RIP Art Modell

[Brian]

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.

 

[poindexter]

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

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

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

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

 

[Drip]

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.

 

[YankeeFan]

Almost all fans hate almost all owners. But it's interesting how completely we hate certain owners.

The Rooneys are hated in Pittsburgh, Maras in New York, Kraft in NE?

Hence the word 'almost.'

Would add that Jet fans are not sure what to think of Woody Johnson.

There was a time when Jet fans despised Leon Hess mainly because of failure on the field. What Jet fans did not realize was that he refused to do PSL's and insisted on keeping seat prices low so that families could afford to go to a game. When Hess owned the team Jet seat prices were always one of lowest in the league.

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

 

[YankeeFan]

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.

Why would you let him?

 

[Chef2]

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.

Why would you let him?

He probably owned the ****ing restaurant.

 

[Azrael]

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

 

[Drip]

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.

Why would you let him?

When we went to pay for the tab, the waiter said "Mr. Modell is picking up the bill. Don't worry about a thing and enjoy yourself." We purchased another round of drinks and tacked on a bottle of vino.
When I saw him the next day, I personally thanked him and he said "No problem."

 

[Drip]

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.

Why would you let him?

He probably owned the ****ing restaurant.

No he didn't own the restaurant and for the life of me, I can't remember the name but if we were in Cleveland I could take you there.

 

[Azrael]

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

Presumably, most of their revenue stream would come from residents of said city and surrounding area, so I'd say "everything."

And don't forget the bond issue for the stadium, and the tax incentives, and the sweetheart leases on the parking lots.

But that's just money. People aren't mad at Modell or O'Malley about the money.

 

[Double Down]

This is a weird day for Baltimore. My wife's family is from Baltimore, so I feel it.

On one hand, no one understands the way Cleveland felt the day the Browns left better than the city of Baltimore. It's like having a piece of your soul snatched away by someone you desperately wanted to trust. It's like having your heart broken for the first time. You never, ever completely get over it, because the rest of your life, you'll never love a sports team without reservation, without holding something back to guard against that feeling again.

On the other hand, I grow a little weary of Cleveland's martyr complex when it comes to Modell and the Browns. Mizzou is saying earlier in this thread, "Imagine Pittsburgh without the Steelers, Green Bay without the Packers, Dallas without the Cowboys..." but you don't have to imagine it at all. Imagine Baltimore without the Colts.

Imagine if, instead of the Browns being back in Cleveland in less than three years, there was a team called the Jacksonville Browns. Or the San Antonio Browns or the Las Vegas Browns. And that team tried to pretend Jim Brown was part of its legacy, and the NFL Hall of Fame was like "Yup, as far as we're concerned, the Las Vegas Browns all-time leading rusher was Jim Brown."

When Modell stabbed Cleveland in the back, the NFL bent over backward to give the city another team in the next round of expansion. When Baltimore lost the Colts, Paul Tagliabue literally told the city to "go build a museum" downtown because they were never going to get another team. Modell said "Sorry to screw you, but I'm leaving after this season." The Irsays said "We are absolutely not leaving, we absolutely did not meet with Phoenix and Indianapolis, anyone who says so is a liar, and no that's not bourbon on my breath" and then packed up a truck in the middle of the night and left. And it was 13 years, not three, before Baltimore got football back. If the city hadn't romanced Modell, they'd still be begging for a team or rooting for a CFL franchise. Instead, they sell out every single game.

I understand that the Browns leaving prayed on some of Cleveland's sports insecurity, because their departure was woven together with years and years of heartbreak from the Indians and, over time, the Cavs. I guess I don't quite get, logically, how people can feel no one in the history of the NFL was wronged the way they were wronged, when Baltimore was wronged for far longer and much worse. The league was determined to fix what happened in Cleveland. The league actively tried to prevent football from ever returning to Baltimore. Art Modell may be the devil in Cleveland, and perhaps justifiably so. But he literally saved professional football in Baltimore, and in the end, Cleveland fans still get to cheer for the same uniforms and feel like they're a part of the same history that their parents rooted for.

 

[YankeeFan]

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.

Why would you let him?

When we went to pay for the tab, the waiter said "Mr. Modell is picking up the bill. Don't worry about a thing and enjoy yourself." We purchased another round of drinks and tacked on a bottle of vino.
When I saw him the next day, I personally thanked him and he said "No problem."

Jesus. Forget the ethics for a minute, that's just tacky as hell.

I hope you at least left the tip yourselves, and were generous.

 

[YGBFKM]

But Baltimore got Brian Billick, so you should be happy, DD.

 

[proudpittsburgher]

This is a weird day for Baltimore. My wife's family is from Baltimore, so I feel it.

On one hand, no one understands the way Cleveland felt the day the Browns left better than the city of Baltimore. It's like having a piece of your soul snatched away by someone you desperately wanted to trust. It's like having your heart broken for the first time. You never, ever completely get over it, because the rest of your life, you'll never love a sports team without reservation, without holding something back to guard against that feeling again.

On the other hand, I grow a little weary of Cleveland's martyr complex when it comes to Modell and the Browns. Mizzou is saying earlier in this thread, "Imagine Pittsburgh without the Steelers, Green Bay without the Packers, Dallas without the Cowboys..." but you don't have to imagine it at all. Imagine Baltimore without the Colts.

Imagine if, instead of the Browns being back in Cleveland in less than three years, there was a team called the Jacksonville Browns. Or the San Antonio Browns or the Las Vegas Browns. And that team tried to pretend Jim Brown was part of its legacy, and the NFL Hall of Fame was like "Yup, as far as we're concerned, the Las Vegas Browns all-time leading rusher was Jim Brown."

When Modell stabbed Cleveland in the back, the NFL bent over backward to give the city another team in the next round of expansion. When Baltimore lost the Colts, Paul Tagliabue literally told the city to "go build a museum" downtown because they were never going to get another team. Modell said "Sorry to screw you, but I'm leaving after this season." The Irsays said "We are absolutely not leaving, we absolutely did not meet with Phoenix and Indianapolis, anyone who says so is a liar, and no that's not bourbon on my breath" and then packed up a truck in the middle of the night and left. And it was 13 years, not three, before Baltimore got football back. If the city hadn't romanced Modell, they'd still be begging for a team or rooting for a CFL franchise. Instead, they sell out every single game.

I understand that the Browns leaving prayed on some of Cleveland's sports insecurity, because their departure was woven together with years and years of heartbreak from the Indians and, over time, the Cavs. I guess I don't quite get, logically, how people can feel no one in the history of the NFL was wronged the way they were wronged, when Baltimore was wronged for far longer and much worse. The league was determined to fix what happened in Cleveland. The league actively tried to prevent football from ever returning to Baltimore. Art Modell may be the devil in Cleveland, and perhaps justifiably so. But he literally saved professional football in Baltimore, and in the end, Cleveland fans still get to cheer for the same uniforms and feel like they're a part of the same history that their parents rooted for.

I can't believe I am sticking up for Cleveland here, but here goes. . .

When your ***** of a girlfriend/wife cheats on your with another man, it makes it a lot easier to get over it when you find another girl, but that doesn't change what she did to you. You don't forgive her, you just feel better about yourself. Saying "we suffered for longer than you did and our owner lied to us far worse than yours did to you" doesn't eliminate any of the vitrol Cleveland Browns fans feel for what he did to them. He screwed them for his benefit, plain and simple. People are responsible for their actions. Modell is no different. It was totally his prerogative to do what he did, he just had to suffer being hated. That doesn't necessarily end with death. An Irrationall feeling for sure, but hatred nonetheless. Small price to pay, I would guess for him, for what he got in Baltimore.

 

[Drip]

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.

Why would you let him?

When we went to pay for the tab, the waiter said "Mr. Modell is picking up the bill. Don't worry about a thing and enjoy yourself." We purchased another round of drinks and tacked on a bottle of vino.
When I saw him the next day, I personally thanked him and he said "No problem."

Jesus. Forget the ethics for a minute, that's just tacky as hell.

I hope you at least left the tip yourselves, and were generous.

I keep forgetting your elevator gets stuck. There's not a damn thing tacky and nothing unethical. The guy picked up a dinner tab. It was a nice gesture and yes, there was a generous tip.
What's the problem?

 

[proudpittsburgher]

I just hope for him, the dirt atop his grave is ****-proof, because I would imagine some Cleveland Browns fans have an idea for what they are doing for their next vacation.

 

[proudpittsburgher]

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.

Why would you let him?

When we went to pay for the tab, the waiter said "Mr. Modell is picking up the bill. Don't worry about a thing and enjoy yourself." We purchased another round of drinks and tacked on a bottle of vino.
When I saw him the next day, I personally thanked him and he said "No problem."

Jesus. Forget the ethics for a minute, that's just tacky as hell.

I hope you at least left the tip yourselves, and were generous.

I keep forgetting your elevator gets stuck. There's not a damn thing tacky and nothing unethical. The guy picked up a dinner tab. It was a nice gesture and yes, there was a generous tip.
What's the problem?

It is if any of the 8 scribes were Browns beat writers.

 

[Boom_70]

If Irsay did not move The Colts to Indy in the middle of the night this 3 team shuffle might have never happened.

 

[Double Down]

Cleveland has every right to hate Modell until the end of time. My sympathy for what happened, however, lessens when I see fans justifying that hate by saying "no one can ever understand our pain." Actually, the people of Baltimore understand all too well. In the grand scheme of it, the screwing Cleveland took was not nearly as bull**** as what happened in Baltimore. Cleveland doesn't have to acknowledge or understand it, but other people should before they go repeating the claims that no city ever suffered the heartbreak Cleveland did.