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Grudge match Ravens return for first time since moving in '95
Posted: Friday November 05, 1999 09:48 PM
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Browns fans know how to hold a grudge -- they've had this one for four years. It was Nov. 6, 1995, when former owner Art Modell announced he was moving the beloved team to Baltimore. With football restored to Cleveland this season, fans of the new Browns may finally get some revenge when Modell's Ravens come to town on Sunday. They can't wait. "The town's psyched and ready to win," said Beth Nagel of nearby Lakewood as she filled out an entry form for a chance to win tickets for Sunday's game. "When Modell did what he did, it brought the whole city together. It showed what kind of fans the Browns have." The departure of the Browns four years ago made grown men weep openly. With Mayor Michael R. White leading the effort, Browns fans lobbied the NFL and spawned a movement to get football back. John Thompson, aka "Big Dawg," one of the loudest and most visible members of the Dawg Pound cheering section, went to Washington, where he broke down crying in front of a congressional committee as he tried to explain the injustice of losing the Browns. Cleveland fans even tailgated on opening day 1996, preparing for a game that didn't exist. All of that agony is over, but the bad feelings are hardly a memory. "Part of it is the retribution thing," said Stuart Smith, president of New Jersey's Skylands Browns Backers, who was in Cleveland this week. Expecting some rabid fans in the Dawg Pound, Browns spokesman Alex Martins said security will be bumped up Sunday to a level "appropriate for a high-profile game," such as a season opener. Or a grudge match. Modell won't be at Sunday's game, but some comments made this week by Ravens head coach Brian Billick should give fans plenty to focus their anger on. During a news conference Monday in Baltimore, Billick claimed the league was hoping Cleveland would win and implied referees would be biased towards the Browns. "I know darn well we are not going to get a call in Cleveland. No way, no shape, no form, no how," said Billick, who was a candidate for the Browns head coaching job. "The league would really like to see Cleveland beat us." Billick later apologized, and the NFL is reviewing the comments to see if disciplinary action is necessary. Browns fans aren't the type to forgive and forget, however. Joe Bellito of Cleveland and Paul DeChant of Lakewood vented their disgust at Billick while checking out Browns merchandise at a downtown shopping mall. "Cleveland wants the Ravens to lose bad," Bellito said. DeChant said he hopes Billick's predictions were accurate. "Let's hope the calls go Cleveland's way," he joked. "That's the way it should be." The Ravens won the first game between the two teams, 17-10 in Baltimore on Sept. 26. But now Baltimore has to come into Cleveland to face the wounded pride of an entire city. "It would be sweet, sweeter than most games," if the Browns won, Smith said. "Modell may have left us, but football didn't, it's here whether Modell is here or not."
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