Interesting theory Jamison. Maybe the same applies to the Ravens with the Colts. Perhaps if we let go of the hatred for Irsay, we can finally beat them. Something tells me though that 18 is our problem, not a curse.

It is actually the curse of Paul Tagliabue that Cleveland must ecorcise.

Tagliabue was the catalyst who unwittingly triggered the move of the original Brown's franchise through his condescending attitude and deception directed towards Baltimore.

The city literally got on it's hands and knees before the NFL to convince the League to award one of the two expansion franchises to Baltimore.

After 12 years of bootlicking and begging Baltimore got a franchise the old fashioned way...we stole one.

If it had not been the Brown's it would have been the Oilers or the Raiders. Up to six NFL teams were actually interested in moving here but Cleveland beat them to it.

Ironically the Jaguars of Jacksonville, one of the expansion franchises that Mr. Tagliabue favored over Baltimore are threatening to relocate due to lack of fan support. How's that working out for you Paul?

Baltimore was screwed royally by Paul Tagliabue and the NFL and until Taglibue formally apologizes to the city for 12 years of manipulation and lying, the curse will stand.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Art Modell's contribution to the success of the NFL goes far beyond ownership in Cleveland. He was an instrumental and driving force behind the economic success the league has found in it's marriage with television, from the earliest days of NFL TV broadcasts. Every owner owes him a debt of gratitude for the value of the franchise, and cash flow from mighty TV.

As the team was his only financial asset, and he had a desire to maximize the value so that he'd be financially rewarded in the sale, he was forced to move from Cleveland.

This is no Bob Irsay. The game and league owes a debt to Art Modell that enshrinement in the "Hall" can only begin to repay.

I don't think it's the curse of Art Modell, exactly. I think it's the curse of the NFL. When you agree to put a team back in a market, pay for everything for that team, and do everything for a city that you wouldn't (and didn't) do for Baltimore, LA, St. Louis, Oakland, etc. before. You deserve to have that team stink forever.

I think that they could resolve the curse by doing all they can to elect Art into the Hall of Fame. Once he is in he will take the pins out of the Browns doll and life in Cleveland will be good again. Now if we could just get a curse on Big Ben and the Bengals we would not have to blame the kicker!

I dont believe in curses, Look here in Baltimore there are still numerous people who hate the Colts and hate the Irsays but we still won a Super Bowl and have had a pretty successful team over the last 10 years or so.

The Browns havent won because that organization is run horribly, bottom line is if the Browns get the right people to run the team they can be a good football team but until then they will continue to be the laughing stock of the NFL.

and you forgot the most important thing -RAVENS SUPERBOWL WIN !!!!!!!

I have been talking about the curse of Modell for years. When that miscreant Toni Grossme stops blocking the HOF for Art, which I am afraid will only be after he dies, then the curse will be lifted. There is no question that the curse exists. Its up to the Clevelanders to get rid of it.

Gil--I agree 100%! I will go to my grave with the belief that when the owners picked Jacksonville and Carolina over Baltimore, St. Louis and a city in Tennessee they picked the 2 cities they DID NOT WANT TO MOVE TO! Those 28 owners were salavting at the deals Balt, St.L and Tenn. were offering and wanted them for themselves.

This article just gives a list of bad stuff that has happened to the Browns and then lazily claims it's because of fans' hatred for Modell.

Perhaps it's Modell who's cursed, given his financial ruin. lol

Jamison,

Nice piece. I have an insider (of sorts) view on all this because my former Baltimore-based company sent me to work at a NE Ohio facility back in the early 90's. I got to know the city and the fans pretty well.

The ironic part is that Art Modell would be the LAST person in the world to wish ill will to the fans and city of Cleveland. It truly pained him to leave Northeast Ohio. He was a civic leader and a generous supporter and donor to the world-renown Cleveland Clinic. I'll never forget the pained look on his face when Parris Glendening held that gloating news conference announcing the team's arrival. He really didn't want to be here.

I know the Browns' fans vitriol well....it was immediately directed at me, the "Baltimore guy," when the Browns left and for several years afterward. It continues unabated to this day.

As an old Colt season ticket holder who witnessed the decline of the Colts through the Irsay regime, I hated Bob the Red-Faced Owner for moving the team, Jack Kent Cooke for trying to keep a team out of Baltimore, and Paul Tagliabue for being his willing accomplice.

But you know what? We got the Ravens, Jack Kent Cooke is dead and the Skins passed out of the family - and into infinitely worse hands, but that's a comment for another day - and the arrogant Tags is out of football. My pain and hate has long passed.

Cleveland fans have to do the same thing, too. But it's hard when your team uniformly stinks thanks to hapless ownership.

I think Art Modell will never see the Hall of Fame while he's alive. And that's unfortunate.

No curse. Its just Clevland's lack of ownership and ivestment toward its NFL teams. Its all LeBron James and Shaq over there.

In response to Frox we never stole the Browns. Cleveland let them leave. Yes. That's right. The city of Cleveland knew they were leaving and did nothing to convince them to stay. When we lost the Colts we suspected that they were looking elsewhere but didn't know they were leaving. Big difference.

Great Post Frox, but don't you think the Redskins should be apart of that curse? After all, it was Jack Kent Cook that conspired with Tagliabue to keep the NFL out of Baltimore. Look what's happened since. Cook couldn't pass the team to his son. The 'skins get an owner with no football/ownership savy, leading to all these years of futility. Hell, he couldn't even keep his name on the stadium. I'd say that's a pretty significant curse.

Josh! It's not an article; it's a blog entry! yere is a difference! Why do people hold these blog entries to the same journalistic standards as a real article. Geez!

Dear Baltimore,

Has anyone ever seen an armored brinks truck following a hearse? Art Modell won't be taking that money with him. As a matter of fact, it was such a great business decision for Mr. Modell to move the team to Baltimore that he still had to sell the team to Bisciotti?

The only thing that has been cursed is Modell's legacy! Modell would have been in the Hall of Fame had he done the right thing and sold the team while it was in Cleveland. He traded his legacy and the HOF for the money. GREED people of Baltimore. Now you want to feel sorry for him? Thought you people were smarter in Baltimore?

The real city that is cursed is Baltimore, you lost your beloved Colts and they ain't ever coming back and neither are your colors, your history, or your legacy! Gone forever!

Hall of Fame? Yeah, I would love to see Modell's induction ceremony in CANTON, OHIO! Now that would be fun to watch. In fact, I would love to see Robert Irsay inducted with Modell! Now there's two great NFL team owners!

Seems fitting now that the Browns last NFL championship was over the Baltimore!

Haw, Haw, Haw!

Marc in Cleveland

i've heard that Modell was a good citizen and patient owner while others got new venues--R&R HOF, Gund arena, Jacobs Field--but you'll never convince the hard-core fan base that rabidly supported that team that Modell was no better than Irsay--by leaving he ripped their hearts out--just like Irsay did here--but Hey Cleveland---at least you still have your colors and heritage--I'm used to the purple and black now, and it'sgreat---but the best-looking unis in the league are in Indy....so be thankful for small favors. Even when the Ravens aren't doing well, I'm still happy that there is NFL football in Baltimore on Sundays.

Modell should have sold the team in Cleveland. Or he should have insisted that a new stadium proposal be put to a vote. Either way he could have come out with his honor intact. There is no curse. He was a bad operator who put himself into a terrible financial situation and then ruined his reputation by taking the team to Baltimore. We've all moved on, but dont rewrite history

There is no curse outside of poor ownership and worse management on and of the field.
Modell left Clev. with their name, Browns identity and records and started a new franchise in Baltimore.
That is infinitely more than what Ursay did, taking our past, our trophies, and the Baltimore Colt records.
Why do you think the NFL likes to refer to teams by their nicknames - its infrequently you here Baltimore vs. Philadelpia but rather the Ravens vs. the Eagles. The NFL too wants national teams- they too share in the blame of the pain and hurt of lost and moved franchises, particularly when most cities are asked to build facilities for already super rich ownership.

I'd call it the curse of Al Lerner & The Lerner Family!

Think about it, the Lerners have always been screw ups...

Al Lerner ran Maryland National Bank into the ground on bad loans and sold off the only profitable division of MNB, MBNA and cost Maryland tons of jobs. Then he failed to have any influence with the NFL in getting Baltimore an NFL expansion franchise. Then Al Lerner helped Art Modell move the Browns out of Cleveland by lending Modell his private jet to fly to Baltimore and sign the deal and even had advance knowledge of the move and kept quiet. Then Lerner, after the fact, decried the move and claimed he was always against it even though he practically gave the Browns the moving van! Then, the NFL hands him an incredibly well funded new NFL organization and stadium with a license to print money and him and his family have done nothing but run that into the ground too!

Seriously, what good have the Lerners ever done for Cleveland or ANY CITY?
You could easily make the case that Art Modell did more for Cleveland than the Lerners will probably ever do as long as they own The Browns!

And yet the people of Cleveland worshipped Al Lerner and still do like he's a hero!
And still claim Art Modell was a far worse owner even though Modell's ownership is practically the last time The Browns fielded successful teams? LOL

This is why I always cannot stop laughing when Clevelanders post nutty rants on any website, including this one! They are always nonsensical.

People in Baltimore still have hatred for Robert Irsay, not just because he moved the Colts away. He was and is still hated for destroying one of the NFL's most successful and popular NFL franchises both on and off the field and The Colts weren't even very successful initially in Indianapolis, a fact that few people remember. Not to mention the man was a fouled mouthed drunk that publicly shopped the Colts around like a pimp pimps a cheap whore! You cannot even begin to make any statements like that about Art Modell, just that he moved the team. That's it. What a lopsided comparison! LOL

In Baltimore, it was worth the price of losing the team --- painful as that was --- to be rid of bonehead ownership. The elder Irsay took a proud, persistent winner and turned it into a laughingstock, and then blamed everyone but himself -- fans for non support, city for not providing a new stadium.

So maybe Cleveland fans should be more grateful and less bitter at getting rid of such a lousy owner as Art Modell. At least they didn't have to wait 12 years for a new team, and they got to keep the colors and history, although why they would want to is a mystery. The proud Browns tradtion ended in, what? 1964 with the last championship. The rest of the story is about promise unfufilled, heartbreak and choking in big games.

As for the curse theory, there is something to that. My favorite was when the Browns could have had Brian Billick as their head coach, when he was the hot coordinator, but they refused to interview him, because he had the gall to interview with Baltimore first. Many of the personnel moves in Cleveland have the same kind of emotional flavor -- often they report the players "Cleveland Cred" like how close to Ohio they grew up and if they were a Browns fan, things that really shouldn't matter.

Personally it's nice to see them carrying the Bengals tradition forward, bungling along and providng a couple of easy wins for AFC North opponents each year.

Glenn

Are you serious Marc D? If the ravens are cursed, i'll take this kind of curse any day of the week.

Hmmm lets see: Super Bowl, Conference Champion, two time division champion, five playoff appearance. Most importantly, a team that can actually play football.

Here's the last laugh:

HAW HAW HAW

I see a lot of differentiating between Modell and Irsay here.

While it's true that "Tiger Bob" was an unabashed jerk, Modell is a closeted one.

Say what you want about Irsay....at least you knew where you stood with the guy. Modell....he'll shake your hand with his right hand while his left one's in your wallet.

This whole topic is retarded.

Marc in Cleveland....You are just angry because we win, you lose. You took our re-treads and can't make it work(including Lerner) and We took yours and your HOF TE and won with them!

Has any team from Cleveland won since 1964? Maybe they should bring back Jim Brown. He has to be better at his age than all of the backs they have now.

The Flats are dead, crime is up, the city stinks, The Rock 'N' Roll HOF induction is in NYC, and even LeBron is going to leave after this year.

I am surprised anybody still lives there!

Marc in Cleveland seems to forget that in 1993 Art Modell asked the city of Cleveland for a 12-year lease extension and Mike White, the mayor of Cleveland, blatantly refused.

And that basically told Art he wasn't the top priority in Cleveland.

Hey Marc D - Glad to see that a championship won over 40 years ago is enough to keep you satisfied. But I can understand your bitterness. While your new Cleveland Browns have stunk since day one with no end in sight, the Ravens have put together a well respected organization, won a Super Bowl trophy and made numerous playoff appearances. And we are the ones who are cursed? Whatever.

Having grown up in Cleveland I can tell you that the Browns' curse goes back long before 1999 and Art Modell taking our team to another city. Having lived through the Elway years of the 80s and the Fumble and other "almost-but-not-quite" seasons, I can assure you that the Curse of Cleveland Sports is not due to Mr. Modell.

If that doesn't give you warm fuzzy feelings inside, I don't know what will.

Maybe when Art gets into the HOF it will end????

become an model you have to grate courage because there is lot of hard thing and perform constantly in every show.You have to make lot of effort for that and go through hard for that.

IF YOU WANT TO SEE A REAL INSIDE SCOOP ON THE BROWNS CHECK OUT
http://www.brownsrant.com/2009/11/eric-mangini-project-revisited.html

Die, filthy ratbirds, molt up and die in the gutter where you scavenger parasites belong.

the writer of this article is retarded.

Art modell FIRED Paul Brown.
Art Modell released Jim Brown which forced him to retire.

Art Modell selfishly moved the browns to B'more.

Art Modell should burn in wrath of Hell and deserves no place in the Hall Fame.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw that trading the #5 overall pick to the Jets was listed as part of the "curse"...

Since when does saving the team millions in guaranteed money and adding more draft picks for depth constitute a curse?

I wasn't 100% thrilled with all of the trading but it doesn't belong on this post. To be honest, the list appears to be pretty lazily put together. Nobody knows more about our misfortunes than Cleveland fans themselves. Nice try.

What a lazy blog post this is. There isn't even any substance to it -- you just list some mistakes the Browns have made (some of which aren't even really bad things, like the Sanchez trade) and arbitrarily assign a curse to it. I can't believe reputable websites are still publishing this curse nonsense. Were you on a post quota? Sheesh.

As for Modell, he's cut from the same worthless cloth that Irsay was. The man mismanaged his business to the point where he had to take a pile of cash and run, despite the fact that he had promised never to leave the city and had publicly criticized Irsay and Al Davis when they left Baltimore and Oakland. Modell was offered a new stadium in the Gateway sports complex in Cleveland, but turned it down and asked for improvements to Cleveland Stadium instead, because he owned the managing company for the old stadium and wanted to continue charging rent to other forms of entertainment. So Modell got his improvements, as well as an agreement that would have let the Browns play in Cleveland Stadium rent-free, forever. But unlike Modell, the Cleveland Indians weren't dumb enough to turn down a stadium, so they got Jacobs Field. Suddenly Art didn't have his main tenant to milk money out of, and he found that the old suite owners in Cleveland Stadium preferred the plush environs of Jacobs Field. Having run his business into the ground locally, and having turned down gifts from the city, he turned to Baltimore for a free ride and a fresh start, even though it made a lie out of most of his principles.

And Modell didn't just screw the city of Cleveland. Other owners used his example to extort new stadiums out of their towns, leading to a spurt of 12 new venues throughout the NFL. Billions of dollars in taxpayer money went right into the pockets of already-rich men. So if you define Hall of Fame worthiness as "making a lot of money for NFL owners," then Modell deserves a plaque. But if you're considering the fans' interests at all -- both in Cleveland and all over the NFL -- then the man has no business anywhere near Canton.

Let me school you selfish, hypocrtical Baltimore fans on how much of a rat that Art Modell is...

Art Modell was one of the few owners that out-right owned the stadium that his team played in. Yes, that's right. Art Modell OWNED Cleveland Municipal Stadium and accordingly, he became the Cleveland Indians landlord throughout the 70s to the early 90s. Even with the Indians low attendance at the time due to their perenially sucking, this became a huge cash windfall for him because not only was he charging use for a stadium that would have been dormant in the summer months, he also refused to share any of his profits from the luxury suites he rented out with the Indians during their OWN home games. As well as, refusing to upgrade any of the Indians facilities to help attract free agents to their franchise. Basically, the man was a glorified slum lord and was able to abuse the monopoly he had on stadium ownership in the city of Cleveland.

When the Indians started to bristle under this treatment by Modell and seek a stadium of their own, Modell fought tooth and nail against the building of the Gateway Project (the project that built Jacobs Field and Quicken Loans Arena) because of the loss of personal revenue, his corporation would lose because the Indians would no longer be under his dictatorial run. In fact, Modell was intially offered the Indians place in Jacobs Field but balked because he would no longer own the lease on the Stadium.

After a series of bad investments and massive loss of luxury suite profits, Modell began going bankrupt and went to the city and asked for massive upgrades to the old stadiums infrastructure. The city obliged by (WIIIDDDDEELLY) passing a referendum on a sin tax to fund the upgrades.

Basically, Modell's greed and incompetence is the only reason Cleveland lost our franchise. It was stolen from us.

Thank you Eric and Ryan in Cleveland for interjecting some truth into this thread.
I often read Baltimore blogs and news papers to marvel at their inaccurate versions of what happened between Art Modell and Cleveland. History revisionism is always interesting. The whole “Cleveland build the Rock n Roll HOF, new baseball and basketball venues while ignoring Modell” is probably my favorite falsehood. As you two stated, the project was called Gateway and Modell was offered and TURNED DOWN a chance to be a part of it. He turns down a new stadium; leaves approved funding to refurbish the old stadium on the table, then says Cleveland ignored him. Well, after blaming the city of Cleveland for his financial problems, guess who goes out mismanages the sweet deal he got from Baltimore and has to sell the team anyway………. And you guys want this man in the Hall of fame.
I don’t blame Ravens’ fans for buying Modell’s story hook line and sinker. After all they don’t want to look like hypocrites after their years of crying foul over the Colts move to Indianapolis. They have to make the Modell move somehow “Different” in their minds. They say not getting a new stadium in Cleveland was justification for Modell to move the Browns. On the other hand, Irsay requested and did not receive a new stadium from Baltimore but somehow this was not a reason to move the Colts. How does that work? They also never mention the dreadful attendance at Baltimore Colts games the last few years. They tell us about all the loyal Colts fans that had their hearts ripped from their chests by Bob Irsay, yet these same fans had turned their backs on the team. Irsay left behind half empty stadiums. Art Modell left behind sold out ,or nearly sold out, stadiums behind. Perhaps these markets are the reasons Cleveland received a new team so quickly and Baltimore did not. Just a theory.
Anyway Modell has no place in the NFL Hall of Fame. Had he moved the team to San Antonio these same Baltimore fans wouldn’t give damn if made it in or not. I would even venture to say that they would tell Cleveland how they could sympathize with them because the same thing happened to them. He left the colors and history behind to avoid law suits, not out of the goodness of his black heart. After all he did introduce the team to Baltimore as the Baltimore Browns.