Being a Die hard Browns fan for 32 years of my life, living through Red right 88, the drive, the fumble, the BUMBLE (Remember we lost to Denver 3 times)....and loving the Indians, Damn you jose Mesa....the SHOT...MJ....you were the man, I honestly cant be MAD about that one to be honest.

WHO do you hate more? RIght this second...

Art Modell?

Lebron James?

This should get interesting!

I'm not a Browns fan (the opposite) but I live in NE Ohio and I still hate Modell. He made the Steelers-Browns rivalry disappear and even when it came back it was no fun because for the most part it hasn't even been close. Hopefully that changes and it gets sweet. I hate the biggest rivalry game being the damned Ravens. Modell is a dick.

But seeing as how I'm much more invested in the Cavs then the Browns for the reasons outlined above I definitely hate Lebron more. Especially the way he did it.

Both have special circles in hell for them though.

Ohio people are funny.

The guy didnt want to play here any more, what the fuck does he owe you people? Why should he stay here and be miserable, because he lived in Akron? He doesnt care about all you, obviously, so get over it!!!! God forbid he move on, and try to better himself!! You Cleveland people crack me up.

coyotes22;419130 wrote:Ohio people are funny.

The guy didnt want to play here any more, what the fuck does he owe you people? Why should he stay here and be miserable, because he lived in Akron? He doesnt care about all you, obviously, so get over it!!!! God forbid he move on, and try to better himself!! You Cleveland people crack me up.

Are you that blind and deaf? You didn't see the insulting display of ego and arrogance he put on for the world; you know, the one that basically gave a huge middle finger to his hometown, home state and the fans who were his supporters growing up through high school and beyond?

It wasn't that he left -- it was HOW he left, for most of us.

Had he handled this matter with even a little bit of class (apparently a foreign concept to him), people would be bitter and complaining, but they wouldn't be vilifying him as they are now. Wander around the Internet a little and read some of the columns being written and some of the things being said by other NBA executives. He's almost universally getting fried for how he handled all this.

As for the topic: NOBODY will ever replace Modell as the most hated man in Cleveland sports history. What he did was not forgivable. He lied and lied and lied -- and then he stole out of the city like a thief in the night when it was clear his own inept business sense had all but bankrupted the franchise.

Anyone who doesn't understand this needs only to do a bit of research about how the move came about.

The fact that Modell, even after getting a huge windfall of tens of millions of dollars from the State of Maryland and the city of Baltimore, tells you just about all you need to know about his business "expertise". He STILL ended up being forced to sell his majority shares in the team (what he was trying to avoid by moving), anyway, because he once again took the team to the edge of bankruptcy and needed bailing out.

My brother said this yesterday about Lebron leaving..."If you can't get hot fries at McDonald's, go to Burger King."

Oh and for those who wonder about why many of us are also questioning this decision as far as Mr. James so-called leadership goes, this is the best piece I've seen yet that pretty much says it all.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/michael_rosenberg/07/08/lebron.event/index.html

Writerbuckeye;419137 wrote:Oh and for those who wonder about why many of us are also questioning this decision as far as Mr. James so-called leadership goes, this is the best piece I've seen yet that pretty much says it all.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/michael_rosenberg/07/08/lebron.event/index.html

Kind of off subject, but I would have to think that Nike and other sponsors have to be pissed at how their client looks now. His brand seems damaged worse than Kobe's was when he was under the microscope. How do they go about repairing his image...they have so much money invested in this guy?

Growing up a all around Cleveland fan through the 80's, 90's and now 00's has been painful. I may say thing out of time from frustration about jumping ship but I'm not, like any frustrated fan sometimes we say things we don't mean or before thinking. James is gone I'm done with it, Go Cavs, Go Indians, Go Browns. Now for the question, I didn't think Modell's move could be topped. LBJ would not have topped it if he didn't do what he did. The Browns came back, LBJ did not. LBJ will always be the bigger bad guy now!

Modell can never be topped as far as I am concerned. He left us fans without a team to follow for 5 years. I still have a team to follow in the Cavs. Granted they will probably suck but I am a Cleveland fan in all sports so the sucking part doesn't bother me.
My top five hideous sports acts are:
1. Modell moving the Browns
2. Minnesota's public mugging of OSU basketball team
3. 1972 Summer Olympic killings
4.1972 Summer Olympics USA/USSR basketball game
5. LeBron going to Miami- and I'm not crying that he owed me anything because he didn't but the whole situation was handled very badly.

I am neither a Cavs nor a Lebron fan, but what eats me up is that Lebron WANTED to stay in Cleveland, but also wanted to win a title. So he had two choices:

1. Stay in Cleveland. Remain loved both locally, and nationally. Save your city's economy, and win a title organically, truly earning your "King" status.

2. Leave a place where you want to be, doing so in a humiliating fashion for the whole country to see, essentially burning down Cleveland's economy to the tune of $20-$40 million lost, which will cost hundreds (at least) of jobs ... just to win a mercinary title.

I can never respect Lebron again. I feel for the Cleveland fans, it was a bush league move, and his brand will be forever tarnished.

BigAppleBuckeye;419324 wrote: Save your city's economy

wat

Writerbuckeye;419137 wrote:Oh and for those who wonder about why many of us are also questioning this decision as far as Mr. James so-called leadership goes, this is the best piece I've seen yet that pretty much says it all.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/michael_rosenberg/07/08/lebron.event/index.html

That's a great article on the subject. It really highlights just how cowardly Lebron's decision was compared to the greats of the game.

He should never be mentioned in the same breath as Jordan again. Lebron is more like a Scottie Pippen or Horace Grant...nothing more than a good supporting cast member.

dlazz;419367 wrote:wat

Surely you realize that the bars, restaurants and merchants around the arena will greatly suffer? ESPN quoted an economist saying that Cleveland will lose between $20-$40 million alone because of Lebron leaving.

I am surprised that LBJ is planning on living at his current place during the off-season. Is it possible that he doesn't understand the wrath of this area for him?

Folks, Cleveland IS, WAS and ALWAYS will be, Browns town. LBJ could have raped and pillaged the whole community of Bath before he left, and Modell will still be the most hated man in Cleveland.

BRF;419423 wrote:I am surprised that LBJ is planning on living at his current place during the off-season. Is it possible that he doesn't understand the wrath of this area for him?

I am of the understanding that ESPN will carry 'The Decision II' later this year as to where LeBron will live in the offseason.

skank: you make a good point, IMO, about "this is Brown's town" and Modell taking our whole team. Right now, I am looking at these two situations as "apples to oranges", though. And I think that it would be best for LeBron to just leave the area. Maybe he could donate the property to the Bath Township Boy's and Girl's Club!

i would take a lead pipe to lebrons knee. but i would take a piss and then spit on modells tombstone

sherm03;419386 wrote:That's a great article on the subject. It really highlights just how cowardly Lebron's decision was compared to the greats of the game.

He should never be mentioned in the same breath as Jordan again. Lebron is more like a Scottie Pippen or Horace Grant...nothing more than a good supporting cast member.

agree. lebron took the easy way out by joining a stacked team. There should be no comparisons of him to jordan ever again.

Damn. It takes big balls to openly admit to being a Cleveland fan lol.