COLUMN: Theft of a Tradition

From Jamil Smith's "Invisible man On Assignment," Fall '95 From Jamil Smith's "Invisible man On Assignment," Fall '95There have been many, many cold days in the city of Cleveland, but I thought it could never get as frigid as it did on Dec. 17, 1989. My father and I had watched the weather forecast for that particular Sunday with dread as the gametime temperature had dipped into the sub-zero range yet again. However, Jack Frost had saved his most tearing bite for the cavernous Cleveland Municipal Stadium, where we had planned to go to see our beloved Cleveland Browns play the Minnesota Vikings. That joy that Cleveland Browns fans have felt on many Sunday afternoons in the 49-year history of the organization was all but destroyed forever when Browns owner Art Modell signed an agreement to relocate the team to Baltimore after this season. While it wasn't announced until the first week of November, the theft had actually been in the works for a long time and was finally completed in secrecy in the early morning of October 27 on a private jet in the Baltimore-Washington airport. The plundering of the Browns not only tears at my heart and that of my hometown, but the "reasoning" used by Modell and the events that led up to it show symptoms of the new, deeper abyss that professional sports seems to be falling into. As Modell's motivations and actions show, many owners of professional sports franchises are diving into this abyss because it is filled with nothing but green pieces of paper branded with the image of Penn's founder. In truth, this all began in 1984, when Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay moved his team to Indianapolis in the dead of night -- literally -- taking with him the hearts of Baltimore fans who had been supporting the team for over three decades. According to The Akron Beacon Journal, Edward Bennett Williams, then owner of the Baltimore Orioles, suggested to Modell that he move his Browns to the forsaken city of Baltimore. Regardless of whether he will admit it or not, as a result of his friend's letter, Modell had Baltimore on the brain. In 1989, he began to try to sell his renovation plan for Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which is now 65 years old. According to The Akron Beacon Journal, Modell referred to Maryland's 1987 plan as an excellent one, lauding its plan to use some of the state's lottery profits to generate a fund of $390 million for a sparkling new stadium, the concept that has lured so many team owners out of supportive towns and into taxpayer-funded money pits. When the city of Cleveland proposed to build new stadiums for the baseball Indians and the Browns in 1990, Modell said that he wanted no part of the project, saying that he'd stay in the stadium and wait to renovate the stadium, which he owned. The Akron Beacon Journal reported that Modell said at the time, "We like the stadium. We like the tradition." The project continued and the newly completed Gateway sports complex opened in 1994, with Jacobs Field for the Indians and Gund Arena for the basketball Cavaliers. When Baltimore recently came up for consideration for an NFL expansion team, there was an owner who spoke with an unusually strong passion against Baltimore. That owner said the NFL had "no business" in Baltimore. That owner was Art Modell. Go figure. What spurred this particular theft was Modell's complaining about his stadium, which all of a sudden, was too dilapidated to play in. This complaining elevated into the rhetoric that has often spewed from sports franchise owners in recent years. They complain about how they can't compete in this financial situation -- one that often sees them come away with millions in revenue. Owners like Modell, who speak in these pitiful terms must be lacking serious financial knowledge because the Browns fans have been packing that dilapidated stadium for years. Five years ago, the Browns averaged 71,011 fans per game and the famed Dawg Pound bleacher section was filled to capacity every Sunday. Does that not sound unusual? Perhaps it might when one learns that the team went 3-13 that year. Modell has proven himself time and time again to be a man whose promises have been decayed by his generally phony nature. He longed so for the love of the Cleveland fans, but he has done so many things during his 35-year tenure as owner to make the supporters dislike him that he has never received it. The most frequently referred-to incident is his firing of Paul Brown, the legendary coach and general manager for whom the team is named. His back-stabbing of players and coaches within the organization is as legendary as the feats of Hall of Famer Jim Brown. Most recently, he cut starting quarterback and local sports hero Bernie Kosar in 1993 less than two weeks after comparing him to "a son." Thanks, Dad. While Modell throws around his loyalty like a crumpled dollar bill, the latest victim of his betrayal – the Cleveland fans – are left in the cold. When are the American sports fans going to rise up in the face of the abuse that we endure and retaliate? I, for one, am sick of it. I am sick of the exorbitant prices that sports teams, particularly those in pro basketball, are charging for a seat. I am sick of buying jerseys, caps, sweatshirts, pennants, and all the other paraphernalia that has steadily been collecting in my room as junk and as dollars in owners' wallets. I am sick of having to listen to overpaid pro athletes have more loyalty to the dollar than they do to their team or the represented city. Cleveland Mayor Michael White, who is leading the drive to keep the Browns where they belong, rightfully deemed the current trend in the NFL and other pro sports leagues as "franchise free-agency." The new Browns fans in Baltimore had better keep their eyes open, for when their proposed deal runs out, the team might just keep on moving to another city -- any one willing to build that Sparkling New Stadium. This trend is dangerous to the popularity of pro sports, for one day, the fans will be even more frustrated than I am now and will teach these owners who really has the gold and who really rules. But financial aspects aside, the nomad owners are endangering the leagues' integrity and the very quality that makes a fan proud to be a fan: tradition. While Modell felt content to throw the word around earlier, we as fans are not, particularly those of a franchise with a rich tradition in its hometown like the Browns. It robs youth of any local sports figures to emulate. They are the ones who truly suffer. It pains me that I might have to remind my children that yes, the Browns once did play in Cleveland. I have a picture of my six-year-old sister with her Browns jumpsuit on. I used to say in jest that we were raising her to root for the Cleveland Browns. Unfortunately, that statement is now ringing with sad reflection and the picture's meaning is now stained with a green hue.