Get this straight.
The Colts LITERALLY left in the middle of the night without warning.
The Browns ANNOUNCED in public that they would be leaving, and they did - after the season ended.
It is TOTALLY different. The former has NEVER happened in any US sports team transfer, ever. The latter was pretty typical MO.
Never mind after the fact that Cleveland
a) got a team in 3 years (it was guaranteed immediately)
b) got to keep their name
c) got their RECORDS back
d) don’t have to see the name “Modell” on the Ravens’ info.
Meanwhile Baltimore
a) had no guarantee and waited 11 years
b) could not have the team name back (COLTS has to do with our racing heritage; Indiana is not at all famous for horses)
c) could not have their records back
d) still have to see “IRSAY” on the “Colts’” info
Totally different.
That is complete and utter BS.
Nice job.
modell (only proper names should be capitalized) was forced to give up the name and records because he basically put the league in a bind. He signed an agreement to move to Baltimore (breaking his Cleveland lease BTW) before he had gotten league approval for the move. Since the league had eight criteria for approving a move and the Browns only met one of them (that one even arguably), he was very unlikely to get that approval.
Since he had signed the agreement, the league was going to get sued either way, unless they could broker a deal. The deal was Cleveland retained the team identity and was promised a new team within three years. I believe they also kicked in some money for the new stadium.
Why did he do this? It wasn’t because he wasn’t getting a new stadium. The bond issue to renovate or replace the old one (which he had run down) passed the day after he made his announcement in Baltimore. It was because his stepson david had burned just about every bridge in Cleveland and there was no way he could ever effectively run the team. However, art doted on his wife who doted on her son (one of history’s all time horrendous spoiled brats).
He also had to buy out a guy named Robert Gries who owned 41% of the team and was vehemently opposed to the move. Gries would have joined a suit attempting to block the move.
Here’s the funny part. The teams in Baltimore continued to suck and despite the money he got to move he kept violating the NFL’s rules on debt. Finally, the NFL forced him to find someone who would buy at least a minority share in the team, or they would pull the franchise and resell it. The only way he could do this was by giving the buyer the option to buy the whole franchise after three years. Enter Steve Bisciotti. The team wasn’t successful until Bisciotti’s money was infused, and there was no way he would invest in something which would be run long term by the modell family.
In effect, the modells were kicked out of the NFL.
As for the Stoolers, it’s a fact that they aren’t in the playoffs primarily because they were spanked like small children by a 1-11 team on national TV. >:)
-Eric
Without warning? Are you kidding? The Colts made it well known that they were seeking to move over a dispute surrounding the crappy stadium; the dispute between the Colts and Baltimore was years old. Phoenix, AZ was also a front runner.
The Colts left in the middle of the night because the state legislature was in the process of passing a bill to seize the team by eminient domain; if they waited until the next day, the state police might have seized the team's property. In fact, the Colts were so concerned about being stopped by the Maryland state police that several "dummy" trucks were sent to confuse the state.
If Baltimore wouldn't have been so ham-fisted towards the Colts, they would still be in Baltimore.