Mark Cuban doesn't want to buy the Pirates right now. And interestingly enough, it has nothing to do with the coronavirus or the uncertainty of the upcoming season.
Speaking with Pat McAfee on Thursday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show, Cuban explained.
"Those days are gone, man," Cuban told McAfee when asked if he'd ever look to buy the Pirates or another sports franchise. "That's like, before I had kids. So the Pirates were, like, before I was married. That was different, right? And now, I have kids. They're 10, 13 and 16. And being gone, being involved for 82 games plus playoffs in the NBA, [it] didn't seem like a lot before. Now it is a lot just because of the kids. Maybe after they're older and left the house, I'll look at it again, but not right now."
Catch that?
Yeah, Cuban did look into buying the Pirates before. But it didn't pan out for various reasons, chief among them: They didn't want to sell.
"Right after I bought the Mavs [in 2000], I looked at the Pirates, and they just didn't want to sell," Cuban said. "And, look, I get that, right? Up until the pandemic hit, they were crushing it financially. What I would tell people back home, I'm like, 'Look. If I offered you a job where I paid you $20, 25 million a year and you stood in the middle of Market Square or you stood in Point Park in downtown Pittsburgh and the whole city just yelled at you all day, every day, would you take that $25 million a year job?'"
Here, McAfee chuckled and said, "I think so. Yeah."
"That's what it comes down to," Cuban continued. "Hey, at least we broke that non-playoff run, we got to the playoffs, they've gotten a little smarter about it. I'm not as down on them for not spending the money that people want them to because I think they're doing some smart things in development. They've got, you know, some facilities in Puerto Rico and stuff, but look, I get frustrated like everybody. I want to win."
So the door's open for Cuban to make another attempt at buying the Pirates ... just not until his kids are a little older.
And Cuban didn't stop there with the Pittsburgh-based goodies on the show. In closing, Cuban added that he's still trying to buy Oakland's beloved Original Hot Dog Shop — 'The O' — which shuttered in late April due to the coronavirus.
‼️ YINZ ‼️@mcuban just told @PatMcAfeeShow he's STILL trying to buy the O! #Pittsburgh #PGH #PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/alrBZUnSF9
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPghSports) May 21, 2020
Yinzer hero Mark Cuban? Hey, right now, I can almost see the cape fluttering behind him.
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