Giovanni Cucullo on The North Fork

THIS SITE HAS MOVED!!

Visit my new Food Blog at:

http://goldentable.wordpress.com/

and my new Poetry site at:

http://giovannicucullo.wordpress.com/

Thanks!

Giovanni Cucullo

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Giovanni Cucullo

THIS SITE HAS MOVED!!

Visit my new Food Blog at:

http://goldentable.wordpress.com/

and my new Poetry site at:

http://giovannicucullo.wordpress.com/

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Giovanni Cucullo

Giovanni Cucullo

GIOVANNI CUCULLO

GIOVANNI CUCULLO

Giovanni Cucullo

Giovanni Cucullo

Giovanni Cucullo

Giovanni Cucullo

Giovanni Cucullo

Giovanni Cucullo

Giovanni Cucullo in Mexico

 

Giovanni Cucullo in Ft. Lauderdale

~

THIS SITE HAS MOVED!!

Visit my new Food Blog at:

http://goldentable.wordpress.com/

 

and my new Poetry site at:

http://giovannicucullo.wordpress.com/

 

Thanks!

Giovanni Cucullo

Giovanni Cucullo

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Gio

THIS SITE HAS MOVED!!

Visit my new Food Blog at:

http://goldentable.wordpress.com/

and my new Poetry site at:

http://giovannicucullo.wordpress.com/

Thanks!

Giovanni Cucullo

Giovanni Cucullo

THIS SITE HAS MOVED!!

Visit my new Food Blog at:

http://goldentable.wordpress.com/

and my new Poetry site at:

http://giovannicucullo.wordpress.com/

Thanks!

Giovanni Cucullo

Giovanni Cucullo

Gio’s New Sites!

Visit my new Poetry site at:

http://giovannicucullo.wordpress.com/

and my new Food Blog at:

http://goldentable.wordpress.com/

Thanks!

Giovanni Cucullo in Philadelphia

48 HOURS IN PHILLY

Giovanni Cucullo

Giovanni Cucullo at Penn’s Landing

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that”…Steinbrenner!

I’m a Bronx boy, born and raised for most of my life, and with that I was handed the obligatory honor of being a Yankee fan.

When I heard the tragic news about the death of George Steinbrenner, I was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

Even though I always felt that the Yankees were the greatest team in the history of sports, it was still ingrained in me to believe that Steinbrenner was a ruthless business man who fired major league managers like they were clerks at a local gas station.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that!” 

 Being a clerk, that is.

Have you ever seen that episode of Seinfeld in which Steinbrenner fervently demands a calzone for lunch?

Perhaps you need to be a true New Yorker to get my drift, but maybe not.

I’m sure there are many losers Mets who are dancing in their living rooms while the rest could not care any less.

Well, today I headed to Chinatown for lunch with two long-time Yankee fans; one a retired postal worker, and the other, a former major PR big shot in the NY entertainment industry.

The postal friend and I agreed about all the philanthropic endeavors which Steinbrenner was involved in and we also lobbed back and forth our adamant belief that “the boss” single-handedly changed the face of Major League Baseball if not the entire sporting industry.

I even expressed my appreciation of Steinbrenner for eliminating showboating at games and for instilling strict guidelines regarding professionalism and appearance for his players; and with the formation of the new Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network he had quickly become a true Yes man.

But our PR buddy had a very different angle because he had personally met Steinbrenner several times and had actually spent an entire 15 minutes with him in his office at the original stadium…the house that Ruth built.
My buddy spoke to me about the giant custom-made leather couch, shaped like a baseball glove which proudly sat in his office, the suites located just left of the office and the extended conversation discussing the benefits of music (Steinbrenner was a classically trained pianist). My friend also held close to his heart the image of a sporting legend that momentarily let his guard down and showed his “gentle” side.

After all the praises and well-deserved kudos regarding the empire which Steinbrenner had built, the only thing which really lingered in the deep cerebral cortex of my miniscule brain was the story about how a female intern delivered a lunch sandwich a few minutes late to Mr. Steinbrenner’s office; a sandwich which was then flung by Mr. Steinbrenner back at the so-called “incompetent” employee.

There were other similar stories regarding his temper, as well as the many very vocal public appearances when Steinbrenner found himself  before the press, voicing his loud opinions while his son, Hank (14 at the time) riding his coattails, quietly stated…”You think this is bad…I got to live with him.”

So perhaps you can understand my mixed emotions.

 

On the one hand we have a man, who crafted the business, merchandising and media model for the American sporting industry, turning a $200,000 personal investment into a $3 billion dollar franchise; yet in the opposite dugout sat a man driven by ego and money who seemed to find a certain amount of consolation by verbally abusing his employees.

Somewhwere in between, lived a guy named George from Tampa, a man just like any other. George would humbly recount stories about  the visionary “boss” he left back in NY, and give you insight into his unique management style.

The media has always depicted George Steinbrenner as a brute…not the most affable of men and as is the case with my PR friend very often that image is perpetuated and often exaggerated.

Mr. Steinbrenner should be remembered for the sharp, intuitive, compassionate, caring, and influential businessman, friend and father which he was, and not for the occasional outburst which appeared to be his modus operandi.

Shouldn’t a man be measured by the sum of his actions?

I never met him but I’ll surely miss him.

How are you feeling?