Paul Allen Invests Millions in Submersible Screen-Door Tech Firm

Local Portland media has been skewering Paul Allen for his financial blunders on a daily basis. True, he needs to accept responsibility for the state of the franchise, but I'd like to remind people of two things:

• Paul Allen has spent a metric ton of money on this franchise. In the past, league GM's would salivate at the possibilities of a team with a free-spending owner. Players were lured to Portland with excellent amenities, a new arena, and bulging contracts. They didn't win the championship, but were highly competitive for a long time. Until the "Jailblazers" image took hold, the team enjoyed unrivaled fan support. Allen paid for the Rose Quarter out of his own pocket and Portland citizens didn't pay a slick nickel in taxes.


• Oregonlive's Blazers blog posted this bit of fan email the other day:
  
  

  I think people are having trouble separating P.A. the man from the business. Paul is passionate about sports, he loves the team and I think he cares about winning. The business is Vulcan and Bob Whitsitt who are not about P.A. passion, they're paid to evaluate the business and make decisions (albeit some really bad ones over the past decade). I think P.A. can be accused of not listening to the smartest people, but I think attacking him, personally, is disingenuous for so many fans who've enjoyed Blazer ball. He has contributed to the community and to the sport with his passion so let's acknowledge this as we say no to offering financial help.

  
  I agree wholeheartedly with this. Make sure what you're attacking Paul Allen for is his groan-inducing business acumen. That's just one facet of Paul Allen. Surely if people knew what kind of credit card bills you have, they wouldn't hand you a drool-cup and spoon you primary reinforcement. The man is not an idiot; everyone makes mistakes. Granted, his mistakes and inability to accept responsibility make him look really bad, but let's not forget his past generosity and passion for the team.

Bad businessman. Honest fan. Allen's just a hard-rockin' kernel coder who lucked into too much scratch. Ask yourself what kind of forethought and discipline you'd have if you happened on $22 billion. Don't be hypocrites, you fools.