CLEVELAND, Ohio – We shouldn’t be surprised.
That was my first thought when hearing the Ravens were planning to celebrate their 30th NFL season when the Browns come to Baltimore Sunday.
I thought it was done with a twisted sense of malice. Why hold this ceremony when Cleveland was the opponent? Really?
I know many fans who still insist, “The real Browns are in Baltimore.”
That’s because Art Modell moved the original Cleveland Browns to Baltimore after the 1995 season. Cleveland was given an expansion team in 1999.
So why have a party for the Ravens moving to Baltimore 30 years ago when Cleveland is in town?
The Ravens issued this statement: “The plans to celebrate the 30th season were publicly released in March prior to the announcement of the league schedule and before we knew who our home opening opponent would be.”
For what it’s worth, the schedule was made public on May 14.
Perhaps the Ravens figured odds were against Cleveland ending up as their home opener. I’d argue that they could have waited until they knew the schedule. That still would have given them four months to prepare.
1983 Press Photo Browns owner Art Modell at Browns Training Camp
Former Browns Owner Art Modell never fully understood what he did to Cleveland's fan base. Cleveland Plain Dealer
Long time ago ... sort of
My guess is the Ravens didn’t worry about it, or even consider how it would look if Cleveland turned out to be the opponent.
After all, it was 30 years ago. That’s a long time.
And yes, it’s a long time.
But to many in the Browns fan base, the move was the worst moment of their sports lives.
You can talk about The Fumble, The Drive, Red Right 88 and all the other awful moments of Cleveland Browns history. But nothing compares to The Move on the sports misery index for Browns fans.
The franchise was snatched away. Art Modell broke his lease with the city. It had three years remaining on the old stadium.
Baltimore offered him a free stadium and lots of other perks to move.
With the help of his friend Al Lerner, the deal was made to take the Browns to Baltimore. It was finalized on Lerner’s private jet at the Baltimore-Washington airport .
That happened in the middle of the 1995 season when the Browns were still playing and in Cleveland. Lerner was a minority owner of the Browns and lived in Cleveland. He also had extensive business connections in Baltimore.
Long time ago? It doesn’t feel like that to many of us.
Just as I’m sure there still remains a group of Baltimore football fans who remember when their beloved Colts moved to Indianapolis on March 28, 1984. The franchise loaded up the Mayflower moving vans in the dead of night and headed to Indiana.
Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens, January 4, 2025
Now the new Browns play the old Browns. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
Welcome to today
The Browns came back as an expansion team in 1999. Lerner was the owner.
Meanwhile, the Browns … oops … the Ravens … have become one of the best teams in the NFL this century.
They have a 252-169 record since the start of the 1999 season, ranking fifth in the NFL. They’ve been to the Super Bowl twice, winning one. They’ve won eight AFC-North titles.
And the new Browns?
As former Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster once said, “The Browns is the Browns.”
The painful part is how there is too much truth to that statement.
The Browns returned in 1999. Their record is 141-279-1, worst in the NFL in that span. They’ve had 40 different starting quarterbacks, the most in the NFL in that time frame.
I can go on and on ….
But I won’t.
Cleveland Browns
Art Modell shakes hands with a well wisher during Monday's announcement in Baltimore. Al Lerner is in background.
What could have been
For 10 years, Lerner sat next to Modell in the press box of the old stadium watching the Browns.
Modell was going broke. Lerner was one of the richest men in the country. For all his public relations savvy, Modell struggled with the politics of securing a new stadium.
Lerner had the cash and the political juice to make it happen.
I once asked Lerner, “Why didn’t you just buy the Browns, make Art a minority owner and find a way to keep the team here?”
“Art wanted to keep the team in his family,” said Lerner. “Baltimore was the way for him to do that.”
“How could you take part in Art moving the team?” I asked Lerner.
“I was helping a friend,” said Lerner.
We talked a little more. At the time of this conversation, Lerner had already become the owner of the expansion team.
On days like this, I think about how Modell and Lerner could have found a way to cut a deal for the Browns to remain in Cleveland. Modell could have stayed in town, still be part of the Browns, etc.
I think about how Ozzie Newsome would have been the general manager, as he was in Baltimore.
Newsome never wanted to leave Cleveland. He told me that he was offered a few jobs as a tight end coach. Modell gave him a chance to become the NFL’s only African-American GM at that time. He had to take it.
Then I think about how the Browns could have become consistent winners … yes, like the Ravens are today.
And that’s yet another reason this game will be agonizing for many Browns followers.
Now, if only the Browns with a former Ravens QB in Joe Flacco can go into Baltimore and ruin their party. Browns fans can dream, can’t they?
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.