Every generation has a few events that truly stand out. Pearl Harbor. The
Kennedy assassinations. Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon. Watergate. The
Challenger explosion. 9/11. We all remember where we were and what we were doing
when we heard the news, and we remember them clearly.
For Browns fans, one of those days was Monday, November 6, 1995. The day Art
Modell announced that that he was moving his team to Baltimore.
Actually, it started a few days before. At the time, I was very active on the
Browns bulletin board on the (now defunct) Prodigy network, and that’s where I
first heard the rumors the previous Friday, November 3. The national media
started picking up the story on Saturday. On Sunday, during the pregame show,
NBC reporter Will McDonough said, “It’s a done deal. The Browns are moving to
Baltimore.”
A friend and I were running a small Browns Backers club - the North Georgia
Browns Backers - back in those days. About 50 of us sat absolutely dumbstruck at
hearing this news. I can’t recall a more subdued group of Browns fans, before or
since.
On Monday, I watched the ceremony from Baltimore in stunned silence. I
listened to Governor Paris Glendenning gloat about the clandestine meetings with
Modell and his representatives. I watched as Modell took the podium and declared
that he “had no choice” but to move the team. And I was absolutely sick to my
stomach. The Great Betrayal had indeed occurred.
How could he do such a thing? How could he turn his back on the city? How
could he slap the faithful fans in the face? Quite a few words come to mind when
I think of Art Modell. Greed, incompetence, betrayal, disloyal, fool - they all
fit. But the strongest word that comes to mind is “traitor”. The man betrayed
the legions of fans, who put over 70,000 butts in the seats of that old stadium
every week. Simply put, he betrayed me.
We can argue all day long about who was at fault. Who was responsible for
this travesty? Was it Modell, the City of Cleveland, the NFL? There’s enough
blame to go around. Yes, the Browns stadium issues were the last on the list for
Cleveland. Jacobs Field, Gund Arena, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame came before
him. Modell told Cleveland what he wanted - a major renovation of the old
stadium - and Cleveland had the funding on the ballot - ironically, the day
after Modell announced the move. It passed by a landslide, proving that the fans
still loved their team.
The events of the next several months are well documented. The City of
Cleveland, led by Mayor Michael White and countless fans across the country,
successfully lobbied the NFL, and we got our team back. I was proud to take part
in the “Save Our Browns” effort, including a big rally at the NFL owners’
meeting here in Atlanta. I’ve been a fan since 1968, and I wasn’t going down
without a fight.
Neither were all the other Browns fans out there. We got our team back. Sure
we had to wait 3 years, but we had our team. It was unprecedented, and it’s not
likely to happen again. (Sorry, New Orleans.) During all of these efforts, I had
the pleasure of getting to know many of you, even though we’ve never met in
person. (That’s one of the cool things about being a Browns fan, by the way. I
can find like-minded people almost anywhere I go!)
But who really won the war? Us, the fans? I don’t think so. The NFL pocketed
$500,000,000 (that’s half a billion dollars) when Al Lerner bought the
new franchise. The TV networks got one of their biggest markets back. NFL
Properties got tons of royalties from Browns merchandise.
The day Modell announced the new name of his team, I was in Baltimore for a
conference at a hotel on the Inner Harbor. The big pep rally (which wasn’t very
big) was right across the street, so I decided to attend. I stood there in my
suit and tie, and heckled Modell as loud as I could, until one of Baltimore’s
finest suggested that I stop. It had absolutely no effect on the proceedings,
but I’m sure Modell looked my way at one point, so I felt better.
But I still didn’t have my football team. Not yet, anyway. And Baltimore had
the Flying Rats. That just wasn’t right.
A lot has happened in the ten years since The Great Betrayal. Here are my
thoughts on the past ten years in the life of this Browns fan.
Modell received a huge financial windfall as a result of his move to
Baltimore. Ten years later, Modell is out of the NFL, due to his completely
inept business skills.
Over these ten years, Baltimore Ravens fans have continued to believe
there was nothing wrong with Modell’s actions. Their justification, of
course, is that they lost the Colts many years before, and didn’t get a new
franchise in return. OK. Sure. If you say so. Personally, I learned as a
small boy that two wrongs don’t make a right. Ten years later, It’s hard to
realize that these people are still so naïve.
People still ask me if I hate Art Modell. I still hate what Art did, no
question. But that hatred is somewhat tempered by ten years’ time and the
knowledge that he’s out of the league now. I used to think it would be great
to meet Art, sit down with him and talk about the Browns for a few hours.
After the move, I thought I’d probably spit in his face if I got close
enough. Ten years later, well, I’d probably just give him a piece of my mind
and walk away.
What about Al Lerner’s involvement? In my mind, he was certainly an
accomplice to Modell’s dirty deed. Ten years later, the question is: Did he
redeem himself by bringing the Browns back to Cleveland? Partially. I
haven’t had any problems with Al’s or Randy’s decisions as owners of the
team, and naming the Browns’ new home Cleveland Browns Stadium was classy.
But Al got his hands dirty in The Great Betrayal, and they never came
completely clean.
Should Art be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? My opinion is
that he’ll eventually be inducted, though it’ll be posthumously. Yes, what
he did to Cleveland was despicable, but he did help build the NFL into the
empire it is. Ten years later, I hope I never see Art Modell take the stage
in Canton. It would be a complete fiasco.
That weekend, ten years ago, we lost to the Houston Oilers, 37-10. Ten
years later, we beat the Tennessee Titans (nee Houston Oilers), 20-14. I
wonder if the NFL schedulers did that on purpose?
For a long time, I harbored absolute hatred for Modell and Baltimore. I
got into many heated arguments on that subject. Ten years later, yes, that
hatred is still there, though it’s not as fierce as it once was.
Ten years ago, we witnessed The Great Betrayal. It looked like the end
of Cleveland Browns football. Ten years later, we have our team back, though
it’s not the kind of team we’d all like to see. We’ve seen complete turnover in
ownership, front office leadership, three head coaches in 7 years, and a
revolving door on the locker room. It hasn’t been an easy road.
Ten years later, we all hope the leadership team of Randy Lerner, John
Collins, Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel will deliver championship level football
to Cleveland once again. In sports, winning heals a great many wounds. And once
we’re a winning team again, the memories of The Great Betrayal will fade
even further into the backdrop of Cleveland Browns history.
