Art Modell is Dead

[JoeTait75]

...

[monosylab1k]

I know it's not the classy thing to do, but go ahead Cleveland fans. Dance on his grave and cheer his death. He was a bastard to you, he deserves it.

[The Gemini Method]

Might have been reviled in Cleveland, but the guy was part of the reason why the league grew to its mammoth position of today. He knew that T.V. was going to be necessary for football and thus he helped with the league becoming a stalwart on the tube. Also, it was pretty unfair for the city of Cleveland to build (at that time) state-of-the-art stadiums for the Indians and the Cavs and not consider to upgrade the Browns from their old stadium.

[Avante]

They had Jimmy Brown and the great Bobby Mitchell to run the ball, they drafted Ernie Davis because?

They did trade Mitchell who was better than Davis was ever going to be.

[Blake]

Avante's glaring absence from this thread shows he is a true nutless wonder, afraid to put his rep on the line.


For shame.

Agreed.

[JoeTait75]

Also, it was pretty unfair for the city of Cleveland to build (at that time) state-of-the-art stadiums for the Indians and the Cavs and not consider to upgrade the Browns from their old stadium.

The stadium situation was a complicated one. I don't disagree about the necessity or lack thereof in terms of an arena for the Cavaliers- I loved the old Coliseum- but the Indians HAD to get their own ballpark, sooner rather than later. Modell himself had a lot to do with the problems the Indians had in the old Stadium. He owned the corporation that ran the Stadium and took all the concession/loge profits from the Indians for himself. He was basically their slumlord.

No doubt the politicians screwed the pooch, but Modell made his own bed. How do you go broke owning an NFL team? How is that possible?

[benefactor]

I know it's not the classy thing to do, but go ahead Cleveland fans. Dance on his grave and cheer his death. He was a bastard to you, he deserves it.
:tu

I'll do the same the day Bud Adams dies.

[The Gemini Method]

The stadium situation was a complicated one. I don't disagree about the necessity or lack thereof in terms of an arena for the Cavaliers- I loved the old Coliseum- but the Indians HAD to get their own ballpark, sooner rather than later. Modell himself had a lot to do with the problems the Indians had in the old Stadium. He owned the corporation that ran the Stadium and took all the concession/loge profits from the Indians for himself. He was basically their slumlord.

No doubt the politicians screwed the pooch, but Modell made his own bed. How do you go broke owning an NFL team? How is that possible?

Poorly management of course, but then again, the NFL wasn't always this multi-billion dollar enterprise it is nowadays. Remember, NFL players (and athletes in general) in the 60's and almost up to the 90's had off season jobs to compensate for how little they got paid from the NFL earnings and owning a team wasn't always that profitable. While not being able to be fiscal responsible or to generate a product that is profitable can be attributed to ownership, there are sometimes variables that alter that and that is true in the form of that the NFL wasn't always a money making entity prior and post revenue sharing.

[JoeTait75]

Poorly management of course, but then again, the NFL wasn't always this multi-billion dollar enterprise it is nowadays. Remember, NFL players (and athletes in general) in the 60's and almost up to the 90's had off season jobs to compensate for how little they got paid from the NFL earnings and owning a team wasn't always that profitable. While not being able to be fiscal responsible or to generate a product that is profitable can be attributed to ownership, there are sometimes variables that alter that and that is true in the form of that the NFL wasn't always a money making entity prior and post revenue sharing.

But Modell didn't just go broke in Cleveland, he went broke again after getting a boatload to move to Baltimore. The NFL basically forced him to sell the team to Steve Biscotti. And he went broke in Cleveland despite raping the Indians for Stadium concessions, loges and parking revenues for two decades.

He should have just sold the Browns. He would have had buyers- Al Lerner probably would have bought it from him. Had Modell sold the team in 1995 he'd probably be in the HOF by now, imo. (Not that I think he deserved to be regardless.) He ended up having to sell it anyway.

[The Gemini Method]

But Modell didn't just go broke in Cleveland, he went broke again after getting a boatload to move to Baltimore. The NFL basically forced him to sell the team to Steve Biscotti. And he went broke in Cleveland despite raping the Indians for Stadium concessions, loges and parking revenues for two decades.

He should have just sold the Browns. He would have had buyers- Al Lerner probably would have bought it from him. Had Modell sold the team in 1995 he'd probably be in the HOF by now, imo. (Not that I think he deserved to be regardless.) He ended up having to sell it anyway.

I didn't know he went bankrupt in Charm City--thanks for the knowledge. I didn't follow the NFL that close until earlier in the '00s as I was more in-tune with college football.

Yeah, I think he should've sold the team to Al Lerner now that I read up about it more. Anyways, regardless of what the guy did, he was one of the old ancient owners that are now disappearing. Rest In Peace I guess...