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Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:17 am
by StumpHunter
J. Kapp 11 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 11, 2019 5:20 pm
Remember, guys ... Wobby wasn't just a face in front of the camera. He was content director for the entire website. I'm a Communication Director myself, and I can tell you it's a hard job. I believe our website is one of the best in the NFL, and as someone with a supervisory role over content, Wobby was a big part of that. He also had a hand in some really great things like the Voyage video series. If you haven't watched any of those, I HIGHLY recommend you do. They're outstanding videos.
Also, when it came to analysis, he did a pretty darned good job. If you watched him on any of the insider analysis shows, he always held his own with Ron Johnson and the other pro football players.
I'll miss Wobby. He did a good job IMO.
In all seriousness, the firing is a big surprise. Like you said, he did his real job very well, and I doubt the Vikings organization had any issues with how he talked about the team like some fans, including myself did.
If he was fired for the tweets that I saw, it was a stupid move by the Vikings. They weren't offensive and although over half their fanbase probably disagrees with them, they would not have turned anyone off of the Vikings. What will turn people off is if almost half their fanbase feels Wobby was censored because of views that they share.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:59 am
by VikingLord
StumpHunter wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:17 am
If he was fired for the tweets that I saw, it was a stupid move by the Vikings. They weren't offensive and although over half their fanbase probably disagrees with them, they would not have turned anyone off of the Vikings. What will turn people off is if almost half their fanbase feels Wobby was censored because of views that they share.
What tweets did you see?
All I can find about it suggests the decision was mutual and neither side is saying why.
I would think if the Vikings terminated him for cause it would be fairly straightforward to state the why part of that.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 10:26 am
by Dames
VikingLord wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:59 am
StumpHunter wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:17 am
If he was fired for the tweets that I saw, it was a stupid move by the Vikings. They weren't offensive and although over half their fanbase probably disagrees with them, they would not have turned anyone off of the Vikings. What will turn people off is if almost half their fanbase feels Wobby was censored because of views that they share.
What tweets did you see?
All I can find about it suggests the decision was mutual and neither side is saying why.
I would think if the Vikings terminated him for cause it would be fairly straightforward to state the why part of that.
It was probably a legit reason honestly. Companies really can't get away with firing for shaky reasons anymore. Especially high profile ones like the Vikings. I work for a large corporation (now), and it's very difficult to get rid of even useless employees.
So, I'm guessing whatever the cause was, it was something earned.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 11:48 am
by Fran the Man
StumpHunter wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:17 am
J. Kapp 11 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 11, 2019 5:20 pm
Remember, guys ... Wobby wasn't just a face in front of the camera. He was content director for the entire website. I'm a Communication Director myself, and I can tell you it's a hard job. I believe our website is one of the best in the NFL, and as someone with a supervisory role over content, Wobby was a big part of that. He also had a hand in some really great things like the Voyage video series. If you haven't watched any of those, I HIGHLY recommend you do. They're outstanding videos.
Also, when it came to analysis, he did a pretty darned good job. If you watched him on any of the insider analysis shows, he always held his own with Ron Johnson and the other pro football players.
I'll miss Wobby. He did a good job IMO.
In all seriousness, the firing is a big surprise. Like you said, he did his real job very well, and I doubt the Vikings organization had any issues with how he talked about the team like some fans, including myself did.
If he was fired for the tweets that I saw, it was a stupid move by the Vikings. They weren't offensive and although over half their fanbase probably disagrees with them, they would not have turned anyone off of the Vikings. What will turn people off is if almost half their fanbase feels Wobby was censored because of views that they share.
Where did you see the Tweets Stump? All I've seen are references to tweets, that were supposedly political in nature, supporting President Trump.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 12:35 pm
by Pondering Her Percy
Yes he was fired. I havent really heard the full story on why. Sucks though, I've met him on more than one occasion and he's a wicked good dude. Super personable. Pretty ridiculous if they fired him over something so meaningless.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 12:45 pm
by VikingLord
Pondering Her Percy wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 12:35 pm
Yes he was fired. I havent really heard the full story on why. Sucks though, I've met him on more than one occasion and he's a wicked good dude. Super personable. Pretty ridiculous if they fired him over something so meaningless.
*If* they fired him over that, of which there is no evidence. In fact, there is no evidence he was even fired at this point. It's entirely possible he decided to leave for personal reasons, and of the two possible reasons, being fired for tweets supporting a politician is the less likely IMHO. The latter has lawsuit written all over it unless what he wrote clearly violated the terms of his employment.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:06 pm
by StumpHunter
VikingLord wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 12:45 pm
Pondering Her Percy wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 12:35 pm
Yes he was fired. I havent really heard the full story on why. Sucks though, I've met him on more than one occasion and he's a wicked good dude. Super personable. Pretty ridiculous if they fired him over something so meaningless.
*If* they fired him over that, of which there is no evidence. In fact, there is no evidence he was even fired at this point. It's entirely possible he decided to leave for personal reasons, and of the two possible reasons, being fired for tweets supporting a politician is the less likely IMHO. The latter has lawsuit written all over it unless what he wrote clearly violated the terms of his employment.
The silence and suddenness certainly is evidence of it not being an amicable split.
In MN you can fire anyone for any reason outside of firing someone for their race, gender, creed, religion or disability.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:10 pm
by VikingLord
StumpHunter wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:06 pm
VikingLord wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 12:45 pm
*If* they fired him over that, of which there is no evidence. In fact, there is no evidence he was even fired at this point. It's entirely possible he decided to leave for personal reasons, and of the two possible reasons, being fired for tweets supporting a politician is the less likely IMHO. The latter has lawsuit written all over it unless what he wrote clearly violated the terms of his employment.
The silence and suddenness certainly is evidence of it not being an amicable split.
In MN you can fire anyone for any reason outside of firing someone for their race, gender, creed, religion or disability.
If Wobschall feels he was terminated for airing his personal views publicly, what's stopping him from complaining about it publicly?
He's silent. The Vikings are silent. There is NO evidence he was even fired. The only statements I've seen are that the Vikings and Wobschall are no longer associated.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 2:18 pm
by Fran the Man
VikingLord wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:10 pm
StumpHunter wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:06 pm
The silence and suddenness certainly is evidence of it not being an amicable split.
In MN you can fire anyone for any reason outside of firing someone for their race, gender, creed, religion or disability.
If Wobschall feels he was terminated for airing his personal views publicly, what's stopping him from complaining about it publicly?
He's silent. The Vikings are silent. There is NO evidence he was even fired. The only statements I've seen are that the Vikings and Wobschall are no longer associated.
And that's the weird part; NO ONE is talking about it. Like I said earlier, I believe something dramatic or nefarious has taken place.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 2:26 pm
by Dames
VikingLord wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:10 pm
If Wobschall feels he was terminated for airing his personal views publicly, what's stopping him from complaining about it publicly?
He's silent. The Vikings are silent. There is NO evidence he was even fired. The only statements I've seen are that the Vikings and Wobschall are no longer associated.
Conspiracies theorists would propose that Wobby is staying silent because a lawsuit is coming and he can't talk publicly about it.
No, I really don't believe that, but it's fun playing the devil's advocate sometimes.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 3:01 pm
by VikingLord
Fran the Man wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 2:18 pm
And that's the weird part; NO ONE is talking about it. Like I said earlier, I believe something dramatic or nefarious has taken place.
Its odd, true, but I can't imagine what could have happened that would be that dramatic or nefarious.
Maybe Wobschall was discovered to be a dues-paying member of the Aaron Rodgers fan club? Spielman walked in on him one weekend and Wobschall was caught faxing the Vikings 2020 draft board to Nagy?
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 3:05 pm
by VikingLord
Dames wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 2:26 pm
Conspiracies theorists would propose that Wobby is staying silent because a lawsuit is coming and he can't talk publicly about it.
No, I really don't believe that, but it's fun playing the devil's advocate sometimes.
I can't wait to read that lawsuit...
If it turns out Wobschall was canned because of his political views (which I highly doubt is true, but lets say it is), he's well known enough that he could probably start his own podcast or Vikings analysis program and share both his political and sports views without consequence. He could end up making more money that way than he did with the Vikings, especially if he expanded the scope of his analysis to other NFL teams besides just the Vikings.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 12:51 pm
by mansquatch
I'll be honest, I always found Wobby annoying. I felt he was way overhyped on the radio to the position he held and not the content on his commentary. Then again, that is probably true for most of the on air talent on KFAN. (Where is my barf bag?) I will say Wobby got better over the years, but the over the top "homer-ism" was just nauseating. Of course, I value and honest assessment over kool-aid so that probably makes me a minority in the fan base.
I have no idea why he was fired. I hope it wasn't corporate censorship related. I find that even more nauseating than KFAN.
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 12:58 pm
by VikingLord
mansquatch wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2019 12:51 pm
I hope it wasn't corporate censorship related.
Just curious, but what is "corporate censorship"?
Re: Mike Wobschall
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 3:05 pm
by mansquatch
VikingLord wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2019 12:58 pm
mansquatch wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2019 12:51 pm
I hope it wasn't corporate censorship related.
Just curious, but what is "corporate censorship"?
I view it as a situation where he loses his job because of something he said on his private account. I know it happens, but I think it is travesty in the face of the first amendment. It would be one thing if he did it on the corporate account. If he does it on his own time it shouldn't matter.
I understand that this isn't how things work in this day and age. I find this fact appalling.