I have to confess – I have absolutely no idea what Zygi Wilf is trying to accomplish with his new Board of Advisors. Zygi even explained it, and I’m still freaking lost:
"We want to invigorate our fan base and find a way to let people know what we’re about. We want people to know about the good things that we’ve done and we’re doing, and we got some new ideas on how to go about that. As time goes on, we’ll build on our interaction and work toward making our organization what we want it to be, a first-class organization in all areas."
You want to invigorate the fan base Zyg? How about finishing better than 6-10? How about getting a quarterback someone’s heard of?
I understand the concept of P.R.-talk – it’s what all business-men use. But it just seems particularly worthless when you’re talking about a football team. You get a bunch of good players, get a good coach and go out and win. That’s the best P.R. you’ll ever get. Convening a board of well-known people to sit around having meetings? What for?
Zygi says he put the Board of Advisors together because he wanted to hear from “people and businesses with long-time connections to the Minnesota community.” Rich people, in other words. People like the CEO of Northwest Airlines, the Chairman and CEO of General Mills and the president and market manager of Clear Channel (who signs the checks over at KFAN). What kind of stuff does Zygi talk to them about I wonder? Where to buy the best ugly ties?
Why do I have the inescapable feeling that this whole thing is nothing but a wank-off a la Zygi’s infamous and ill-fated Triangle of Authority scheme (which appears to have diminished to a Point of Authority, that point being located somewhere deep within the cerebrum of Brad Childress).
I think Zygi just likes coming up with things like Triangle of Authority and Board of Advisors – it makes him feel like he’s actually doing something. What he should do, of course, is stay away from the team, and let the football people do what they do. And let the marketing people do what they do. Last I looked, football teams have been doing a fine job reaching out to the community, selling tickets and getting all those other things done without having to convene Boards of Advisors. But Zygi’s one of those fussy people – he has to have his hand in. He was probably sitting in his office one day making a paper-clip chain, and this brilliant idea just popped into his big ugly head. “I know, I’ll call up a bunch of rich people I know and start a board to advise me of things! And I’ll put Bud Grant and Alan Page on it too, so it will have some superficial connection to the Vikings! Plus Bud can entertain us with all his great stories!”
Just what Bud Grant needed – another honorary position with the team. He’s got more meaningless, doesn’t-have-to-show-up jobs than Jimmy Carter now.
Maybe Bud could advise Zygi that the Board of Advisors is a stupid idea. Then perhaps he could take him fishing. Might relax the guy a little, at least.