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Abstract
On November 6, 1995, Art Modell announced his intention to relocate the National Football League's (NFL) Cleveland Browns to Baltimore following the season. After 4 months of civic activism from Cleveland's community and legal action from the city's politicians, Cleveland, the NFL and Modell agreed to a deal that allowed the long-time owner to honour his contract with Baltimore and simultaneously provided a NFL club to Cleveland to begin play in 1999. This settlement was unique because it allowed Cleveland to retain the naming rights, colours, logo and, most significantly, the history of the Browns. Media presentations of Modell's announcement during the 4-month period illuminated a complex symbiotic relationship between the press, the public and sports entrepreneurs. The local media castigated and vilified Modell for betraying Cleveland's community and disturbing the city's supposed ‘renaissance’, while the national media connected with Cleveland as a leading member of the dilapidated ‘Rustbelt’ in the new American economy. These interconnections led fans, followers and other pundits of the NFL to question the actions of football entrepreneurs and provided a platform at the turn-of-the twenty-first century for sustained criticism of the business of professional sports, franchise relocation and the widening social class divide in the NFL.
Observer les pertes : la présentation des discours médiatiques relatifs à la relocalisation des Cleveland Browns
Le 6 novembre 1995, Art Modell a annoncé son intention de relocaliser les Browns de Cleveland, club de la Ligue nationale de Football (NFL) à Baltimore à la fin de la saison. Après 4 mois d'activisme civique de la communauté de Cleveland et le procès des hommes politiques de la ville, Cleveland, le NFL et Modell se sont mis d'accord sur un protocole qui a permis au propriétaire historique d'honorer son contrat avec Baltimore et a simultanément fourni un club de NFL à Cleveland pour débuter la saison en 1999. Ce règlement était unique parce qu'il a permis à Cleveland de conserver les droits de dénomination, les couleurs, le logo et, plus significativement, l'histoire des Browns. La présentation médiatique de l'annonce de Modell pendant la période de 4 mois illustre une relation symbiotique complexe entre la presse, le public et les entrepreneurs de sport. Les médias locaux ont dénoncé et diffamé Modell en l'accusant de trahir la communauté de Cleveland et de fragiliser la ‘renaissance’ supposée de la ville, tandis que les médias nationaux ont présenté Cleveland comme un représentant éminent de la dilapidation des richesses dans la nouvelle économie américaine. Ces interconnexions ont poussé des fans, des adeptes et d'autres experts de la NFL à mettre en doute les actions des entrepreneurs de football et ont fourni au tournant du vingt et unième siècle une plate-forme pour une critique durable de l'affairisme dans le sport professionnel, du transfert des franchises et du fossé croissant entre classes sociales au sein de la NFL.
Pensando en perder: narrativas mediáticas sobre la deslocalización de los Cleveland Browns
El 6 de noviembre de 1995, Art Modell anunció su intención de reubicar la sede de los Cleveland Browns, un equipo de la National Football League (NFL), en Baltimore la temporada siguiente. Tras cuatro meses de activismo cívico por parte de la comunidad de Cleveland y de acciones legales emprendidas por los dirigentes políticos de la ciudad, Cleveland, la NFL y Modell se pusieron de acuerdo en un pacto que permitía al veterano propietario del equipo respetar su contrato con Baltimore y al mismo tiempo le proporcionaba un club de la NFL a Cleveland para la temporada 1999. Aquel acuerdo fue excepcional porque permitía a Cleveland mantener los derechos sobre la denominación del equipo, sus colores, su logotipo, y lo que es más relevante, la historia de los Browns. La forma como los medios de comunicación informaron sobre el anuncio de Modell durante aquellos cuatro meses evidenció una compleja relación simbiótica entre la prensa, el público y los empresarios del ámbito del deporte. Los medios locales fustigaron y vilipendiaron a Modell por traicionar a la ciudadanía de Cleveland y obstaculizar el presunto “renacimiento” de la ciudad, mientras que los medios nacionales presentaron a Cleveland como un destacado ejemplo del degradado “rustbelt” [áreas con industrias pesadas en decadencia] de la economía norteamericana. Estas interconexiones provocaron que los fans, los seguidores y otros expertos en la NFL cuestionaran las acciones de los empresarios del fútbol americano y proporcionaron una plataforma, en el umbral del siglo XXI, para una crítica sostenida del negocio del deporte profesional, la deslocalización de franquicias y la creciente división de clases en el seno de la NFL.
Mit Blick aufs Verlieren: Darstellungen des Umzugs der Cleveland Browns in den Medien
Am 6. November 1995 kündigte Art Modell seine Absicht an, die Cleveland Browns der National Football League (NFL) in der kommenden Saison nach Baltimore zu verlagern. Nach 4 Monaten des bürgerlichen Aktivismus aus der Cleveland-Gesellschaft und rechtlichen Schritten von Politikern der Stadt, einigten sich Cleveland, die NFL und Modell auf ein Abkommen, dass dem Langzeitbesitzer erlaubte, seinen Vertrag mit Baltimore anzuerkennen und gleichzeitig Cleveland einen NFL-Club bot, der 1999 zu spielen begann. Diese Einigung war einzigartig, weil es Cleveland erlaubte, die Namensrechte, die Farben, das Logo und am wichtigsten die Geschichte der Browns zu behalten. Mediendarstellungen von Modells Ankündigung während des 4-Monats-Zeitraums beleuchteten eine komplexe symbiotische Beziehung zwischen der Presse, der Öffentlichkeit und den Sportunternehmern. Die lokalen Medien geißelten und schmähten Modell für den Verrat der Cleveland-Gesellschaft und für die Störung der vermeintlichen “Renaissance” der Stadt, während die nationalen Medien sich mit Cleveland als führendem Mitglied der baufälligen ‘Rustbelt' in der neuen amerikanischen Wirtschaft verbündeten. Diese Verbindungen ließen Fans, Anhänger und andere Experten der NFL die Aktionen der Fußball-Unternehmer hinterfragen und boten zur Wende des 21. Jahrhunderts eine Plattform anhaltender Kritik am Geschäft des Profi-Sports, des Franchise-Umzugs und der Erweiterung der sozialen Klassenunterschiede in der NFL.
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Drs. Melvin L. Adelman, Susan J. Bandy, Sarah K. Fields, and Mark Dyreson, along with Lindsay Parks Pieper, Dain TePoel and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful insights into this work.
Notes
1. NFL on NBC, Television, National Broadcasting Company, December 17, 1995, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J7Sc2Uaa0E and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN qnJkV0r5k; and ‘Words to remember … by Bob Costas’, http://bcbb.tripod.com/costas.html (accessed May 1, 2011). Bob Costas’ halftime commentary is published online by the Browns Backers’ Worldwide.
2. Lou Mio, ‘A Fan Farewell, Final Game a Mix of Sadness, Rage, Cheers for Browns’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 18, 1995; Tony Grossi, ‘Bengals’ Game Plan Fails Amid the Finality’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 18, 1995; Mary Kay Cabot, ‘Affair to Remember, Emotional Browns Pound the Bengals’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 18, 1995; and Bill Livingston, ‘A Goodbye, Yes, But Not an Ending’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 18, 1995.
3. NFL on NBC.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. ‘Words to remember … by Bob Costas’; Sullivan, The Dodgers Move West. Walter O'Malley moving the Dodgers to Los Angeles was the zenith of franchise relocation in the 1950s and many Brooklyn natives felt betrayed.
7. NFL on NBC.
8. Oriard, Reading Football. The symbiotic approach between the media and sports was analysed by Oriard who argued that intercollegiate football was profoundly influenced by the press' following of the game in its nascent years.
9. Oriard, ‘A Linguistic Turn into Sport History’, 78, 75. Oriard stated that ‘meaning does not reside in the text alone but is produced by a collaboration of producers (that is, writers), consumers (that is, readers), and material, social, political, and economic contexts’. Oriard also argued that football was not just discourse, ‘but that the mediated narratives of football inform the public’s understanding and provoke its reactions’.
10. Oriard, Brand NFL, 140–74; and Morgan, Glory for Sale. Oriard and Morgan provided a detailed analysis and interpretations of the effects of new economic measures in the NFL.
11. This article gleans information from three regionally based perspectives to efficiently contextualise various viewpoints. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Akron Beacon Journal, the Columbus Dispatch and the Canton Repository were used to attain the local perspective of the move. Nationally, the New York Times and USA Today were read to highlight interpretations seen throughout the country. Finally, the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun helped to develop narratives of the Browns’ move to their destination city. Along with the daily papers, Sports Illustrated and Newsweek were helpful in expanding the scope of the national storyline. No source was more helpful to begin this study than the National Broadcasting Company’s portrayal of Modell and the team’s relocation in their coverage of the Browns’ final home game. Furthermore, television broadcasts by WEWS News Channel 5 in Cleveland on 18 December 1995 and 24 December 1995 provided insights into the social environment of the city and the way in which the local media illustrated the situation. While this study focuses on the way in which the media portrayed the story in Cleveland and its relationship with the ‘new NFL’, there were additional narratives that will not be examined, such as the tension between Maryland governmental officials and the Maryland Stadium Authority over the construction of a new football facility, the schism between stadium supporters and Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke, and an abbreviated narrative of Baltimore residents who were hesitant to receive a football franchise in the same manner in which they lost the Colts in 1984.
12. Sullivan, The Dodgers Move West; and Euchner, Playing the Field. Euchner provided an analysis of professional team sports relocations prior to the Browns’ move.
13. Friedman and Mason, ‘“Horse Trading” and Consensus Building’, 271–91. Friedman and Mason explained the ways in which Houston lost the Oilers because of a lack of support and Nashville’s push to attract an NFL team; Euchner, Playing the Field; Delaney and Eckstein, Public Dollar, Private Stadiums; deMause and Cagan, Field of Schemes; and Rosentraub, Major League Losers. Euchner, Delaney and Eckstein, deMause and Cagan, and Rosentraub examined the battle between city and sports franchises over public money and subsidies; Trumpbour, The New Cathedrals. Trumpbour provided a historical examination of stadium development in the twentieth century.
14. Timothy Heider, Tom Diemer, and Evelyn Theiss, ‘Browns Bolt Modell Warned Mayor, Governor a Month Ago Deal Announced in Baltimore’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 7, 1995; Michael Janofsky, ‘The Browns Put N.F.L. Back in Baltimore’, New York Times, November 7, 1995; Chuck Johnson, ‘Baltimore welcomes Browns’, USA Today, November 7, 1995; Chuck Johnson, ‘Baltimore Cheers Move: Memory of Colts Tempers Feelings’, USA Today, November 7, 1995; Kevin Allen, ‘Cleveland Fans React with Anger, Sadness’, USA Today, November 7, 1995; ‘Fans Would Cheer Move to Keep Teams in Town’, USA Today, December 4, 1995; and Gordon Forbes, ‘Economically, Modell Has No Choice’, USA Today, November 7, 1995.
15. Henkel, Cleveland Browns History. Henkel’s work detailed the history of the Cleveland Browns as a professional football franchise.
16. Henkel, Cleveland Browns History, 102–3; and Poplar, Fumble! Poplar’s account of the Browns’ relocation is from an ‘insider’s’ point of view as he was the vice president/treasurer of the Cleveland Stadium Corporation from 1975 to 1996.
17. Rader, Baseball, 199. Only the 1960 decision by MLB to grant Washington, DC, an expansion franchise when the Senators moved to Minneapolis and became the Minnesota Twins is comparable.
18. Florida, ‘The Industrial Transformation of the Great Lakes Region’, 162–76.
19. Ibid., 164.
20. Danielson, Home Team, 5–10.
21. Trumpbour, The New Cathedrals, 130.
22. Ibid., 131.
23. Euchner, Playing the Field, 4.
24. Danielson, Home Team, 134.
25. Ibid., 143. Danielson noted that there were 19 franchise relocations in the NFL from 1950 to 1996.
26. Oriard, Brand NFL, 150, 153.
27. Trumpbour, The New Cathedrals, 36. Although the Rams did not move to St. Louis until the 1995 season, they played in Anaheim beginning in 1980, providing many NFL teams with the opportunity to move their franchise to Los Angeles, or use it as a threat to demand new facilities in their home city.
28. Danielson, Home Team, 10.
29. Euchner, Playing the Field, 5.
30. Danielson, Home Team, 26; and Euchner, Playing the Field, 5. Euchner stated that ‘[t]he nation’s emerging urban areas in the South and West, from Tampa to Seattle, were most active in forcing major league cities to fight to retain sports franchises’.
31. deMause and Cagan, Field of Schemes, 6.
32. Coenen, From Sandlots to the Super Bowl, Appendix A. For a better description of professional football in Cleveland prior to the Browns’ inception, see, Suchma, ‘From the Best’, 40–3.
33. Suchma, ‘From the Best', 193–200; and Suchma, ‘Losing Is a Work of “Art”', 37.
34. Ibid.
35. Coenen, From Sandlots to the Super Bowl, Appendix A. Coenen provided a timeline which details information on NFL teams.
36. Adelman, ‘Making Money (Lots of It) in Professional Football in the Late 1940s', 11–36. Adelman's examination detailed the profitability of the Browns during the AAFC years. Also, for an illustration of profits of NFL clubs in the 1950s, including the Browns, see United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust and Monopoly, Organized Professional Team Sports Hearings before the Subcommittee on Antitrust and Monopoly, 2562–7.
37. Suchma, ‘From the Best', 102–4. The Browns also lost the NFL championship game in 1957.
38. Henkel, Cleveland Browns History, 73–110. These moments included quarterback Brian Sipe's interception on a blustery day against the Oakland Raiders, John Elway's 98 yard drive in the final moments of the 1986 American Football Conference Championship Game, and Earnest Byner's fumble at the goal line in the same game the following year.
39. ‘Browns Backers FAQ', Cleveland Browns, http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/fans-and-kids/backers-faq.html (accessed April 27, 2011). Visa Hall of Fans, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton, OH. Thompson and the Browns Backers were part of a movement during the 1990s for NFL teams to highlight their ‘super fans' and celebrate them as members of the team and community. Thompson, along with Fireman Ed of the New York Jets, the Hogettes of Washington, and countless rabid fans following the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders are examples of the ‘super fans' of the 1990s.
40. Suchma, ‘From the Best', 3. Suchma explained that writers from the television show Laugh-In labelled the city the ‘Mistake on the Lake'.
41. Suchma, ‘From the Best', 404.
42. Suchma, ‘The Selling of Cleveland Municipal Stadium', 102–6; and Suchma, ‘If They Built It?', 1549.
43. Suchma, ‘If They Build It?', 1543. Suchma explained that new stadiums built in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia urged Cleveland officials that a multi-purpose stadium could enhance the downtown area. Some even called for a dome to be fashioned onto Municipal Stadium, but the idea was generally rejected.
44. Delaney and Eckstein, Public Dollars, Private Stadiums, 66–9.
45. Ibid., 70.
46. Austrian and Rosentraub, ‘Cleveland's Gateway to the Future', 358.
47. Delaney and Eckstein, Public Dollars, Private Stadiums, 79–81. Delaney and Eckstein, however, argued that while the ‘Cleveland Miracle’ – which successfully built the two sports facilities – did not bring economic prosperity to the city. They showed that, prior to the two stadiums’ construction, 54 more businesses opened rather than closed near the stadiums; however, following their completion, the number was only 50. Furthermore, while many restaurants and game-day bars opened, many more retail stores in the area closed due to the facilities’ construction.
48. Poplar, Fumble!, 178. Poplar explained that Modell was not angered in the early 1990s, yet his feelings were ‘Give me the same deal the city gave Dick Jacobs (Indians’ owner), and I’ll be a happy camper’.
49. Delaney and Eckstein, Public Dollars, Private Stadiums, 76.
50. ‘Modell: It’s Beyond My Control Right Now’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 4, 1995. Numerous newspaper articles explained that Modell did not give Cleveland a chance or ever tell Cleveland that he wanted a new stadium.
51. Cleveland continuously appears on ‘Top Ten’ lists of worst cities in America in which to be a sports fan. For example, see Michael Dunham, ‘The 10 Worst Cities in America To be a Sports fan’, Bleacher Report, May 14, 2010, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/391963-worst-cities-in-america-to-be-a-sports-fan; Tom Van Riper, ‘America’s Most Miserable Sports Cities’, Forbes, February 28, 2012, http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanriper/2012/02/28/americas-most-miserable-sports-cities/; and Tom Van Riper, ‘The Most Miserable Sports Cities’, Forbes, February 28, 2011, http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanriper/2011/02/28/the-most-miserable-sports-cities/.
52. Joe Dirck, ‘We Should Refuse to Play NFL's Game', Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 12, 1995.
53. Dick Feagler, ‘For mum Modell. It's a case of hurt feelings', Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 1, 1995; and Kevin O'Brien, ‘Modell just has too much to think about', Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 3, 1995. O'Brien provided an anecdotal version of the ‘Modell situation’. He displayed Modell as a disgruntled restaurant patron who was not willing to answer questions regarding relations with the establishment.
54. The Indians also hosted MLB’s All-Star Game in 1997 at Jacobs Field.
55. Paul Hoynes, ‘“Wahoo!” Indians Clinch Title’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 3, 1995; L.C. Johnson, ‘Cleveland’s an All-Star city in ’97’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 26, 1995. Michael Norman, ‘Hail, Hail, Rock “N” Roll “You Did It, Cleveland!” Rites Launch Hall of Fame’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2 September 2, 1995; and L.C. Johnson, ‘Step in a New Direction: Cavs Get Youthful. But at What PRICE?’ Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 28, 1995.
56. Timothy Heider, ‘Backers Say Sin Tax Necessary Evil: Campaign to Warn of Browns Departure’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 12, 1995; Timothy Heider, ‘Sin Tax Backers Have Cash $750,000 War Chest Sought; Foes Left Handing Out Fliers’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 9, 1995; Mark Rollenhagen, ‘Ex-Browns Promote Extending Tax to Fix Up Old Stomping Grounds’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 16, 1995; Timothy Heider, ‘Sin Tax Wins Big Three of Four Voters Say, “We Want A Team”’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 8, 1995; and Tom Breckenridge, ‘Sin-Tax Backers Riding Hot Wave from Baltimore’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 7, 1995.
57. John Funk, ‘A Tug of War for Browns: White Exhorts 300 Shock Troops to Help Rally Fans Nationally’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 12, 1995.
58. Suchma, ‘From the Best’, 404.
59. The Indians were considered perennial losers and subject to public ridicule for much of the second half of the twentieth century. Major League, directed by David S. Ward, Morgan Creek Productions, 1989. Cleveland became the comedic centrepiece of the Hollywood feature Major League which depicted the team as lovable losers who shocked MLB.
60. Miller and Wheeler, Cleveland, 192–8.
61. Suchma, ‘From the Best’, 406; and Miller and Wheeler, Cleveland, 190.
62. Hoynes, ‘“Wahoo!”’; Timothy Heider, ‘Tax Extension for Stadium Debated, Opponents Say Tax Is an Example of Greed; Backers Call it a matter of Civic need’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 2, 1995; Kevin Hartner, ‘Gloom, Anger Fill the Stands, Browns Fans Full of Emotion about Modell, Possible Move’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 6, 1995; ‘The Art of Deception, Modell’s Efforts to Justify Flight to Baltimore Won't Wash; Clevelanders Deserve Better for Their Years of Loyalty', Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 7, 1995; and Robert J. Vickers and Stephen Phillips, ‘Planning Starts for Cleveland's Life after Browns', Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 8, 1995.
63. Timothy Heider, ‘Mayor Fights Browns Move “Not The Final Act” Leaders Work to Derail Deal', Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 5, 1995.
64. Afi-Odelia E. Scruggs and Desiree F. Hicks, ‘Browns Fans Take Protest on the Road', Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 14, 1995.
65. V. David Sartin, ‘White, Fans Launch Drive to Recover the Browns’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 10, 1995.
66. Stephen Koff, ‘Mayor Makes Case With Commissioner’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 6, 1995; Gabrielle Williamson, ‘Dewine, Hoke to Seek Congressional Action’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 7, 1995; Stephen Koff, ‘Browns Fans Protest at NFL Meeting’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 8, 1995; Stephen Koff and Evelyn Theiss, ‘Browns Battle Taken to Texas’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 8, 1995; Funk, ‘Tug’; John Funk, ‘Browns Fans Prepare late-in-the-Game Rally; Committee to Save Team Plans Events to Keep Pressure on’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 10, 1995; Jonathan Gaw, ‘Web Site Puts Fans in NFL Huddle’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 18, 1995; ‘Save Browns Petitions at Stores Now’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 19, 1995; ‘Browns Fans, City Send Special Cards to NFL’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 22, 1995; and Michael K. McIntyre, ‘“2-Minute Warning” To Turn Up Heat on Browns’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 1, 1996.
67. The NFL’s decision, however, to grant Cleveland a new team was multifaceted. Poplar, Fumble!, 310. Poplar explained that if a lawsuit to keep the Browns in Cleveland through 1998 succeeded, the Browns would be a ‘lame duck’ team; Richard Sandomir, ‘How Compromise Built Cleveland a New Stadium’, New York Times, February 12, 1996. Sandomir explained that the ‘lame duck’ team would have been bad for all parties and that Modell easily relinquished the team’s legacy when asked; ‘Professional Sports Franchise Relocation: Antitrust Implications’, hearing before US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Washington, DC, February 6, 1996; Leonard Shapiro, ‘To Hasten Browns’ Move, State off Maryland Sues NFL’, Washington Post, January 19, 1996; and Richard Sandomir, ‘The Browns Are Going Nowhere Until All the Lawsuits Are Settled’, New York Times, January 23, 1996. Mounting pressures from antitrust lawsuits from the state of Maryland also likely contributed to the final agreement.
68. Mary Kay Cabot, ‘Browns Fans’ Drive Uses Phone, Fax’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 12, 1995.
69. Cabot, ‘Browns Fans’ Drive’.
70. Friedman and Mason, ‘“Horse Trading”’, 281–4. Friedman and Mason explained that there was more civic activism in Nashville to support the new stadium referendum than in Houston; Timothy W. Smith, ‘Modell Faces Hurdles before Browns Move’, New York Times, December 10, 1995.
71. Fowler, Loser Takes All.
72. Michael Wilbon, ‘Is Everybody Happy?’, Washington Post, February 10, 1996; Allen, ‘Cleveland Fans React with Anger, Sadness’; and ‘Fans Would Cheer Move to Keep Teams in Town’, USA Today, December 4, 1995.
73. NFL on NBC. The NBC commentators clearly mourned for Cleveland’s citizens; Michael Hiestand, ‘Analysts Decry Move by Browns’, USA Today, 8 November, 1995. Hiestand quoted former NFL player and current TV commentator Chris Collinsworth as saying ‘The idea of packing that team up, and its 50 years of tradition, and leaving probably the best football fans in America [is] unconscionable’.
74. Allen, ‘Cleveland fans react with anger, sadness’. Allen quoted WKNR-AM sports radio broadcaster Doug Johnson as saying ‘[i]f the Browns can leave, it means this could happen to any team’; Associated Press, ‘Fans would cheer move to keep teams in town’. The Associated Press commented ‘[i]f the Cleveland Browns can walk out of town after a half century of support from some of the country’s most loyal fans, no sports team is safe in any city. This could happen anywhere. And is. Houston’s football and baseball teams want to move. So do the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seattle Seahawks, the Arizona Cardinals and possibly the Cincinnati Bengals. In hockey, the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver and the Minnesota North Stars have moved to Dallas’.
75. The following articles illustrated the initial outcry towards Modell. See Janofsky, ‘The Browns Put N.F.L. Back in Baltimore’; Richard Sandomir, ‘A City Fights to Save the Browns’, New York Times, November 12, 1995; George Vecsey, ‘And the Winner Is: Art Modell, Grubbiest Man of the Year’, New York Times, December 24, 1995; and Associated Press, ‘Your Taxes Help Put Team Owners on EZ Street’, USA Today, December 28, 1995.
76. Vecsey, ‘And the Winner’.
77. Associated Press, ‘Your Taxes Help Put Team Owners on EZ Street’.
78. Thomas George, ‘Modell Joins Newest Game in Football’, New York Times, November 7, 1995.
79. Hiestand, ‘Analysts Decry Move by Browns’.
80. Richard Sandomir, ‘Pro Football; N.F.L. Sue Jones to Stop “Ambush” Deals’, New York Times, September 19, 1995. Sandomir explained that Jones signed deals with Nike and Pepsi, whereas ‘Coca-Cola, the brands poured in 28 of 30 stadiums, and Reebok are official league sponsors and the most direct rivals of Pepsi and Nike’; Tim Panaccio, ‘Jerry Jones Files Antitrust Suit against NFL’, The Philadelphia Inquirer Online, November 7, 1995, http://articles.philly.com/1995-11-07/sports/25681228_1_marketing-deals-nfl-properties-texasstadium (accessed April 29, 2011).
81. Dave Anderson, ‘Is Greed Destroying N.F.L. Fans’ Devotion?’ New York Times, November 12, 1995.
82. Peter King, ‘Down … and Out: Citing His Crushing Debts, Art Modell Is Taking His Browns to Baltimore’, Sports Illustrated, November 13, 1995.
83. Forbes, ‘Economically, Modell Has No Choice’. During the 1990s, nine NFL teams either moved, threatened a transfer or were rumoured to relocate due to rising costs of team operations, facilities and contract agreements. Al Davis shifted his Raiders between Los Angeles and Oakland, the Los Angeles Rams transferred to St. Louis, the Browns moved to Baltimore and Houston left for Tennessee; however, during the 4-month period of the Browns’ dilemma, numerous teams were rumoured to be relocating. Tampa Bay and Seattle considered leaving for better facilities, Chicago nearly moved to Gary, IN, and an extension of a city tax to fund a new stadium kept the Bengals in Cincinnati.
84. George, ‘Modell Joins Newest Game in Football’.
85. King, ‘Down’.
86. Richard Sandomir, ‘Moving Teams for Fun and Profit’, New York Times, November 26, 1995.
87. This is a major theme in Euchner’s Playing the Field, specifically 210–1.
88. Quotes for this paragraph were taken from Rick Reilly, ‘A Matter of Dollars and Nonsense: Here’s What Would Happen If Other Businesses Bought into Pro Sports’ Brand of Economics’, Sports Illustrated, November 20, 1995. The fictive Achmed stating ‘I had no choice’ played off of Modell’s words when he announced he was moving the Browns. See Heider, Diemer and Theiss, ‘Browns Bolt Modell Warned Mayor’.
89. Marc Levinson, ‘Field of Schemes’, Newsweek, December 11, 1995. The NFL teams, in the 1990s, were ‘demanding that the public ante up big for the privilege of hosting major-league teams’, explained Newsweek writer Marc Levinson. Additionally, they demanded a ‘better lease, a tier of skyboxes or a whole new stadium – or some other city will’.
90. Bud Shaw, ‘The Speeches Were Better than the Deal’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 10, 1996.
91. Reilly, ‘A Matter of Dollars and Nonsense’.
92. Bill Livingston, ‘New Browns Won't Be for Average Fan', Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 9, 1996; and Wally Guenther, ‘Top Fans Don't Trust League's Promises', Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 9, 1996.
93. David Adams, ‘Browns, NFL go on the offensive', Akron Beacon Journal, October 9, 1996.
94. Michael K. McIntyre, Kevin Harter, and Ken Zapinski, ‘Happy to Howl “Go Browns!”; Many Fans Satisfied with the Promise of a Browns Team in Cleveland and a Fresh Start Without Art Modell and Bill Belichick’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 11, 1996.
95. Burton, ‘Does the National Football League's Current Economic Model Threaten the Long Term Growth of Professional Football Globally?’, 14.
96. Reese and Mittelstaedt, ‘An Exploratory Study of the Criteria Used to Establish NFL Ticket Prices’, 224–5. Reese and Mittelstaedt explained that NFL Attendance rose 0.5% in 2000 from 1999. There had, however, been a trend of poorly performing teams to have worse attendance. For example, the Arizona Cardinals and Jacksonville Jaguars witnessed a 10% attendance decrease in 2000 from 1999.
97. Quirk and Fort, Pay Dirt, 150–68. Quirk and Fort provided a look at stadium contracts and rental agreements which contain some, albeit limited, information on luxury boxes for NFL stadiums in the 1980s; Oriard, Brand NFL, 149–62. Oriard detailed an analysis on ‘Stadium Games’ in the ‘new NFL’; Euchner, Playing the Field, specifically 210–1. Euchner provided a detailed examination of the ways in which ‘major league cities’ yearned for professional sports and the tactics of the cities in persuading teams to relocate.
98. Zirin, Bad Sports, 24–5. Zirin cited Modell as evidence of the ways in which NFL owners were ‘welfare kings’. He mentioned that Modell once stated that NFL owners were ‘26 Republicans that vote socialist’.
99. Richard Sandomir, ‘Owners’ New Strategy: Take the Team and Run’, New York Times, January 14, 1996.
100. Ibid.
101. ‘“Poor” team owners cry on taxpayers’ shoulders’, USA Today, February 9, 1996; Levinson, ‘Field of Schemes’; and Chuck Johnson, ‘Modell turns Browns fans blue over move’, USA Today, November 6, 1995. Buffalo Bills’ owner Ralph Wilson, Jr., also expressed that the NFL's credibility had been shaken throughout the 1995 season. He stated that ‘fans used to believe that [the] league stood for something. Stability. It's all crazy. … All of this is hurting [the] league'; Mark Gaughan, ‘Ralph Wilson: Football Lover and Fighter’, BuffaloNews.com, August 8, 2009, http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/article6986.ece. Wilson, Jr., was one of the two owners (Dan Rooney) to vote against Modell's move.
102. ‘Glenn is Unimpressed with Deal on Browns’, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 15, 1995. Glenn nor writers specifically articulated their definition of the ‘common fan’.
103. Jarrett Bell, ‘Congress Could Put Brakes on NFL Moving Van’, USA Today, November 30, 1995; and Hobson II, ‘Preventing Franchise Flight’. Hobson explained as eminent domain could not be used to ‘solve the relocation problem’, that federal intervention was needed to end franchise relocation. He also argued that the proposed 1995 Fans’ Rights Bill should have been implemented, as it ‘provides the best opportunity for the individual actors to reach fair and workable solutions to address the relocation problem’.
104. Sandomir, ‘Owners’; ‘“Poor” team owners’; Larry Weisman, ‘Decision on Browns going right to the wire’, USA Today, January 20, 1996; and Levinson, ‘Field of Schemes’, 60.
105. Dick Fenlon, ‘NFL Saves Its Best for Rich and Famous’, Columbus Dispatch, January 30, 1996.
106. Sean Leahy, ‘NFL Tickets Prices Rise Again in 2010, Up 30% Since 2005’, USA Today, September 22, 2010. The article stated that the average NFL ticket price in 2005 was $59 and by 2010 it was $76.47; Bill Carter, ‘Sunday Won’t Be Only Ticket in NFL’s New TV Deal’, New York Times, November 9, 2004. The article stated that the 2004 TV deal would bring in $8 billion in revenue over the next 6 years.
107. ‘In a League of Its Own: America’s National Football League Offers a Business Lesson to Other Sports’, The Economist, April 27, 2006, http://www.economist.com/node/6859210?story_id=6859210.
108. John Branch, ‘The British Prove They’re Not Fair-Weather Fans’, New York Times, October 29, 2007.
109. Tommy Craggs, ‘Exclusive: Leaked Documents Show Operating Profits for NFL Ventures Rose 29 Percent Last Year’, Deadspin, July 15, 2011, http://deadspin.com/5821386/audited-financials-operating-profit-for-nfl-ventures-lp-rose-from-999-million-to-13-billion-last-year.