A lot of folks have been very hard on the Yahoo board and Jerry Yang in particular for fighting the Microsoft takeover bid, but it should be noted that almost more than anybody these folks are playing with their own money, and the stakes are huge.

As Fortune reports Jerry Yang’s got more than a few Yahoo shares, and this he’s effectively “gambling” with his own money as he powerfully resists the fat Microsoft offer.    If Yahoo stock tanks – as it certainly will if Microsoft backs out – I won’t be all that much worse for the wear but Jerry would be taking something like a *half billion* hit to his net worth.   That’s real money, and you’ve got to admire Jerry and the board for believing so strongly in their “new” vision for the company that they are willing to bet they can regain their former glory.  

Of course, maybe they *can* regain their former glory, but that’s a bird in the wild and wooly internet bush and Microsoft’s offer is *billions of birds* in the greedy little hands of investors.    This is not a tech issue – billions of Microsoft birds in hands are better than a few Yahoo birds in the bushes.   

Disclosure:  I have some YHOO, though fewer than Jerry Yang.