wants.  

 

I'd have to think the Tigers are getting most of his attention these days as he tries to win a world series. 

[SFwingsfan]

pointless thread, he is an old man, what do you expect? we're still lucky to have him showing up, most owners his age would be in florida. i sure hope people don't judge the way i look and act when i'm 83. i'm not saying i have a problem with threads criticizing mike illitch, but his appearance? come on guys.

[Z Winged Dangler]

 

pointless thread, he is an old man, what do you expect? we're still lucky to have him showing up, most owners his age would be in florida. i sure hope people don't judge the way i look and act when i'm 83. i'm not saying i have a problem with threads criticizing mike illitch, but his appearance? come on guys.

I'll go on record saying that I have a problem with threads criticizing Mike Ilitch. He's not a guy that you throw under the bus for any reason. 4 Stanley Cups since he started putting money into this team. 4! And if he's 83 years old, the old guy can do whatever the hell he wants. Most guys his age don't have hair to dye.

[The Axe]

Illitch is not the problem