It has not been a good year for teams wearing the name Rangers. Yesterday, the Texas Rangers major league baseball team filed for bankruptcy.
If you have ever been to a Texas Rangers game in Arlington, Texas during the summer you know why the team is struggling to draw fans with a perennial stinker on the field. I remember attending a Texas Rangers game in Arlington a while back and looking up at the scoreboard and seeing a time and temperature of 7:45pm and 101° F. Brutal. it was like sitting in a co-ed sauna at the fitness club. All unnecessary clothing was jettisoned. I still have visions of being surrounded by fat, sweating, half-naked Texans.
It also turns out that the Yankees A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez, is the largest unsecured creditor of the Texas Rangers to the tune of $24,892,006.61. It was surprising to hear this, because A-Rod signed his Texas contract 10 years ago, he was traded to the Yanks in 2003, and he opted out of his Texas contract and signed a new one with the Yanks in 2007.
Tom Hicks was the Rangers owner who signed A-Rod to a 10-year deal worth $252 million after the 2000 season. At the time it was the richest sports contract in history. The A-Rod contract was worth $63 million more than the second-richest baseball deal. The remaining A-Rod money is labeled as deferred compensation. A Nolan Ryan led group is seeking to buy the Rangers for $575 million. Ryan's group and Hicks both said yesterday that all the creditors, including A-Rod - will get paid. That's good news for A-Rod.
The good news for NY Rangers fans is that this shows you that 'sucking' is relative. The Texas Rangers have never won a World Series or an American League Pennant since their founding in 1972. In 38 years they have only won three division titles and their last playoff appearance was in 1999. A record of futility that makes our NY Rangers look like a sports juggernaut.
So count your Rangers blessings. Our Rangers are only bankrupt in leadership.
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