Monday, January 08, 2001
Modell: Leaving Cleveland was key
Says stadium revenues bought Ravens' talent
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After the Baltimore Ravens advanced Sunday to the AFC championship game, owner Art Modell hinted this team could still be Cleveland's if the city had built a new stadium for his Browns.
“The reason we're here today is because I moved to Baltimore and have the revenues from the new stadium that have enabled me to go out and buy every piece of talent I could, and I did,” Modell said in the Ravens' locker room after their 24-10 victory against the Tennessee Titans in a divisional playoff game.
Modell, who owned the original Browns from 1961 through 1995, moved the franchise to Baltimore in 1996 because Cleveland had refused to build him a new stadium that would allow him to compete.
The 5-year-old Ravens enjoyed their first winning season in 2000 at 12-4 and have won the first two playoff games in franchise history.
Modell, 75, could hardly contain his joy Sunday.
“Mostly, I'm overwhelmed for these kids and these coaches. They've worked so hard,” he said. “They stayed the course, in spite of a very hostile environment here, more hostile than we offer in our stadium. We withstood the challenge and came out on top. I'm proud.”
Modell now looks like a prophet after he said in training camp that his 2000 team was the best he's had in 40 years in the NFL. That statement was based, he said, “on my own knowledge of the business, my knowledge of talent. I think I know talent. I'm not a coach. I'm not a personnel director, but I can see talent. I saw a lot of talent on our field.”
Modell had praise for every member of his organization. He credited former Cleveland tight end Ozzie Newsome, Ravens vice president of player personnel, for assembling the talent. And Modell praised coach Brian Billick and his staff for developing the talent.
The first two players drafted by the Ravens — left tackle Jonathan Ogden and linebacker Ray Lewis — are the team's foundation. Baltimore's drafts have yielded several starters and key role and backup players, such as linebacker Peter Boulware, wide receiver Jermaine Lewis, cornerbacks Duane Starks and Chris McAlister and running back Jamal Lewis.
“George Halas and Vince Lombardi told me this: "You have to draft well,'” Modell said. “In those days, we didn't have free agency, but you have to be selective in who you acquire. But most importantly, you have to have a coaching staff that can develop second- and third-year players. They become your front-runners. Very important.”
The trip to the AFC title game Sunday in Oakland will be Modell's first since the end of the 1989 season, when the original Browns lost to the Denver Broncos and quarterback John Elway for the third time in four seasons.
A conversation with Modell can't help but get back to Cleveland.
“I'll tell you one thing. I wish them well. I have a lot of friends there. I left part of my heart in Cleveland. I always will. I love the city.”
But Modell is public enemy No.1 in Cleveland, but he has said many times that he didn't leave the city “empty-handed.” He left the city the Browns' history, the name and the colors.
Still, Modell remains a villain to many. He seems resigned to the carpet-bagger label. His Ravens will play against the Oakland Raiders, whose owner, Al Davis, is another of the NFL's mavericks whom fans either love or hate.
Asked who the country is going to pull for in the AFC title game, he or Davis, Modell chuckled and said, “It's not much of a choice.”
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Modell: Leaving Cleveland was key