Baskin's Blog: Moving the Browns will not be forgotten, but have sympathy for Art Modell's passing

CLEVELAND - It’s a day of reflection across northeast Ohio with the passing of former Browns owner Art Modell.

Many are speaking out about their hatred for him.

Some are looking back at Modell’s philanthropic endeavors across northeast Ohio and the people who he reached as a friend.

In some ways, some will see this as a milestone day for the Cleveland Browns.

The passion that filled their hearts for four decades turned into a venomous poison when he decided to move the team in 1995.

Passion is passion, no matter how you look at it, whether it's good or bad.

It is hard to sit here and not think, as a life long Browns fan, that Art Modell didn’t ruin the game of football for me.

As a man, I have sympathy in his passing. I would, for anyone who leaves this earth.

But as a Browns fan, I will never forget Modell ripping the thrill of football, community, and family from my heart, when he moved the team.

For people like me, Modell will always be remembered as a man who changed the game of football for me. The game has never been the same since the Browns first left Cleveland and became the Baltimore Ravens.

I blame Modell, I blame the city and I blame a lot of people for that move and the way I feel about the game today.

But for everyone speaking ill of him we must remember he was someone’s father and grandfather, and will be missed.

So for one day, it’s time to put emotion aside and really think hard about this story and who Modell was.

For me, he’s the man who will remind me everyday that sports is, first and foremost, a business. If the Browns can move from Cleveland, anything is possible.

What do you think? Chime in via the comment box below.