John Oliver mocking the Milwaukee Bucks “Fear the Deer” marketing promo– “Deers aren’t scary, they’re timid forest ponies with sticks on their head.”
Yes, last night on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” the British talk show host took down greedy billionaire sports franchise owners who extort taxpayer dollars to finance their private entertainment venues. Public money then goes to support an arena where the entrance fees can only be afforded by those in the leisure class, or higher.
Or as C. Montgomery Burns put it many years ago during the new basketball arena episode of The Simpsons:
“Welcome to the American dream. A billionaire, using public funds, to construct a private playground for the rich and powerful.”
Oliver goes after the Bucks, the scheme concocted by former Owner, retired Senator Herb Kohl, and the clip even includes that horrible propaganda video the Bucks have been airing under the new ownership regime. It isn’t just the Bucks who are a target here. Oliver also eviscerates the NFL teams threatening to move to Los Angeles (San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams); as well as the Miami Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, New Orleans Pelicans and Detroit Red Wings.
The real target here goes beyond the Milwaukee Bucks; and the sports franchises in general. The local politicians are just as guilty; as they are complicit to these financial extortion schemes. As Oliver put it:
“Municipal bonds are a way for the city to take out a loan, which they then later repay with interest — although, through new or existing taxes. They’re supposed to be for things like roads or schools — public goods that private industry would not pay for. But they’ve been routinely misused to finance stadiums for decades, and often, cities do it because teams claim they can’t afford to build stadiums themselves.”
Here’s the video, enjoy!
And if you haven’t seen the Milwaukee Bucks “ripple effect” promo video yet- prepare to be entertained.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.