If Giants President & CEO John Mara and Patriots Owner Robert Kraft had not stood "shoulder-to-shoulder in a tension-filled offseason of arduous labor negotiations, there might not be a Giants-Patriots Super Bowl," according to Bob Glauber of NEWSDAY. Mara and Kraft were "central figures in collective-bargaining talks in which owners and player representatives engaged in a bitter months-long drama that wound up in the courts and put the 2011 season in doubt until a 10-year deal was hammered out in July." Kraft said, "Both of us worked hard on it, and we're fortunate to both make it here. It's fortunate we could have a season." Mara "expressed his gratitude for Kraft's contributions to the negotiations, suggesting he might have been the difference in getting a deal done." Mara said, "It was obvious the players respected him and listened to him, and he had a huge impact. I don't know whether we would have gotten to the finish line without him" (NEWSDAY, 2/2). ESPN.com's Greg Garber noted Kraft and Mara were "widely recognized as the two owners most instrumental in carving out a labor peace." Some would say that "six months later it is poetic justice their teams are the last two playing." Kraft played a "key role in urging the owners to make concessions at critical times." He repeatedly "stressed the need to leave emotions at the door and take the long view." Mara said, "Bad deals wind up imploding over time. He said, 'We need a long-term deal that's good for both sides.' He kept drilling that message, over and over again. I believe the players bought into that. There was a level of trust on behalf of the players when he said, 'We're not going to give you a bad deal'" (ESPN.com, 2/1).
KRAFTING A WINNER: SI's Peter King in a front-page piece writes the Patriots "morphed from laughingstock to the best franchise in football because at three critical junctures Kraft didn't do the logical thing." Kraft's "bold decisions" included "overspending for a bad team," hiring head coach Bill Belichick and "jettisoning the highest-paid player in football, in his prime" in Drew Bledsoe. In making those decisions, Kraft "did what something inside him said to do." Patriots QB Tom Brady said of Kraft, "It's his instincts that he really trusts. He goes with his gut. And look at his track record -- he's always right." In the last year, Kraft helped negotiate the league's new CBA and "took the lead in extending the NFL's network deals" through '22. King notes, "While difficult, those CBA and TV deals were, in many ways, logical business developments emanating from the sport that laps all others in popularity today. Buying the Patriots? Hiring Belichick? Those were tougher calls, the kind it's become Kraft's business to make" (SI, 2/6 issue). In West Palm Beach, Ben Volin notes even Kraft's "biggest rivals are rooting for him this week." Colts Owner Jim Irsay said, "As intense as we compete, I have so much respect for him. And going through what he did with [wife Myra passing away], how difficult and painful that was, I know that this is special for him" (PALM BEACH POST, 2/2).
KRAFT SAYS PLAYERS SAVED HIM: Kraft said after the passing of his wife, the Patriots players “have saved me this year." Kraft said of how much it means to have had such great success with the Patriots over the recent years, “It means so much to our community for us to be here. … I am proud of our team that we have been able to bring our region together and actually fans throughout the country.” Kraft: “There is a certain band and brotherhood and sisterhood that we have that is special about the NFL” ("NFL Live," ESPN, 2/1).
