The Big Kid

[Mr. Scot]

After watching his speech at Carnegie-Mellon, I think that's how I'm going to refer to David Tepper from here on out.

Jerry Richardson was The Big Cat. Ben Navarro was dubbed The Cool Cat by Morgan Fogarty. Someone suggested The Fat Cat for Tepper, but after listening to him talk, I'm not sure that fits.

If you've watched, then you heard Tepper refer to himself as a kid several times. But more than that, there were times in his speech when he almost sounded like one.

Most of us, when we're feeling our most secure, drop our mature adult filters and become who we were at age 13 or 14 again. To be clear though, I don't mean that to connote immaturity. I'm talking about going back to a time that, for most of us, was simpler; a time before the world introduced us to ugliness, conflict and suffering, a time when it seemed like anything was possible.

I think David Tepper just might live in that place.

Obviously, his life is very complex. You don't get to be where he is without a lot of complications. He's dealing with high stakes on a constant basis, and for most of us that'd make us nervous wrecks. Not Tepper, though. Frankly, it's hard to miss that when he speaks, he genuinely looks like he's enjoying himself.

Something else that's worth remembering about kids, though...

They're competitive.

You remember playing tag?  Impromptu baseball games? Foot races? Bicycle races? Swimming races? Last one in is a doofus? Etc.

How about when something was in dispute? Was he safe or out? I got here first! No, I got here first! Got you last! No you didn't! Am not! Are too!

Or how about this one? "Oh, you messed with me?  Guess what? I'm going to buy your house, tear the whole thing down, and build a bigger one for myself."

What? You never did that?

Tepper did.

That kid who always had to win at everything grew up, and now he's buying your favorite football team. You probably hated him back when, but if he applies that same attitude to the Panthers, I got a feeling you're not going to hate him anymore.

When he bought his 5% stake in the Steelers, Tepper referred to himself as a kid then too. “Owning your favorite football team? Getting to watch all the games from the field? That’s every little boy’s dream" he said.

Well, the "little boy" didn't actually own the whole thing at that time. But this time, he will.

And once he does, I'm going to be really intrigued to see exactly what The Big Kid does with it.

[Dex]

The Big Autocrat.

[Moo Daeng]

Mister Big Kid

New Mister

 

[DeeJay]

Big money kid!

 

[Ja Rhule]

I think his nick name should be Sugar Bear.

[Squirrel]

The big balls. 

 

Or better yet the Killer Cat. 

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, Squirrel said:

The big balls. 

I was looking for something more...polite 

[Mr. Scot]

6 minutes ago, ARSEN said:

I think his nick name should be Sugar Bear.

He bought the team in Charlotte, not Chicago.

[ItsPantone278]

Apparently his business school buddies called him Tep.  I'mma go with Tep for now.

[Squirrel]

5 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I was looking for something more...polite 

 

Fine could do Fat Cat and I'm not talking about his weight. 

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, Squirrel said:

Fine could do Fat Cat and I'm not talking about his weight. 

I get that. I just don't think it works.

Most guys that get a nickname like that are kinda stuffy. Tepper's a lot of things (not all of them necessarily good) but to me, he just doesn't come across as stuffy at all.

[Johnny Rockets]

So I haven't been very invested in the ownership change and out of the loop a bit with work travel, life, etc. but are you telling me that with all that has gone on recently, the new owner of the Panthers is a big kid who has brass veiny balls hanging in his office and likes to throw breast implants around?

 

[Jon Snow]

7 minutes ago, Johnny Rockets said:

So I haven't been very invested in the ownership change and out of the loop a bit with work travel, life, etc. but are you telling me that with all that has gone on recently, the new owner of the Panthers is a big kid who has brass veiny balls hanging in his office and likes to throw breast implants around?

 

Yep, pretty much.

[Mr. Scot]

6 minutes ago, Johnny Rockets said:

So I haven't been very invested in the ownership change and out of the loop a bit with work travel, life, etc. but are you telling me that with all that has gone on recently, the new owner of the Panthers is a big kid who has brass veiny balls hanging in his office and likes to throw breast implants around?

Pretty much. 

Put it this way: Do those things sound more like they'd come from someone age fifty or age fifteen?

(Tepper is sixty)

And let's be real: If you had ten billion dollars, could I expect to see you acting like a mature adult all the time?