In four days, grills will be lit and coolers will be packed with beverages, as the kickoff of the Ravens season will be afoot.
For that, you can thank Art Modell.
Throughout Baltimore, people will ditch work early. If they haven’t checked out physically, mentally all they can think about is the Ravens. This game is on a Monday night, the first night of the typical work week but yet stadiums around the country will be packed – and have been packed – for the past 46 seasons.
For that, you can thank Art Modell.
On Monday, seventy thousand fans will rise to their feet only to be met with chills down their spine as Ray Lewis greets the crowd with his “Squirrel” dance, a tradition made by a player as a connection to the fan base throughout his legendary career in Baltimore, which is embarking on its 17thyear.
For that, you can thank Art Modell.
It takes a Baltimore resident – not even necessarily a Ravens fan – to see and feel the impact that Modell has made on Charm City. The positive impact his first-class organization has made cannot be ignored.
Even though current owner, Steve Bisciotti, left Modell a 1% share of the team, Modell has been out of the day-to-day involvement with the franchise since 2004. As recently as this previous training camp, Modell attended practice and was driven by Bisciotti in golf cart to watch the team. The class that Modell demanded in the franchise and the execution of his values through new ownership has been passed all the way down to the players as they spend a good chunk of their time on charitable efforts.
For this organization, the name of the city means just as much as the name of the team. The fans understand what it’s like to lose a team; they’ve experienced the pain Browns fans felt in 1996 and want to make sure that the Ravens are so entrenched in the community that it’ll be impossible for such a thing to ever happen here again.
The outpour of love, support, and kind words has been present across any major media outlet for how admired Modell was as a man, father and most notably a sports owner. Outside of Cleveland – whose fan base that is used to public pushes for support (just see the Peyton Hillis Madden 2012 cover) – Modell is loved and should be in the hall of fame. The self-made multi-millionaire is deserving of a trip to Canton, but unfortunately – thanks to the ill wishes of a bitter few – Modell never experienced the accomplishment most feel that he is more than deserving of.
For those voters who still refuse to put him in, hopefully they’re listening today as they hear all of the genuine, heartfelt comments from important figures in the NFL this morning.
One Rave about “The Legacy of Art Modell”