the way you and I do — haven’t even caught on to the real story in Baltimore.
As a matter of fact, there’s a “disconnect” that doesn’t allow many of them to possibly have any depth because they’re not from around here, really.
Recently, we had two “local journalists” (or jackasses, as I like to call them) mock Baltimore via their corporate, out-of-town owned media conglomerates last week but in general, these people who report on the games with the Ravens and Orioles aren’t fans of the game or fans of the team or in tune with the rich history of Baltimore sports. The fact that Scott Garceau, who is on the Hall of Fame voting and presentation committee isn’t LIVID that Art Modell’s bid has been derailed by the derisiveness of Cleveland and Tony Grossi, tells me all that I need to know about where his “Baltimore” heart is.
The Browns can’t beat us on the field but Cleveland will get its pound of flesh by punishing the man who helped build Browns football there and has brought football and civic pride back to Baltimore for another generation.
It’s mind-blowing to me, especially when you consider all of the love we have for this crazy, purple football team is owed to Art Modell who brought it here and made sure it had – and still has – his pride of the community associated with it.
For the record, I give Peter King holy hell virtually every time I see him. And as much as I love Peter and consider him a friend, he’s really dead wrong on this issue and I’ll tell him and any other member on that committee the same thing.
Modell breathed life back into a real football community with a team that treats the community with respect at most every turn and that’s the real reason there is so much joy and pride and associated with this kind of “for profit” sports organization that the city could care SO MUCH about.
It would’ve been VERY easy for Baltimore to have the warmth and fuzziness for the Browns as Phoenix has had for the Cardinals over the past 25 years. And we damn-near landed that franchise from that goofball Bill Bidwill, who ran the “Irsays of the West” for 20 years before getting a dome and some better football decision-makers in charge.
But instead we got a class man like Modell, who hired the first African American general manager in a sport that is played by 70% African Americans and has been for 40 years.
And it’s on days like today when I ask myself: “Why do I care so much about the Ravens? Why do I love this team the way I do?” I KNOW I’m not the only one who feels this way. Hundreds of thousands of people – if not millions – who hail from Baltimore, love Baltimore and identify with Baltimore truly get “ownership stake” in this franchise and feel a part of it. (And that’s more participation, care and concern than any political issue who you can possibly debate.)
It’s like Christmas Day on the days they win and the losses are like the death of a family member, just like it was depicted in the movie “Diner.”
And it comes and goes in waves. One minute I’m thinking about Dallas and the Super Bowl and my business and my mobile initiatives and spring training and the Orioles and finding the best new sports media talent in Baltimore and the next minute my wife abruptly turns to me on the couch to bitch one more time about the phantom holding call on Marcus Smith or the Anquan Boldin drop or the Ray Rice fumble or the botched snap or the ball that kid caught over Lardarius Webb’s shoulder.
And anywhere I go when I leave the house this week people want to sadistically replay this sick evening of memories for me and ask me my opinion.
Well, here it is:
For me, the Boldin drop is the biggest sin. It was perfectly executed, blocked and schemed for our premier off-season acquisition – the guy who was deemed the difference maker — and he dropped the pass of the year that would’ve sent us to the AFC Championship Game in the fourth quarter in Pittsburgh. I’m sorry, Anquan, but that’s completely unacceptable and makes you a goat
