Here’s one more thing that comes to mind stemming from the untimely passing of David Modell recently.
Although I don’t think he ever expressed publicly what he wanted his legacy to be, it is that he was the son of Art Modell, the owner of the original Browns who moved them to Baltimore following the 1995. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Any son who loved his father – and David definitely loved his father – would be proud to have that as the heading on his forever resume.
But as for Art Modell, although he never expressed it, either, there’s no question about the wishes he had for his legacy.
He wanted it to be that he will always be remembered.
He wanted it to be that he was among the most influential people in NFL history.
He wanted it to be that he changed the game forever.
He wanted it to be so that the mere mention of his name will immediately conjure up an accurate image of who he was, and what he did.
He wanted it all.
And Art Modell got it.
He really, truly got it. There’s no doubt at all about that.
But it isn’t in any way, shape or form like he intended. In fact, it’s 180 degrees the other direction, from a big positive to a big negative.
Art Modell, who wanted to be known for all of his work in meteorically increasing the NFL’s television revenue for its member teams, for his leading role in getting the incredibly-successful “Monday Night Football” series jump-started by offering his team as the host for the first game in 1970, and for his willingness to move his franchise to the AFC along with the Pittsburgh Steelers and then Baltimore Colts to finalize the NFL-AFL merger – all historically huge things — will instead be recalled as the guy who started all these incredible stadium deals that hold communities hostage, and for sketching the blueprint for teams to up and move anywhere and at any time, sucker-punching longtime fan loyalty right in the gut, just as he was characterized doing with that caricature on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1995 when he announced that the Browns were moving to Baltimore.
Indeed, if the Browns, one of the foundation franchises of the NFL, can take off for another home and leave a half-century of history behind like a bag of trash out by the end of the driveway on garbage pick-up day, then any team can do it. No team is safe ever again.
And oh, yes, one more thing about Modell’s legacy is that he desperately wanted to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame like some of his contemporaries such as Wellington Mara and Art Rooney. The movement for such has come up short several times when it’s been tried, and his induction likely will not happen in the near future, or ever.
