I am overwhelmed that Olin Kreutz has signed with the Chicago Bears for a staggering $23 million, $7 million of which is “up front” and makes Kreutz happy to stay a Bear. Regardless of Kreutz’s “how I love Florida” speech during negotiations, this obscene amount of money is not the point.
– Soldier Field needs renovating; taxpayers foot more than $100 million of the bill.
– Tens of millions of dollars are being paid to players to play football.
– The Bears opt to sell the right to buy seats for up to $10,000 to the very taxpayers who renovated “their” stadium.
– Middle-class taxpayers cannot afford to take themselves or their family to a sporting event.
Sports are an inherent right in this country. The Wirtzes, the McCaskeys and the like do not have a lock on what every kid should be privy to: life, liberty and the pursuit of a day at the park.
With every dollar being ripped from the hands of Illinois taxpayers by billionaire owners, millionaire athletes and happy-go-lucky politicians, the blue-collar guy is pushed further and further from what is rightfully his: his hard-earned money and the right to sit in a stadium he built.
Shame on all of them.
