When Trump Made the U.S.F.L. Great Again

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/09/opinion/when-trump-made-the-usfl-great-again.html

When Trump Made the U.S.F.L. Great Again
Donald Trump’s chaotic foray into pro football was a precursor to many of his actions today, Jeff Pearlman writes.
By Jeff Pearlman
Oct. 9, 2018


In 1985, Donald Trump signed the quarterback Doug Flutie to a multimillion-dollar deal with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League. Mr. Trump tried to get the other U.S.F.L. franchises to foot the bill for the contract. Nury Hernandez/New York Post Archives, via Getty Images

We have been here before.

Whenever President Trump says or does something outrageous, you can be certain that near-identical utterances were made, or actions taken, some three decades ago, when he was the owner of the New Jersey Generals of the long-defunct United States Football League.

For those who might not recall, the U.S.F.L. was a 12-team professional spring football league that began in 1983 with a modest goal: to provide quality games with franchises stocked largely with regional players. (For example, the Philadelphia Stars had a high number of former Penn State standouts.) It was fun and flashy, and largely successful.

Then Donald J. Trump bought in.

He purchased the Generals from an Oklahoma oilman named J. Walter Duncan, paying $10 million for a team reportedly valued at $8.5 million by the league. (Mr. Trump says there was a bidding war. There was not.) What ensued was an early-’80s ode to deception and selfishness that eerily mirrors the ongoing 2018 ode to deception and selfishness.

Or, put differently: Past is prologue.

....

[Still In Wisconsin]

1. Everything TRUMP touches turns to shit.

Everything.

[marble falls]

2. The man with the merde-ous touch?

[Still In Wisconsin]

3. Perfect! /nt