Art Modell passes away

[bdubya]

We should probably be nice, even though .....

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/f ... t=hp_t2_a2

and the Cleveland version.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.s ... ner_1.html

[Orange and Brown]

Not a whole lotta people in Cleveland will be sad...........

[bdubya]

Not a whole lotta people in Cleveland will be sad...........

Nope. I'm not either.

It should, however, make for some great reading in the comments at the bottom of the web pages.
:122245

[dazed&confused]

As a Browns fan from long ago, I have only wished for two things...a Browns Super Bowl win and Art Modell's obituary. One down.....

[dazed&confused]

I've read in some of the tributes that Modell said he had to move the team; that financially he had no choice. Well, there is a choice ANY owner can make when he feels the need and that is to sell the franchise. Someone would've paid him handsomely and he could've remained attached to the team and the city he loved. Instead, he sold out, then had to give up ownership anyway. There are many who will push now to forgive and forget; to push for Modell to be enshrined in the HOF. I'm not one and if he ever is enshrined, I will be tempted to join what I feel would be a significant group who would travel to Canton to protest the induction. Let him be remembered and revered in some places. Cleveland is NOT mourning today!

[Inked Parrothead]

I have many friends who are Browns fans and they have are saying one common thing today, "It's about time".

[mister b]

As a former Browns fan and a former follower of the NFL, neither of which is a shadow of what they once were and will never be in my opinion, I am sorry to hear of his passing.

Art Modell lived and died with loyal Browns fans, such as myself, every Sunday for the 35 years he owned the team. I grew up loving the Browns because of my father and remember attending my first NFL game on a cold and snowy October Sunday sitting 1 row from the top of the upper deck of the horseshoe end of old Municipal Stadium. It indeed was a great day and place to watch a game from.

When the Browns moved, I boxed up all of my Browns stuff, t-shirts, jackets etc and sent them to Art because I no longer had any use for professional football and I figured if he wanted to move the team he could because he owned it and he didn't have to sell it if he didn't want to. What burned my a$$ was he went to Baltimore and from that day forward I have no love for any team that has "Baltimore" in it. They too were jilted and knew how it felt.

Modell helped to make the NFL into the huge money maker that it is today and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, for better or worse. As for me, the Hall of Fame in Canton means nothing any more. It's legends left by the wayside of the road broken with untold medical problems and unpaid bills while the owners and executives of the NFL fat with cash from the play of players who loved the game and many who would have played for far less and did so.

Also, anyone who roots for a professional team of any kind should always be alert to the fact that any team can and will move if it improves the finanical stability of the ownership.

Art's dead, let him rest in peace. At least he left the team name, records, colors and tradition in Cleveland, something the Irsay's didn't do when they left Baltimore. But as far as I'm concerned, the real Browns are playing in Baltimore as the Ravens and the current Browns team is a joke because any other expansion team would have had its shite together by now.

[dazed&confused]

Don't get me wrong, I have no illusions in this day of rooting for laundry and of rent-a-players. The NFL (and other sports) used to be so much more to me than what it is now; primarily a business and an entertainment business at that.

Art Modell was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. To some he may be a hero or a role model. But to me he is a villain. He is certainly not the only villain in sports, just my personal villain. My rooting interests in pro sports are measured these days. Sure, somewhere in this old body is that nine-year-old boy whose heart was broken the first time he realized his beloved team didn't always win. Numerous times I had been let down but I held to the dream. Art Modell finished that with his move.

I want to see the Browns win but no longer does the bad mood linger into the week when they lose. No longer do I try to imagine how I would feel if and when they finally do win it all. I am no Cubs fan, content to dream and drink beer in the bleachers. I really think it would be a let down if the Browns were to win. Why? Because my Browns no longer exist. Thanks Art.

How I feel in no way impacts whether Art rests in peace or not. That has to be taken up with a higher authority than me or any other human. But while I walk this earth, I will have no respect for the man. I'll leave that to others. I am older and wiser now. Cynicism of sports is just the norm for me. The innocence of youth is gone. But it didn't die easy. There is no room in my heart to forgive the man for his deed.

So let those who knew a different man mourn his passing. In truth, I can't pass judgement on the man because I never met him. I feel for his family and those he may have helped or befriended in life. But somewhere there is a nine-year-old soul that snickers with an adolescent satisfaction. His tormentor is gone.

[dazed&confused]

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer-

BEREA, Ohio -- The Browns will give some type of appropriate recognition to the passing of Art Modell during the pregame of Sunday's opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.

"We're trying strike the right balance,'' Browns spokesman Neal Gulkis said today. "We want to show respect and dignity for Modell's family, the community and the fans.''

The NFL has asked all home teams this weekend to commemorate Modell's passing in some way.

Gulkis did not specify whether it would be a moment of silence or something else, but the Browns are trying to be respectful of their fans who are still angry at Modell for moving the team to Baltimore in 1996.

Modell, who owned the Browns from 1961 to 1995 before moving the team to Baltimore, died Thursday of natural causes. The Browns spent considerable time determining what to do and solicited input from the NFL office.

Ultimately, they made the decision on their own that honoring Modell was the right thing to do.


This ought to be worth tuning in for!

[mister b]

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer-

BEREA, Ohio -- The Browns will give some type of appropriate recognition to the passing of Art Modell during the pregame of Sunday's opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.

"We're trying strike the right balance,'' Browns spokesman Neal Gulkis said today. "We want to show respect and dignity for Modell's family, the community and the fans.''

The NFL has asked all home teams this weekend to commemorate Modell's passing in some way.

Gulkis did not specify whether it would be a moment of silence or something else, but the Browns are trying to be respectful of their fans who are still angry at Modell for moving the team to Baltimore in 1996.

Modell, who owned the Browns from 1961 to 1995 before moving the team to Baltimore, died Thursday of natural causes. The Browns spent considerable time determining what to do and solicited input from the NFL office.

Ultimately, they made the decision on their own that honoring Modell was the right thing to do.


This ought to be worth tuning in for!

I agree. If they are going to do a moment of silence in Cleveland it would be best to do it before to many folks are seated in the stadium. Most other teams will probably hold their moment of silence, if that is what they decide to do, at some point just before the home team's player introductions.

Just my thoughts.

[ace63]

My View after reading this is, If i was a browns fan i wont not feel much remorse for art. He took away one of the first teams ever to play football. If he said he sold the team because of financial reasons, why is the team making it now after 20 years. Also saying art did so much for football ? I just saw him trying to line his pockects. Dont forget the man Paul brown who built the browns, invented helments, goal post, Playbooks, rules ,etc etc, did the most for the browns. Art just rode on his skirt. Than got jealious of him . He fired him from the team he built. I do feel sorry for arts family and would always respect the death of anyone. But i donot think that the browns faithful will not honor a moment of silence for him. Just my view.

[C-Bolt]

If indeed the city wouldn't help with a new stadium or improvements in the old one after giving the Indians and Cavs new homes the man did what he had to do.He did a lot of good for football including Monday night games and Thanksgiving day games,him and his wife also did a lot for the community of Cleveland that most people never hear about, but with that being said when all this was starting he should have been more honest with the people of Cleveland and told them why he had to do it instead of covering up and trying sneak out.I remember how the Baltimore city leaders were crowing they would never steal another towns team after the Colt's snuck out on them but they had no problem opening the gates for Art years after that.What a crock!

[dazed&confused]

I heard Art's family has requested nothing be done in the way of honoring or mentioning him before tomorrow's game and the Browns have agreed.

[bdubya]

Confirmed, D&C.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.s ... their.html

[dazed&confused]

The shame of it all is what we would see today had he and the leaders in Cleveland come to some agreement to keep them in Cleveland. Today would have been an outpouring of grief and celebration. Despite my rants, nobody can be happy with the way this all ended. A fitting conclusion that Modell is not remembered in Cleveland. Kind of like the Soviet Union erasing all vestiges of Stalin. What could have been!!!!

[mister b]

The shame of it all is what we would see today had he and the leaders in Cleveland come to some agreement to keep them in Cleveland. Today would have been an outpouring of grief and celebration. Despite my rants, nobody can be happy with the way this all ended. A fitting conclusion that Modell is not remembered in Cleveland. Kind of like the Soviet Union erasing all vestiges of Stalin. What could have been!!!!

True. Cleveland could be mourning a hero.