Art Modell's gift to Baltimore

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun op-ed by Barry Levinson: Art Modell's gift to Baltimore

There is joy in Charm City. The Baltimore Ravens are the champions of the football world. Tuesday, upon the Ravens' return from the Super Bowl in New Orleans, hundreds of thousands of fans lined the streets of Baltimore and filled the football stadium. The city was euphoric and the fan base ecstatic. For the second time in this new century, Baltimore's Ravens are the best team in football. And yet, if not for one man, none of this would have been possible. If not for one man, there would be no Ravens football team. No purple and black to root for. Just a struggling city without the cheers or the roar of a crowd.

It is ironic that Art Modell, the man who made it all possible, was denied entry into the football Hall of Fame just a day before the Super Bowl. The man who brought football back to Baltimore after a very long 12-year absence was not deemed worthy of recognition. Forget all he accomplished. We know the reason. He moved his franchise from Cleveland to Baltimore. One can certainly sympathize with the fans of Cleveland to suddenly have a team snatched from an avid fan base. One can understand the anger of a city hungry for a team that is no longer there.

[exit322]

Soooo...he should be in the HOF because he brought Baltimore a football team?

I say, then, Bob Irsay is a HOFer for bringing Indianapolis a football team.

Though as a Browns fan I am reasonably biased, what exactly did Modell do that was HOF-worthy?

[cpzilliacus]

Soooo...he should be in the HOF because he brought Baltimore a football team?

I say, then, Bob Irsay is a HOFer for bringing Indianapolis a football team.

Though as a Browns fan I am reasonably biased, what exactly did Modell do that was HOF-worthy?

In a perfect world, Bob Irsay  would never have existed, and the Baltimore Colts would still be playing in Baltimore, and the (old) Browns would never have moved to Baltimore.

I was not especially enthused when Modell moved the (old) Browns to Baltimore to become the Ravens, though I have become a fan of the team over the years.  At least he did not do a "midnight ride" like Irsay.

And Cleveland kept the Browns colors and name, and was almost immediately awarded a new NFL franchise.

[exit322]

Soooo...he should be in the HOF because he brought Baltimore a football team?

I say, then, Bob Irsay is a HOFer for bringing Indianapolis a football team.

Though as a Browns fan I am reasonably biased, what exactly did Modell do that was HOF-worthy?

In a perfect world, Bob Irsay  would never have existed, and the Baltimore Colts would still be playing in Baltimore, and the (old) Browns would never have moved to Baltimore.

I was not especially enthused when Modell moved the (old) Browns to Baltimore to become the Ravens, though I have become a fan of the team over the years.  At least he did not do a "midnight ride" like Irsay.

And Cleveland kept the Browns colors and name, and was almost immediately awarded a new NFL franchise.

That wasn't Modell's choice.  It was part of the agreement for him to break his lease with Municipal Stadium.  In other words, he got sued and that was part of the agreement.  Had Cleveland not successfully challenged that (though it's not like Modell had the money to fight much), you'd be cheering for the Browns, just as Indianapolis cheers for the Colts.

While I'm long since over the Browns being moved, I'm still wondering how Modell was worthy of even getting to the final 15 HOF ballottees.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

In a perfect world, Georgia Frontiere would be the owner of the Tampa Colts and the Irsays would be the owner of the....anything but a sports team (Bob Irsay makes Mike Brown look like Art Rooney)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1086414/3/index.htm

[cpzilliacus]

In a perfect world, Georgia Frontiere would be the owner of the Tampa Colts and the Irsays would be the owner of the....anything but a sports team (Bob Irsay makes Mike Brown look like Art Rooney)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1086414/3/index.htm

I am certainly no fan of the Irsay family, but I have nothing against Cleveland, and I am glad they got a franchise to replace the "old" Browns, now the Ravens.

[thenetwork]

Soooo...he should be in the HOF because he brought Baltimore a football team?

I say, then, Bob Irsay is a HOFer for bringing Indianapolis a football team.

Though as a Browns fan I am reasonably biased, what exactly did Modell do that was HOF-worthy?

In a perfect world, Bob Irsay  would never have existed, and the Baltimore Colts would still be playing in Baltimore, and the (old) Browns would never have moved to Baltimore.

I was not especially enthused when Modell moved the (old) Browns to Baltimore to become the Ravens, though I have become a fan of the team over the years.  At least he did not do a "midnight ride" like Irsay.

And Cleveland kept the Browns colors and name, and was almost immediately awarded a new NFL franchise.

That wasn't Modell's choice.  It was part of the agreement for him to break his lease with Municipal Stadium.  In other words, he got sued and that was part of the agreement.  Had Cleveland not successfully challenged that (though it's not like Modell had the money to fight much), you'd be cheering for the Browns, just as Indianapolis cheers for the Colts.

While I'm long since over the Browns being moved, I'm still wondering how Modell was worthy of even getting to the final 15 HOF ballottees.

As a long-time Browns Fan and Modell Hater, the one good thing that he did was take NFL football and expand it into Primetime.  He had convinced to ABC that Monday Night Football would be a great idea, which ultimately expanded the NFL game schedule beyond the Sunday afternoon timeframe.

[triplemultiplex]

As a long-time Browns Fan and Modell Hater, the one good thing that he did was take NFL football and expand it into Primetime.  He had convinced to ABC that Monday Night Football would be a great idea, which ultimately expanded the NFL game schedule beyond the Sunday afternoon timeframe.

But then the NFL fucked it up with those goddamn Thursday night games.  Just so they could have some games for their total unnecessary cable channel that forces fans to purchase a more expensive cable/satellite package.  I'm glad they had that power failure during the Super Bowl.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

As a long-time Browns Fan and Modell Hater, the one good thing that he did was take NFL football and expand it into Primetime.  He had convinced to ABC that Monday Night Football would be a great idea, which ultimately expanded the NFL game schedule beyond the Sunday afternoon timeframe.

But then the NFL fucked it up with those goddamn Thursday night games.  Just so they could have some games for their total unnecessary cable channel that forces fans to purchase a more expensive cable/satellite package.  I'm glad they had that power failure during the Super Bowl.

ABC held Thursday night games long before the NFL Channel was a gleam in anybody's eyes.

[cpzilliacus]

As a long-time Browns Fan and Modell Hater, the one good thing that he did was take NFL football and expand it into Primetime.  He had convinced to ABC that Monday Night Football would be a great idea, which ultimately expanded the NFL game schedule beyond the Sunday afternoon timeframe.

But then the NFL fucked it up with those goddamn Thursday night games.  Just so they could have some games for their total unnecessary cable channel that forces fans to purchase a more expensive cable/satellite package.  I'm glad they had that power failure during the Super Bowl.

The Thursday Night NFL Network game seems like greed to me.

I don't have a problem with the NBC Sunday Night national broadcast - that makes much more sense (IMO) than the Monday Night ESPN game (it goes on way too late for those of us that live in  the Eastern time zone).

Though the NBC games and the ESPN games and even the  NFL Network have something in common with the CBS games - they are not on Murdoch's miserable FoX network, easily (again IMO) the worst it comes to covering NFL games.

[triplemultiplex]

Though the NBC games and the ESPN games and even the  NFL Network have something in common with the CBS games - they are not on Murdoch's miserable FoX network, easily (again IMO) the worst it comes to covering NFL games.

I just hate listening to Joe Buck call games.  The man is so dreadfully boring when he speaks.  It sounds like he's narrating a self-guided museum tour.  When something exciting happens, he just increases the volume of his droning slightly.  And of course for football, they pair him with another dull monotone in the person of Troy Aikman.  The dynamic duo, I sarcastically call them.
Boy Truck and Joe Ache-man.