For those old enough to remember the 12 year exodus of the NFL in Baltimore

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Aren't days like today worth it?

Baltimore celebrating an NFL Championship by a team from Baltimore, something no other city gets to do this year?

I mean, after seeing Irsay running the Colts into the ground, then the whole shocking indignity of the team being whisked away literally in the middle of the night, then being passed over by the NFL for expansion, then having the league continuiously try to shove the Redskins down the city's throat, then having Taligabue and his infamous "museum" comment, then being used as pawns by every NFL owner wanting a new stadium, then being forced to feel guilty for "stealing" Cleveland's team (even though technically that team never actually left Cleveland).....and then you contrast all those painful days with today. Just like we did in 2001.

It's gotta feel good, right?

[JohnBKistler]

Yes...and someday, I wish someone would explain what happened in 1993 and how the hell Jacksonville was deemed more worthy....I think I know why, but I would love to hear an official, or insider, accounting.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Yes...and someday, I wish someone would explain what happened in 1993 and how the hell Jacksonville was deemed more worthy....I think I know why, but I would love to hear an official, or insider, accounting.

The 93 Expansion derby stung, but I do think it was for the best.

Wasn't the leading Baltimore Ownership group lead by Al Lerner, the guy who ultimately bought the Cleveland Browns 2.0? That's a track record to be proud of.

With the Modell move, Cleveland kept the Browns name and team history (as it should have), and Baltimore got Ozzie Newsome. The rest is history, sweet history.

On the other hand, something tells me the Baltimore Bombers would have been perennial bottom dwellers.

[Paintballguy]

I was 14 when the Ravens won SB35, so this experience has been amazing for me especially because I've been so emotionally invested into the Ravens.

[JohnBKistler]

The 93 Expansion derby stung, but I do think it was for the best.

Wasn't the leading Baltimore Ownership group lead by Al Lerner, the guy who ultimately bought the Cleveland Browns 2.0? That's a track record to be proud of.

With the Modell move, Cleveland kept the Browns name and team history (as it should have), and Baltimore got Ozzie Newsome. The rest is history, sweet history.

On the other hand, something tells me the Baltimore Bombers would have been perennial bottom dwellers.

Oh...I agree that things worked for the best. No doubt.

And actually, there were 3 ownership groups vying for the Baltimore team (Boogie Weinglass, Tom Clancy, and Lerner, I believe)...the league apparently said this was in Baltimore's favor...then at the 11th hour, said if it was consolidated into 1 group, it may be better...so the city/state put their support behind Lerner due to his supposedly "league connections".

Ownership aside, the expansion deal that Baltimore put on the table was by far the best...and it blew away Jacksonville's deal...(and this was why they were probably by-passed in the expansion process, and left in play).

I just would like some sort of official confirmation of my suspicions...

[somedumbguy]

In the last 12 years, The Ravens have created an identity and a legacy. It is a hell of a lot easier to let the past go when the future looks bright.

Part of me wishes that the Browns win a Superbowl one day soon. Days like today definitely help wash away the bitterness.

[lobachevsky]

Part of me wishes that the Browns win a Superbowl one day soon. Days like today definitely help wash away the bitterness.

That part of me gets smaller every year Art gets passed over for the HoF. I can almost--almost--understand Mistake-By-The-Lakers being bitter enough to block him while he was alive. But now...

I hope Cleveland wins a Lombardi--in a down year for the Ravens, of course--but not until Art is in Canton. Consider that a curse!

[CptJesus]

That part of me gets smaller every year Art gets passed over for the HoF. I can almost--almost--understand Mistake-By-The-Lakers being bitter enough to block him while he was alive. But now...

I hope Cleveland wins a Lombardi--in a down year for the Ravens, of course--but not until Art is in Canton. Consider that a curse!

Just out of curiosity. Why do you believe Art should be in Canton? Looking at it objectively I can see why he isn't and can see the argument that he shouldn't.

Granted I'm not old enough to remember any of the Colts and Browns stuff but from all indications, Art was hardly the shining beacon if ownership

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[Paintballguy]

Just out of curiosity. Why do you believe Art should be in Canton? Looking at it objectively I can see why he isn't and can see the argument that he shouldn't.

Granted I'm not old enough to remember any of the Colts and Browns stuff but from all indications, Art was hardly the shining beacon if ownership

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Modell did a lot for the NFL...

you believe that pro football has superceded Major League Baseball as the most popular and entertaining team sport in North America, and you're happy about that, you can thank Modell for pushing to expand the NFL and negotiating a series of national television deals that turned it into an economic powerhouse.

If Monday Night Football takes the edge off the beginning of your work week, you can thank Modell, who helped engineer that watershed move into prime time in 1970 and also the NFL-AFL merger that turned pro football into must-see TV.

If you're a Ravens fan, of course, you can thank Modell for bringing NFL football back to Baltimore after the Colts skipped town, though that particular accomplishment it viewed very differently in northern Ohio.

Modell also played an important role in the league's decision to share revenue, which all but guaranteed competitive parity regardless of market size and contributed to the sport's dramatic rise in popularity. Only in the NFL could a team based in Green Bay, Wis. be a perennially successful franchise in a major professional league.

For much of his career, Modell put the league first — twice putting his football team where his mouth was to further one of those grand experiments. He volunteered the Browns to move to the AFC to facilitate the merger and also inserted them into the very first Monday Night Football game.

It was the time he put his own interests first, however, that would obscure everything else when it came to him getting serious consideration for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His road to Canton has been blocked repeatedly because of long-standing resentment in Cleveland over the circumstances of the Browns' departure.

[JohnBKistler]

Just out of curiosity. Why do you believe Art should be in Canton? Looking at it objectively I can see why he isn't and can see the argument that he shouldn't.

Granted I'm not old enough to remember any of the Colts and Browns stuff but from all indications, Art was hardly the shining beacon if ownership.

Personally, I don't feel any great urge for Modell to get into the HOF...not against it either, just don't have strong feelings one way or the other.

But for those that are, I think a compelling case can be made for his contributions to the game. And in terms of consistency, you have an owner in Al Davis, currently in the HOF, that yes, was a great coach, GM and owner, building the Raiders up to championship organization (then tearing them down, but regardless)....but he also sued the league twice and by many accounts opened the door for franchise relocation. Which is the big sin - reportedly - that keeps Modell out.

[somedumbguy]

Just out of curiosity. Why do you believe Art should be in Canton? Looking at it objectively I can see why he isn't and can see the argument that he shouldn't.

Granted I'm not old enough to remember any of the Colts and Browns stuff but from all indications, Art was hardly the shining beacon if ownership

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There was a Doyle article on CBS Sports that basically said Art Modell's work in negotiating the TV Contracts is not enough to get him in to the Hall of Fame.

Doyle is wrong.

You cannot tell the history of the NFL without including Art Modell. People who are undre 30 think the NFL has always been a juggernaut. It hasn't Football used to be an after thought to baseball. The NFL Championship Game used to be less important than the World Series, The Kentucky Derby, The Indianapolis 500 and any heavyweight title fight.

Part of what made the NFL rise in popularity in the 70's in 80's was its exposure on TV, particularly Monday Night Football and Modell had a lot to do with that. It is revisionist history to claim that it would have been successfull without Modell's involvement because it is so successful now. At the time it was new and nobody was sure it would work.

Hall of Fame membership for owners is not about wins and losses, its about contributions to the league, and Modell was an important owner at a time when the NFL was expanding from just another professional sport to the juggernaut it is today. The arguement that he was a bad owner because he fired Paul Brown and pissed off Jim Brown does not hold water. Don't put him in as a GM. This is sour grapes to Cleveland Fans, but Modell's single best decision as an owner was hiring Ozzie Newsome to be a GM in 2002. Ozzie is the first African American to be a GM and has proven to be one of the best front office officials in the business. And Art hired him and deserves credit for this groundbreaking decision as well. The decision to move the team? As has been pointed out elsewhere, there are several owners that have moved teams that are in the Hall of Fame. It does not hold up.

At the end of the day, Art may have been a crappy owner for Cleveland, but he has made enough contributions to the league as a whole that you can't tell the story of the NFL without including Art Modell.

He should be remembered in Canton.

[Boulderraven]

It was brutal when the Colts left around Baltimore. The Colts when they left from 1957 to 1977 a 30 year period had the the NFL's best winning percentage. They sold out games year after year when most teams could barely sell seats. The Colts were part of the community not apart from it. When Irsay took over, after a few years he slaughtered the fans and the players. He rebuilt an aging team with Joe Thomas and they won 3 straight division titles but never got made it though the playoffs. Then he refused to pay the developed players once thier contracts where due and then reburned the bridges he burned before. The Colts fell apart on the feild and attendance was terrible and he moved the team. The worst part for me, is that he took the Name, Tradition, Colors and Records to Indianapolis. I have never been mad at Indianapolis, they were going to move somewhere it just happened to be thier. Having to wait 13 years with no NFL team was really hard, getting the Redskins shoved down our throat and having to watch the Colts on TV that first season because of the NFL TV contract only to see them succeed with Eric Dickerson and Jim Harbaugh.

Try reading an amazing story of maybe Baltimore Colts/Ravens most interesting fan. Google "johnny Unitas house to hit to the market" on Patch.com Baltimore. The story is about a boy who grew up in the house of Johnny Unitas lived in during the glory days of his career and went to every Colt game and Raven game. He also went to the training camp with the Colts at Goucher college. The boy now older still owns Johnny's house where he built a legend, during the 50's and 60's and the heartache of losing of the Colts and the heartache of losing the AFCCG last year. Could you imagine growing up a football fan unknowingly that it was were Johnny lived and built his career in a modest neighborhood? That guy rode the highs and lows of more than anyone can experience as a fan. Check it out. Now he has to sell the house.

I still feel greatfull for a great tradition we have in both franchises. Ironically Baltimores first game with the Ravens. Johnny took the feild before the game in with the crowd roaring against the Raiders, and John brook down in tears (not an emotional man) It was Ray Lewis's first game also and the Raven won in a upset 19-14 Yes NINETEEN points as destined. John handed the torch to Ray Lewis as a legend on that day. We miss you Johnny U and will you Ray Lew.