Saturday, January 27, 2001
'Browns Backers' rooting against Ravens
Resentment for Modell makes them back Giants
By Tom Groeschen
The Cincinnati Enquirer
"I hope the Giants beat the Ravens to death," says Joey McGregor, president of the local Browns Backers.
(Brandi Stafford photo)
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Cleveland Browns fans worldwide will gather before their TVs on Sunday to root wildly against Art Modell, including the passionate Greater Cincinnati chapter of Browns Backers.
Joey McGregor, president of the local Browns Backers, says it's nothing personal. But then again, it is.
“I hope the Giants beat the Ravens to death, but I really don't have a whole lot of hostility toward Modell anymore,” McGregor said. “I'm to the point where I don't care.”
Then again, he does.
McGregor, 32, has been president of the local Browns Backers since 1994. A transplanted Clevelander, he was among those enraged when Modell moved the original Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore after the 1995 season.
“He really doesn't warrant any more conversation,” McGregor said.
Yet Modell is sure to be a big topic Sunday when the local Browns Backers (membership 250) convene for their annual Super Bowl party at a Clifton sports bar. What do you do when they throw a Super Bowl and Art Modell shows up in it?
“That's why I'm rooting for the Giants,” said Bob Craig, vice president of the local Browns Backers. “I still hold Modell responsible for what he did to us and to Cleveland.”
Craig, 58, is a lifelong Loveland resident. Like many Cincinnatians born before 1960, he rooted for the Browns because they were the closest NFL team geographically. Even when the Bengals were formed in 1968, Craig was one of many Southwest Ohio fans who remained loyal to the Browns.
The Browns Backers claim 257 chapters worldwide. Regional branches stretch throughout the United States, and there are clubs in Puerto Rico, Canada, Argentina, England, the Netherlands, Egypt and Israel.
It has been a painful time for Browns fans. Their team is bad, with a 5-27 record since its rebirth in 1999. And now they're up to here with Modell and Super Bowl stories.
“I turned the Raider game off with about 10 minutes to go,” McGregor said of the AFC Championship Game. “I didn't want to see Modell and the celebration.”
McGregor is married and father to three young children. Craig has three children and seven grandchildren. Both hold good jobs; McGregor in information systems and Craig in the Ohio Department of Transportation. But McGregor admits to a “Browns shrine” in his basement, and Craig bought all seven grandchildren Browns sweatsuits for Christmas.
The Browns Backers say they don't remember feeling this bad even when the Bengals went to the Super Bowl (1981-82 and 1988-89 seasons).
“This hurts more,” Craig said, “because of Modell. He robbed probably the truest fans in the NFL.”
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'Browns Backers' rooting against Ravens
