CLEVELAND — Now, even taking off the table what Art Modell did to Cleveland, many consider his NFL legacy to be spotty at best.
For example, he gets credit for helping to expand the league's presence on television. Based on what we know of the NFL, I think it's safe to say that the monetary value of broadcasting more games might've occurred to them on their own eventually.
Modell also holds the distinction of uniquely incompetent as far as an owner from a business perspective. Do you know how hard it is to not make money running an NFL team? Yet he financially mismanaged the Browns and Ravens so profoundly that he was forced to move the former and sell the latter.
Even putting all that aside, it's clear that what he did do to the die-hard Cleveland Browns fanbase can't be ignored, and should prevent him from Hall of Fame consideration.
Sometimes, even if you do meet all the criteria considered necessary for a particular honor, it doesn't mean you should receive it. As an example, consider the Detroit rap/rock duo Insane Clown Posse (bear with me).
Say what you will about ICP, haters. You can say that they're not talented, you can say they're kind of gross. All true, but based on precedent, you can't say that they haven't technically met the criteria to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In order to be considered:
- A band's first album has to have been released at least 25 years ago. Fortunately, Carnival of Carnage came out in 1992.
- Popularity: They've sold over 6.5 million albums
- Cultural influence: Their fan community, known as "Juggalos," numbers in the tens of thousands.
On paper, Insane Clown Posse should be a shoe-in for the Rock Hall. So what's keeping them out? It's simple.
Listen:
Yes, there you have it. It's not that they haven't sold enough albums, it's not that they're culturally irrelevant. What's keeping them out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the fact that their music is absolutely terrible. It sounds like it was written by a sixth grader with behavioral issues using an Android app on his cell phone.
Some things simply simply don't deserve to be honored, like the music of Insane Clown Posse or a man who moved our beloved football franchise out of the town in the dead of night. Some things simply can't be forgiven.
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