RIP Art Modell

This.

 

Or East Rutherford without The Nets.

 

Does Fort Wayne still mourn the Pistons? Does Pottsville still dream of the Maroons?

 

I wouldn't miss anything called the Maroons as long as I could drown my "sorrows" in fresh-brewed Yuengling.

And I feel bad for posting on this thread now that it's changed to RIP. I don't want him to rest, or feel peace. My abject hatred of him is one of the very few truly irrationally dominant things that I have.

 

The Cleveland Browns leaving literally changed family dynamics for four years.

Call it sad, but I didn't have much in common with my dad except sitting in the living rooms on Sundays and rooting on Clay Matthews and Bernie Kosar and Brian Brennan and Ozzie Newsome.

It was a kick to the gut when they left. It introduced me, however gently, to the notion that there are guys who don't care about the social fabric of a city and a state long before any conglomerate or politician did.

I don't hate Art Modell. I never wished him ill. I'm not happy he died. Still, he did a terrible thing that undid everything else he ever did. People will do terrible things to survive.

 

How many decades do you think TSP has been relishing writing this thread's title?

 

It's why I signed up for SportsJournalists.com.

 

RIP Mr. Modell.
The man picked up a dinner tab for me and about 8 other greedy scribes a few moons ago in Cleveland. He didn't have to do that.

 

It all turned around for Hess when he hired Parcells, and Francesa started to refer to him as "Mr. Hess."

 

Why would you let him?

 

He probably owned the fucking restaurant.

 

Pro sports philosophy question: What does any franchise owe its city?