"Counting Money Like Scrooge McDuck"

[HoosierCat]

No, not our Mikey, but Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who actually manages to make Brown look good in comparison:

2. Washington Redskins

Countin' money like Scrooge McDuck

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Credentials: The Washington Post reports that the Redskins directly sold large blocks of tickets to professional scalpers brokers, as opposed to fans on their famously long waiting list. The reason? The team's ticket office packaged the cheaper regular-game tickets most people covet (and brokers can profit on) with the high-priced "premium" tickets few want to buy.

In other words: The club found a way to unload excess inventory without cutting prices. Supply and demand what?

Some Redskins employees also sold single-game tickets through online auctions instead of through the ticket office, charging well above face value. So long, middleman! And all of that would be infuriating ... if not for the Post's other Redskins report, which revealed that the team is suing fans who purchased seats or suites via multiyear contracts but can no longer afford them, usually due to the recession.

Yep, while at least nine other NFL teams just cancel defaulted ticket contracts and resell the seats to someone else -- go figure -- the Redskins go to court. And unlike anything involving actual football, they win. According to the Post article, the franchise earned a $60,000-plus judgment against a 72-year-old grandmother who is now facing bankruptcy. The team also sued a man who went to jail -- limiting his ability to both pay and watch the Skins -- and an unemployed paranoid schizophrenic. Seriously. In some cases, the Redskins even resold the very same tickets the club filed suit over.

Anything less would be bad business.

Is the Washington franchise dedicated to treating its fans like living, breathing ATM machines, withdrawing every last possible dollar no matter the psychic cost? Absolutely. After all, Albert Haynesworth doesn't come cheap. Will fans ever hit a no mas breaking point? Does Redskins goodwill have a limit? Probably not. The psychology of fandom isn't rational -- otherwise, the Cincy Bengals would be out of business -- but rather more akin to battered wife and/or Stockholm syndrome. And nobody knows that better than marketing man-turned-team-owner Daniel Snyder. A lifelong Redskins fan who counted a childhood team belt buckle as a prize possession, Snyder intuitively grasps exactly how far he can push the club's loyal followers: as far as he wants to.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Holy Hell! Danny boy is one sick bastard.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

I'm actually surprised his antics don't get more attention locally here in DC. I think their situation may be more screwed up than ours. They're more than happy to spend money, but they do it almost randomly.