The infamous mural

[kshutchins]

Does anyone have a picture of this thing? Is there a reliable report as to what happened to it? I keep hearing about the darned thing but haven't a clue what it looked like.

[Zombo]

Does anyone have a picture of this thing? Is there a reliable report as to what happened to it? I keep hearing about the darned thing but haven't a clue what it looked like.

 

Are you speaking about the one in the Berea HQ men's room?

 

 

Zombo

[JoeSixPat]

Does anyone have a picture of this thing? Is there a reliable report as to what happened to it? I keep hearing about the darned thing but haven't a clue what it looked like.

 

I'm interested too. This almost seems to have turned into the question that no one in Cleveland wants to ask, which is odd because most Browns fans are known for the pride they take in their history.

 

One blog report was that Mangini actually DID have it moved (I don't think anyone questions this) but that he did so to move it to a "more visible location".

 

Unfortunately that "more visible location" appears to be invisible since no one can seem to say where the darned thing is.

 

The report went on to indicate that in the process of moving it the mural was all but destroyed, with Mangnini now hoping that no one is going to remember the story nor ask any awkward questions. But I've got no idea if that's the actual truth... all I know is that no one can seem to say where it is and show a recent photo of it.

 

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2009/09/30...-and-the-mural/

 

I think about this because of the The Great Mural Caper in Cleveland. The other day, I wrote this paragraph about Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini:

 

“Basically the first thing Mangini did — first thing — was have them tear down a mural of great Cleveland Browns players on the wall in the Browns offices. Now, there are differing opinions about what really happened, whose fault it really was, does it all matter, etc. You know what? The Cleveland Browns have never been to a Super Bowl. Never. Not one. But Browns fans still have a whole lot of pride. Browns fans grow up on a glorious history. If you allow something stupid like that to happen on your watch … just a horrendous hire.”

 

Not long after that, I got this comment from Brilliant Reader Ron. As you can see, Ron sounded pretty sure of himself:

 

Joe this is bad information. Oh sure it was reported by unnamed sources but it was disproved. What Mangini really did was move the wall to where fans could see it. He moved it to a more fan friendly spot. I get reporters hate him. I get there is a grudge there. But passing along WRONG info weeks after it was disproved is bush. Apologize or fix your mistake.

 

Hmm. Well, you know: I hate mistakes and will do anything I can to correct them. So I decided to see if what had been written about Mangini and the mural was, in fact, bad information. I went to a couple of people in Cleveland to find out what really happened in the Mural Caper. It’s a bit baffling — and a few months later, mostly inconsequential — but here’s what those people told me.

 

The Browns used to have this great mural on the first floor of their facility in Berea. Well, anyway, I think it was a great mural. It was of the Browns Hall of Famers, and it was right at the player’s entrance. The point seemed to be to let the players know, every day when they came to work, that they were a part of something special, that they were wearing the uniform that Jim Brown and Paul Warfield and Otto Graham and Marion Motley and Leroy Kelly wore. Seems to me a worthy cause.

 

When Mangini arrived in Cleveland, one of the first things he wanted to do was have the player entrance painted white. Why? He’s Eric Mangini* — I can’t tell you why. I don’t know if he liked the mural or did not like the mural, but the point is the point, he wanted white walls, dammit.

 

*Since my “Eric Mangini is the worst hire in 25 years” bit, I’ve heard from numerous other people about potential worse hires. A couple of note:

 

– Dave Shula. Well, I covered the Shula Era in Cincinnati … it’s hard for me to argue the point. At least Dave was (and is) a very nice guy.

 

– Ray Handley. The Giants hired him over specifically over defensive coordinator Bill Belichick … again, hard for me to argue the point.

 

Here, it seems, there was indeed a bit of misinformation. It originally was reported that Mangini had the mural PAINTED OVER. That indeed was wrong. Apparently that is what sources originally said, but the mural was not painted over. It was taken down, and then plaster board was put up and painted white. This is what Ron is talking about when he talks about something being “disproved.” Pat McManamon, a most excellent sportswriter at the Akron Beacon Journal and a friend of mine for a long time, very openly apologized for writing that the mural was painted over.

 

But, you will note, I did not write that the mural was painted over — I wrote that it was torn down. And it was torn down — nobody even argues the point. It was there. Now it’s gone.

 

So what of the rest? Well, now we get some open interpretation, which is why in the original post I tried to leave the rest of the paragraph vague. But basically after the mural story exploded and people in Cleveland angrily responded, the Browns and Mangini announced this plan to move the mural to a different wall, in the lobby, where it could better appreciated by fans. They announced this was the plan all the time. Ha ha. We just wanted to put it in the lobby so all those fans who come to the Berea Training Facility could, you know, see it.

 

Was it the plan all the time? Was this all just a misunderstanding? Was Eric Mangini in his own way trying to PROMOTE Browns history rather than cover it up?

 

Or was this just an attempt to cover up a tone-deaf decision in the first place?

 

Well, different people will have different opinions.

 

But it’s worth pointing out:

 

1. For all the talk, the mural is NOT up now. Not in the lobby. Not in the complex. Not anywhere. Nobody seems to know where the mural is … but it ain’t up on any visible walls.

 

2. Several people within the Browns very quietly concede that the mural will NEVER go up because it is ruined. It was made of a very thin material (as murals are) and it predictably and obviously tore when it was brought down in the first place*.

 

*I have some experience with this … I once wrote about a beautiful mural they had at the NCAA. Nobody was quite sure what to do with it when the NCAA moved to Indianapolis, and I remember talking with the artist and he told me that to move a mural was an involved and careful process … and (my own opinion) I think it is fair to guess that since the Browns moved the mural and painted the area just days after Mangini was hired, maybe they did not spend too much time following any careful mural-safeguarding processes.

 

Of course, maybe they’ll put up the mural tomorrow, and they’ll have a big unveiling, and I promise if that happens I will write a blog post saying exactly that. Somehow, though, I doubt I’ll have to write that anytime soon.

[samoth]

I thought i read he had a new, different, mural put up in the lobby.

[peterbell]

I've seen the new HOF in Berea..Its in the Lobby which is a glass front all the up to the third floor..You can see it from every floor as you ascend the front staircase..Its quite stunning and is seen by all who enter the facility

[JoeSixPat]

I thought i read he had a new, different, mural put up in the lobby.

 

I had read that too - but I think the question was about the existing one...

 

So I take it WAS destroyed and they had to put up a new one?

 

There seemed to be a lot of backlash when it was suggested that it was destoryed or painted over but if no one has a problem with the old one being destroyed then obviously its a non-issue.

 

So for some reason it seemed like Browns fans had some emotional attachment and pride regarding the old mural when apparently that was never the case?

[Kosar_For_President]

I had read that too - but I think the question was about the existing one...

 

So I take it WAS destroyed and they had to put up a new one?

 

There seemed to be a lot of backlash when it was suggested that it was destoryed or painted over but if no one has a problem with the old one being destroyed then obviously its a non-issue.

 

Same thing at the Steelers training camp, but it's the guys from Queer Eye.

[kshutchins]

I asked the question because there's been a remarkable amount of controversy over something no one seems to have seen. Nobody knows what it looks/looked like but they're outraged that the thing was moved. Strange.

[kshutchins]

I've seen the new HOF in Berea..Its in the Lobby which is a glass front all the up to the third floor..You can see it from every floor as you ascend the front staircase..Its quite stunning and is seen by all who enter the facility

 

I'd love to see a photo if anybody has one.

[SJ_Browns]

Does anyone have a picture of this thing? Is there a reliable report as to what happened to it? I keep hearing about the darned thing but haven't a clue what it looked like.

 

wow, i'm suprised that you haven't heard about this long time ago. the mural was moved from a place where only the team could see it, to the lobby where everyone that comes in can see it.

basically, it was moved so everybody could see it.

 

the media tried to make something out of nothing. they were on a witch hunt and wanted to hang mangini for anything they could find on him that they deemd negative. so they made it seem like mangini was disrespecting the browns history, when he was actually showing respect to the browns history. this story was cleared up months ago.

 

i haven't seen it either, but i hear that it's really nice looking and the browns alumni love it. i've heard quite a few guys like jim brown, reggie rucker, bernie kosar and hanford dixon say it's really nice looking.

[kshutchins]

wow, i'm suprised that you haven't heard about this long time ago. the mural was moved from a place where only the team could see it, to the lobby where everyone that comes in can see it.

basically, it was moved so everybody could see it.

 

the media tried to make something out of nothing. they were on a witch hunt and wanted to hang mangini for anything they could find on him that they deemd negative. so they made it seem like mangini was disrespecting the browns history, when he was actually showing respect to the browns history. this story was cleared up months ago.

 

i haven't seen it either, but i hear that it's really nice looking and the browns alumni love it. i've heard quite a few guys like jim brown, reggie rucker, bernie kosar and hanford dixon say it's really nice looking.

 

I've heard a lot of varying reports about it and I'm sure most of them have been unreliable. I'm interested in seeing a picture of it.

Did you personally talk with Jim Brown, Reggie Rucker, Bernie Kosar and Hanford Dixon, or did you read/hear that somewhere?

[SJ_Browns]

I've heard a lot of varying reports about it and I'm sure most of them have been unreliable. I'm interested in seeing a picture of it.

Did you personally talk with Jim Brown, Reggie Rucker, Bernie Kosar and Hanford Dixon, or did you read/hear that somewhere?

 

i heard them talking about it on the radio, tv and i also read quotes in the paper. this has been a dead issue for months.

[kshutchins]

i heard them talking about it on the radio, tv and i also read quotes in the paper. this has been a dead issue for months.

 

Not everywhere. Since Holmgren was hired, it's reappeared in arguments favoring the new chief's ouster of the coach.

 

[SJ_Browns]

where are you reading these reports at? i live in cleveland, listen to local sports talk radio, watch the sports on the local news programs, watch all of the browns programs on sto, go to cleveland.com daily and you're the first and only person i've heard talking about this subject since last summer.

[SJ_Browns]

and i hope you're not referring to that blog that was quoted in one of your posts, that was from way back in september. that blog was done by a fan who didn't have all of his facts together and also seemed a little hateful toward mangini, which might be the motivation for the blog. he had no credible sources or facts.

 

like i said before, this is a dead issue, but believe what you want man.

[kshutchins]

and i hope you're not referring to that blog that was quoted in one of your posts, that was from way back in september. that blog was done by a fan who didn't have all of his facts together and also seemed a little hateful toward mangini, which might be the motivation for the blog. he had no credible sources or facts.

 

like i said before, this is a dead issue, but believe what you want man.

 

I believe I heard it again from one of the talking heads on tv last weekend. I hadn't even seen the blog you quoted until something else made me curious about it a few days ago. I never really heard an accurate report on what happened and I started to wonder what the thing looked like. That's it. Apparently there's no picture lurking about. I happen to like Mangini so I'm not trying to stir anything up.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I believe I heard it again from one of the talking heads on tv last weekend. I hadn't even seen the blog you quoted until something else made me curious about it a few days ago. I never really heard an accurate report on what happened and I started to wonder what the thing looked like. That's it. Apparently there's no picture lurking about. I happen to like Mangini so I'm not trying to stir anything up.

 

It does seem odd that given all the attention or misinformation about this earlier that there would have been a photo issued by the PR department.

 

It's still not clear to me whether they DID destroy the old one and make a new one, or whether the old one was moved.