Bidwill: Motivated By Legacy

[WizardOfAz]

In about the time it takes to complete a 10-yard pass, the Beechcraft King Air 200 is airborne, and the pilot, Michael Bidwill, turns tour guide.

That's Camelback Mountain just ahead, he says. To the northeast are the McDowell Mountains. Prescott Valley is at about 10 o'clock. That speck of white on the horizon? That's San Francisco Peak.

The landmarks that define Bidwill's nine years as Cardinals vice president and general counsel pass unmentioned.

To the southwest is where the new stadium would be had the Rio Salado Crossing project been approved in 1999. Nearby is Sun Devil Stadium, where the Cardinals draw fewer fans than any other NFL team, and Arizona State University, which Michael and the Cardinals sued.

A little west of that is the office of Fiesta Bowl officials, who butt heads with the Bidwill family business, still headed by patriarch Bill, almost as regularly as do the team's NFC West opponents.

To the far west, in the middle of Glendale farmland, rises Michael Bidwill's crowning achievement: the $370.6 million stadium set to open in fall 2006.

At a top speed of about 300 mph, it's 18 minutes to Sedona, today's destination. An air-traffic controller tells Bidwill there's an airliner approaching at about 1 o'clock. There's no danger, but large planes sometimes cause air disturbances, much like a boat produces a wake.

Many people would say that's a perfect metaphor for the way Bidwill does business: intent on reaching his destination, with little regard for relationships that might be bounced around along the way.

Critics call Bidwill arrogant, condescending and mean-spirited. Most of them decline to talk for publication. Supporters say he is just a hard-charging businessman with the right attitude to transform an organization defined by failure.

Few seem to doubt that Bidwill's motivation is winning and cleansing his family name.

But at what price? Friendships? Goodwill?

If there is a likable personality beneath Bidwill's suit, many people don't see it.

"I kind of felt sometimes it was like working with an attorney and you say, 'Can you take off your attorney mask for a second and just be a person?' " says Bill Jaffa, a former Mesa city councilman who spent time with Bidwill working on stadium issues. "Sometimes it was difficult to get down to all those layers."

Bidwill's response?

"The fact of the matter is, I am a lawyer," he says, wryly.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0626bidwill0626.html

 

[Scott MS]

That's an interesting article. Here's the rest of it.


The family name

Michael Bidwill is 40, went to his first Cardinals training camp in Lake Forest, Ill., when he was 4 or 5 and was a ball boy at 9. In all that time, the Cardinals have had 11 winning seasons and one playoff victory.

That track record earned Bill Bidwill the notoriety of being one of the worst owners in professional sports. Growing up, Michael, the second oldest of five children, heard the comments about his dad and the team, and he admits they hurt.

"But I wouldn't say I let it hurt too much," he says. "It hurts in the right ways - it motivates me, but it doesn't discourage me."

He says that in a pleasant voice over breakfast in a restaurant just a few hundred yards from where he parked his plane.

That voice should not fool you, those close to him say, because it's impossible to exaggerate how important it is to Bidwill to change the way people view his family.

"It's personal with him," says Rod Graves, the team's vice president for football operations. "It's not only the football team his family owns, but it's his family's name."

What if that pursuit leaves a wake of enemies who think Michael has all the tact of a hog headed to the trough?

The Fiesta Bowl was an early Cardinals partner when the team was pursuing the Rio Salado project. When it came time to negotiate a lease, bowl officials felt the Cardinals tried to squeeze them.

The frosty relationship was evident this past spring when the Fiesta Bowl went to the Arizona Legislature to ask for the rights to control revenue for a new bowl game to determine the national championship.

The Cardinals fought the bill but found no friends in the Legislature, which overwhelmingly approved it.

Bidwill and Fiesta Bowl President John Junker won't be gathering for weekend barbecues any time soon, but Junker believes the new stadium wouldn't exist without Bidwill's tenacity.

"You don't have to agree with somebody on everything in life to appreciate what they bring to the community," Junker says.

Arizona State and the Cardinals always have had an uneasy landlord/tenant relationship. It reached a pinnacle when the team sued ASU for $12 million in a dispute over advertising signage revenue in Sun Devil Stadium.

The Cardinals filed the lawsuit nine days after voters approved the publicly financed stadium in Glendale.


All business

Even in Glendale, there were raw feelings. The Roveys are a well-known family in the West Valley and were negotiating to sell a parcel of land to the team.

Toward the end of negotiations, the family asked for Cardinals season tickets. A person familiar with the meeting says Michael Bidwill replied that he wouldn't ask the farming family for free vegetables if it didn't ask him for free tickets.

Bidwill denies saying that. He says the city of Glendale had promised the family tickets, and the issue was between the city and the Roveys.

But he admits he rejected the idea: "I don't want to start the precedent of giving away tickets."

Critics say that type of comment defines Michael's tenure with the Cardinals, which began in 1996.

He has revamped the team's football and business operations, firing and hiring coaches, increasing the size of sales and marketing staff, constantly exhorting employees to "drive the brand" and "prepare for success."

Results, however, have been mixed.

The team has continued to lose, and season ticket sales have dropped to about 20,000, the lowest in the NFL.

Critics say Bidwill rules by fear. They describe a workplace where people cower in their offices, with only the humming lights and computers daring to make a sound. Some employees say he micromanages, leaving them to wonder why he hired them in the first place.

Former coaches say he meddles in football decisions, where he has no expertise.

Those who have sat across the negotiating table from him say he is a dogged adversary who always wants to win by a lopsided score.

"If you're a tough businessman, you're not going to walk around handing out flower petals to everybody," says former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, a finalist for the Cardinals job when Dennis Green was hired last year.

Bidwill admits he could be more tactful at times, but he's not apologetic.

"My sense is that all those people you're talking about probably had business interests contrary to ours," he says. "I never meant to offend anybody. Sometimes when I make a case, I get passionate about it. And if you're on the other side of the table, you might see that as a fault."

Michael Bidwill's friends say there were bound to be disagreements in the course of doing business.

Joe Castor, the team's former director of marketing, calls it "Michael bashing."

"Everyone has a stance," says Castor, now in private business in the Valley. "I'm sure the Fiesta Bowl and ASU were as passionate about their stance as the Cardinals. No one wants to come out on the short end of those disagreements."


Unlike father . . .

In many ways, Michael is everything his father is not. Michael gladly became the voice and face of the organization. Bill Bidwill has never been comfortable doing that.

Bill lauds Michael's work on the stadium. "He's the one primarily responsible for getting that done," he says.

Bill has long valued Michael's opinion and consulted him on important decisions, including coaching hires. They often fly together to league meetings, talk at length about issues or family, or just enjoy a comfortable silence.

Michael and his father are very close. At every major crossroad in his life - the decision to enter law school, work for the U.S. Attorney's office, joining the team - Michael consulted his dad. Those conversations usually lasted no more than five minutes, because his father has a way of getting to the core of an issue quickly, Michael says.

A pilot since he was 19, Michael has private and commercial licenses and also flies helicopters. Sometimes as a joke, Bill will exit the plane and pat his son on the head, as if Michael were a child.

A couple of years ago, Michael approached Bill and asked for more power - he calls it "responsibility" - and his father agreed.

That has frayed feelings in the family. Michael's older brother, Bill Jr., has worked in the organization since 1985 and, like Michael, is a vice president. People close to the team say Michael's ascension has damaged the brothers' relationship.

"He's accepting it probably as well as can be expected," the elder Bidwill says of son Bill Jr.

Michael says his brother wasn't interested in many of the issues confronting the team. "I don't think he had the interest in doing a lot of the things I was doing," he says.

Bill Jr. declined an interview request.

Michael approaches the job much like he did when he was a prosecutor for six years. He assesses his case, prepares his arguments and plays to win. Working in the violent crimes and homicide divisions of the U.S. Attorney's office, Bidwill says he lost just three cases.

That's part of what draws him to flying. There's a plan, a destination and a sense of accomplishment in knowing you're responsible for making it from Point A to B.

It's a little like running a football team.

"I'm a fan," Bidwill says after breakfast, before heading to the plane for the flight home. "I want to win. If you take anything away from this, that's the most important thing."

 

[40yearfan]

Gives you a glimpse of why the Cardinals are now operating in a different mode. MB is the perfect guy to do a turn-around like this for a perennial loser.

Go get em MB. Bring us a winner.

 

[Redheart]

Gives you a glimpse of why the Cardinals are now operating in a different mode. MB is the perfect guy to do a turn-around like this for a perennial loser.

Go get em MB. Bring us a winner.

Got to like who we have in our leadership-corner now. A young, agressive, goal-oriented, trained legal professional who is a FAN of the team.

We need a new sign. It should read "Not your Daddy's Cardinals".

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Thank god its Michael and not Bowtie Jr., sounds like BW Jr. would have continued with the "same ol Cardinals."

 

[daytripper]

Its funny how perceptions can be 180 degrees off about the same person.
I had several opportunties to speak with Michael in Tucson. He was open and willing to spend time talking football. He certainly is passionate about winning. THere was no hint of condecendence at all, rather the feeling you were talking to another fan.
Of course I'm sure there is somewhat of a bunker mentality among the Bidwill family with the media after years of of being shelled by the likes of Somers.
But in my experience at least that wall was dropped. I believe Michael recognizes that his family isnt alone in the bunker and that there is a smalll but dedicated fan base supporting them. I came away with the impression that he is fighting for everyone including us fans that are on his side of the wall.

Give 'em Hell Michael


Hasta La Vista

GBR 40

 

[Second Deck]

I sure hope Michael has the correct receipe for success. I thought Mac would be a great coach and could not imagine a player not giving 110% for Mac, but since seeing DG operate for one year what a difference in execution. With Shipp and Boldin back I cannot wait for Sept.

 

[BigRedArk]

I like his sense of urgency. Something the Cardinals have needed for years!!! The Cardinals, Lions and technically the Browns are the only pre-1971 NFL/AFL merger teams that have never been to the Super Bowl. It is now the Cards turn!!! His critics be damned. Full speed ahead Michael!!!!!!

 

[slanidrac16]

We now operate like a real NFL team. In the past( and I'm talking about forever) we operated like a semi-pro team. From the very top to the very bottom there never seemed to be a plan. Even when we enjoyed a little success in the 70's with Air Coryell we somehow found a way to screw that up. With proper management we very well could have been the team of the 70's.
We are now finally enjoying this team. Most of us actually feel we are on the cusp of being a ,dare I say, legitamate playoff caliber team?
The best laid plans don't always pan out but it sure is nice as we watch this plan unfold.

Yep. It's 2005 and the Cards are loaded for bear...........and lions and rams.......

 

[Capital Card]

I'm no psychologist, but IIRC, Michael was raised in a Washington DC boarding school. DC is a fanatical football town, second only to Green Bay, IMO. With the Cards and Skins playing in the same division for so long, and having lived in DC myself with their fans, my guess is that Michael was teased mercilessly about the team and his family name. I don't doubt that he is beyond driven to turn the organization around.

Some of the greatest leaders in business and politics were all called ruthless, cut-throat, bull-headed, etc. at one time or another. This isn't the first time this type of article has been written about MB, and no doubt it won't be the last. Frankly, I love the changes we've seen coming out of Tempe for the last couple of years.

Several years ago, I was petrified at the thought of Bill Jr. taking over the reigns of the organization. If that would have happened, I am convinced that a Cardinal championship wouldn't happen in my lifetime. (I'm only 36)

With Michael in charge, and the way the last two years have gone, I think we can have as good a shot as anyone.

Go Cards!!!

 

[john h]

Got to like who we have in our leadership-corner now. A young, agressive, goal-oriented, trained legal professional who is a FAN of the team.

We need a new sign. It should read "Not your Daddy's Cardinals".

Seems there is another lawyer owner. The Skins. Lawyers tend to be arrogant. Part of their training but I am not sure it helps you run a football team.

 

[Redheart]

Seems there is another lawyer owner. The Skins. Lawyers tend to be arrogant. Part of their training but I am not sure it helps you run a football team.

I wouldn't trust Michael anywhere near the playing field, but he has RG & DG for that and I think he had a big hand in bringing DG here. Michael is minding the business and doing and outstanding job. Don't forget, the stadium was his baby and he stuck out that whole fiaso and got the job done. No small part of that was due to his legal training. This has secured a cash-flow for the team that is competative with some of the best.

I think I see Michael's hand in the Mexico run. He is looking to capture a huge potential market. The one game he got there will sell-out to a crowd in excess of 110,000; that's like total attendence of FOUR HOME GAMES in AZ!

It does kind of suck that I lost out on a home game and got an increase in my season-ticket prices at the same time. I think I saw Michael's hand in that one too. Sneakly little lawyer-bastard.

 

[JeffGollin]

Its funny how perceptions can be 180 degrees off about the same person.
I had several opportunties to speak with Michael in Tucson. He was open and willing to spend time talking football. He certainly is passionate about winning. THere was no hint of condecendence at all, rather the feeling you were talking to another fan.
I'm glad Daytripper posted this comment.

I've never met Michael Bidwill and, therefore, am not qualified to judge whether or not Somers wrote an objective article. But it seemed to me that, while Kent wrote extensively about what critics were saying about Michael (while being extremely careful to document this as "this is what his detractors say" and to to make lemonaid out of some of Michaels "lemons.") the obvious follow-up questions from any objective reporter should have included: "What are some of his attributes?" and "How do the people closest and fondest of Michael describe him?"

This balance was missing from Kent's write up.

Thanks for providing us with the additional insight.

 

[CardLogic]

Thank god its Michael and not Bowtie Jr., sounds like BW Jr. would have continued with the "same ol Cardinals."

My sentiments exactly!

 

[SunCityCarl]

I like Michael's tenacity, I don't know if I'd make a good underling, but I like the Point A to Point B metaphor. If Point A is today based on that article we are not stopping until we reach Point B & ladies & gentleman that'd be Super Bowl 40 something?

 

[DieHardCardFan]

Michael has never come across as being the guy these people in the article discribed. But hey I have no problem believing he is a strong business man when it comes to negotiations. So I can see why they would not like him if he won on some issues. Anyway I have drank beer with him several times and he has always treated me and everyone around with alot of respect and never came across as anything other than another Cards Fan!

Best part of the article ""I'm a fan," Bidwill says after breakfast, before heading to the plane for the flight home. "I want to win. If you take anything away from this, that's the most important thing."

 

[AzCards21]

Michael has never come across as being the guy these people in the article discribed. But hey I have no problem believing he is a strong business man when it comes to negotiations. So I can see why they would not like him if he won on some issues. Anyway I have drank beer with him several times and he has always treated me and everyone around with alot of respect and never came across as anything other than another Cards Fan!

Best part of the article ""I'm a fan," Bidwill says after breakfast, before heading to the plane for the flight home. "I want to win. If you take anything away from this, that's the most important thing."

My sentiments exactly.

Interesting how the old man gets raked over the coals for being a pushover and overly trusting business man for trusting in handshakes and peoples word. Yet the kid gets raked over for being a hard nosed business man and making people do what he wants.

Sometimes you just can't win.

 

[cdex99]

My sentiments exactly.

Interesting how the old man gets raked over the coals for being a pushover and overly trusting business man for trusting in handshakes and peoples word. Yet the kid gets raked over for being a hard nosed business man and making people do what he wants.

Sometimes you just can't win.

And I think we can all agree that he and Graves are doing the right things that will turn this team into a winner.

 

[ajcardfan]

My sentiments exactly.

Interesting how the old man gets raked over the coals for being a pushover and overly trusting business man for trusting in handshakes and peoples word. Yet the kid gets raked over for being a hard nosed business man and making people do what he wants.

Sometimes you just can't win.

Overall, I think the guy is great for the franchise. I feel he will get a winner on the field here. Denny Green is his hire all the way. The contracts being done now are all him, etc. He turned us into a real franchise without being a buffoon like Snyder.

But, I think he does push a little too far on some points. The ASU lawsuit did them more harm than good. The little story about the family and the tickets in that article is another example. Why dismiss the request out of hand? Why not give them tickets for a year? These are probably people that have never had season tickets. Maybe it would've gotten them to buy one of those luxury suites at the new stadium, or other high priced seats, instead of just blowing them off and giving them a "What an ass this guy is ..." story.

But, I love the "I'm a fan" quote and totally beleive it. I ran into him after a game in 2003. I congratulated him on the Super Bowl, etc. After a little more small talk, I asked him if he thought we could be the first team to play the Super Bowl in it's own stadium. He said "Yes. But, I want a Lombardi trophy to be in that stadium when it opens!" He said it with complete sincerity. For that to be true, this year would have to be the year!

 

[RedViper]

One thing about owning an NFL team, Michael Bidwill is working without a net. He'll either be known in 10 years who turned around this horrenddous franchise around or the Bidwill that finally ran the team so far into the red, couldn't pay the loans and had to sell. The wins and losses will dictate the entire story line. The rest of it-whether hes a cold blooded and heartless SOB or the greatest guy in the world, its totally irrlevant next to the win loss record.