Cleveland Browns

After the New England Patriots victory over the Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl, Patriots' defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel signed on as the 11th head coach for the Browns and first African American coach in the team's history. Even if Pacino could voice the game, his voice would probably have changed too much. Savage was previously an administrative member for the Baltimore Ravens and the Browns before 1995. Al Pacino refused to reprise the role of Michael Corleone because rival publisher VU Games is still trying to hire Pacino to voice Tony Montana in its upcoming Scarface game. On January 6, 2005, it was announced that Phil Savage signed on as general manager. The Godfather: The Game features the voices of Marlon Brando, James Caan, and Robert Duvall. As Super Bowl XXXIX approached, there was much speculation over who would become the new head coach. However, this image bears little resemblance to the more sordid reality of a Mafia "family", which is depicted in the film Goodfellas.

Offensive Coordinator Terry Robiskie was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season. For example, in John Grisham's novel The Firm, the Mafia is depicted as having an organisation wherein the top mobsters marry into the "royal family". Despite a 2002 AFC Wild Card qualification, the team saw a dismal record during the next two seasons leading to Butch Davis' resignation in December 2004. The image of the Mafia as being a medieval-style organisation with a "royal family" doing favours for underlings is very popular. Palmer was suceeded by former University of Miami coach Butch Davis. Reports from Mafia trials and confessions have suggested that Mafia families began a "real life" tradition of paying respect to the family don by kissing his ring, in imitation of the opening scene of The Godfather. To date though, the franchise has not lived up to its lofty early expectations, with Palmer being dismissed after the 2000 season and Policy leaving the team in 2003. The scene where Don Vito in a deep voice says "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" is often parodied.

The team returned with high hopes and expectations, featuring solid ownership, solid general management in the form of former San Francisco 49ers president Carmen Policy, and head coach Chris Palmer. The movies have powerfully influenced the image of the Mafia among the public. In death he would turn over the team to his son, Randy. Francis Ford Coppola said in April 2005 that he was not informed of Paramount's decision to allow the game to be made and he did not approve of it. Lerner would usher in the team's rebirth in 1999, but would die in October 2002 - four years to the day he was awarded the new Browns franchise. Prior to his death, Marlon Brando provided the voice for Vito. In early 1998 the National Football League began its search for an owner for the reborn Browns, finding one later in the year in Al Lerner, a former limited partner of the original Browns and a friend of Art Modell. The video game company Electronic Arts is currently working on a video game version of The 'Godfather.

Modell would in turn be granted a new franchise for Baltimore, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Browns' history, records, awards and archives would remain in Cleveland, to be given to the new franchise when awarded. It has been almost universally maligned. In early 1996, the National Football League announced that the team would be 'deactivated' for three years, and that a new stadium would be built for a new Cleveland Browns team that would begin play in 1999. In 2004, Random House published a new sequel to the Godfather saga, The Godfather Returns (http://www.markwinegardner.com/godfather) by Mark Winegardner (http://www.markwinegardner.com). Virtually all of the team's sponsors immediately pulled their support, leaving Cleveland Stadium devoid of advertising during the team's final weeks. Modell was forced to resign from the membership (and in many cases, leadership positions) of local civic and charitable organizations, and would literally be forced to leave the city - never to return. However, after the death of Mario Puzo in 1999, a new sequel appears very unlikely. The announcement was met with unprecedented resistance from Browns fans, with over 100 lawsuits filed by fans, the city of Cleveland, and a host of others. In the late 1990s, rumors circulated regarding another installment of the series, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Andy Garcia apparently expressing interest.

After seeing new stadiums built for other major teams, after years of complaining that a new stadium would be necessary to sustain the viability of the franchise, and despite years of sellouts and profitability, in November 1995, Modell announced he would relocate the Browns to Baltimore, Maryland for 1996. Parts of the film were loosely based on real historical events, including the death of Pope Paul VI, the election of John Paul I, and his subsequent death. Cleveland City Council offered Modell an indoor stadium that would seat 68,000. Modell was upset that the new stadium would be too small, so he decided to put his own money into renovation of the old Cleveland Stadium. The movie was set in 1979, and focused on an aging Michael Corleone. Team owner Art Modell complained that he wanted a new stadium in the late 1980s. The film is notable for the key role played, though ineffectually, by Coppola's daughter, the future Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sofia Coppola, who was forced to play Mary Corleone on short notice after Winona Ryder became ill. The AFC Championship games against the Broncos produced some famous moments, including The Drive(1987) and The Fumble(1988). However, the movie still received seven Academy Award nominations, among them "Best Motion Picture" and "Best Cinematography".

In 1986, 1987 and 1989 the Browns would come one step short of a Super Bowl appearance, in each case falling to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. This film was successful financially, but critical and fan response was mixed. The 1980 team, known affectionately as the Kardiac Kids lost a heartbreaking AFC Semifinal to the Oakland Raiders. In 1990, Coppola released a belated third film, The Godfather Part III. Though the team won division championships in 1971, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1989, the team would fail to maintain their past success in winning league championships. Both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. While the realignment would greatly benefit the Steelers, the placement of the Browns into the AFC's Central Division would not be as good. While easier to understand, this version is not as interesting from a critical and artistic standpoint as the originals.

The 1970 AFL-NFL merger would see the Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Colts (the original, AAFC Colts were disbanded in 1950, with a new franchise being awarded for 1953) in the new American Football Conference aligned with the 10 teams of the American Football League. Coppola re-edited the two movies together, in chronological order (adding some previously unseen footage but also toning down the violence), into one long saga for TV broadcast, entitled The Godfather Saga (aka "The Godfather: The Complete Novel For Television" and "The Godfather: 1901-1959--The Complete Epic"). Despite the change in leagues and what many football fans saw as a graduation to "the big league," the Browns simply resumed their dominant position among pro football teams, appearing in the next six NFL championship games, and capturing three championships during the 1950s. Many critics consider the sequel to be equal to (if not superior to) the original film in quality. After the 1949 season the AAFC merged with the rival National Football League, with the Browns joining the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts as members of the older circuit. This version of Vito is played by different actors at different ages, but the adult Vito is played by Robert DeNiro, who won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for a role in which, interestingly, he speaks almost no English-language dialogue. In either event, the Browns were extremely successful in the early part of their existence, dominating the new All-America Football Conference, winning all four of its championships including with a landmark 1948 season in which they went unbeaten and untied - 24 years before the 'first' perfect team, the 1972 Miami Dolphins. One storyline is the continuing story involving Michael Corleone in the 1950s; the other is a flashback sequence following his father, Vito, from his youth in Sicily up through the founding of the Corleone crime family in New York and the births of Michael and his siblings.

Brown was uncomfortable with the idea of having the team named after him, stating publicly that the team was named after boxing champion Joe Louis who was known as the "Brown Bomber ". It consists of two parallel storylines, and the film switches back and forth between them. The team was to be named the Cleveland Panthers, but a semi-pro team was using that name and threatened to sue if the AAFC club used it as well. McBride then named the team after its first head coach, Paul Brown. A sequel, The Godfather Part II, was released in 1974. The Cleveland Browns were founded in 1946 under owner Arthur McBride. Additionally, The Godfather won five Golden Globes, one Grammy, and numerous other awards. See the Franchise History entry below for full details of the move. As its sequel The Godfather Part II also won the Academy Award for Best Picture, the Godfather trilogy remains the only series ever to win multiple "Best Picture" Oscars.

Some, however, consider the 1996 Baltimore Ravens and the relocated 1995 Browns as one continuous entity, often using the term The Modell Franchise to denote it (after its long-time owner, Art Modell). It was nominated for eight additional Academy Awards. For that reason, official records and Pro Football Hall of Fame players are attributed to the Browns and not to the Ravens. The Godfather won three Academy Awards:. In an agreement between the city of Cleveland and the National Football League, the name, colors and history of the Browns were to remain in Cleveland, while the relocated club would technically be a new league franchise, the Baltimore Ravens. It is currently ranked #1 on IMDB's Top 250. In some accounts there may be confusion regarding the team's history due to unusual and unprecedented actions taken following the relocation of the original team to Baltimore, Maryland following the 1995 season. It was voted greatest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly, and #3 of all time by the American Film Institute.

The Cleveland Browns are a National Football League team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The film is greatly respected among critics and the public. Eric Turner. Vito Corleone was portrayed by Brando as a Mafia Don whom people could actually respect (although the actions of Don Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II worked to tear down this image). Vinny Testaverde. Since its release on March 15, 1972, The Godfather has been accused of glorifying the image of the Mafia. Webster Slaughter. Al Pacino and Robert Duvall, in particular, went on to enjoy long, successful, highly acclaimed careers.

Brian Sipe. Many of the actors playing the supporting roles were largely unknown or minor actors; however, they rocketed into the limelight with the success of The Godfather. Andre Rison. The role of Don Vito Corleone was memorably acted by Marlon Brando, and Brando won an Academy Award (which he did not accept) for his portrayal of the aging Don. Michael Dean Perry.
Puzo helped in the making of the movie and its sequels and co-wrote screenplay. The movie was an enormous box-office hit, smashing previous records to become the highest-grossing film of all time (until that record was surpassed by Jaws in 1975, and a number of other movies afterwards). Frank Minnifield. Pacino was only granted the role after Coppola threatened to quit the production.

Eric Metcalf. Pacino was not well known at the time, and was not considered right for the part. Clay Matthews. The producers originally wanted Robert Redford to play Michael Corleone, but Coppola wanted Al Pacino. Kevin Mack. The film spans ten years from late 1945 to 1955 (after Don Vito Corleone's death in 1954). Bernie Kosar. Interestingly, this obliged the crew to use regular lights, instead of the production/set lights, lending a realistic look to the film.

Kelly Holcomb. The producers of the movie did not believe that The Godfather would be very successful; hence, there was an extremely low budget for the film. Leroy Hoard. Shooting began on March 29, 1971 and was completed on August 6, 1971. Robert Griffith. Coppola had directed several films prior to this, but none of them had had a significant impact on the public. Bob Golic. The motion picture adaptation of The Godfather (1972) was directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Hanford Dixon. However, in the book, this fact is made explicit, with the 12-year-old Vito adopting the Corleone name by choice, instead of having it given to him in error. Tim Couch. This was a common occurrence which still occurs even today. Ernest Byner. It should be noted that in the movie sequel, The Godfather II, it was revealed that the Godfather's real name was Vito Andolini and he was given the surname Corleone as a result of a mistake during his registration at Ellis Island. 76 Lou Groza. Similarly, the surname of Don Vito's mother is Corigliano, coming from the town of Corigliano Calabro, Calabria, which is well known for ndrangheta activity.

46 Don Fleming. (See godparent for the origins of the term.) In the novel, this character was Don Vito Corleone, whose surname recalls the town of Corleone, Sicily. 45 Ernie Davis. "The Godfather" (in Italian, Il Padrino) is a term used to identify the boss of a Mafia clan, the eldest or the most representative member of a family. 32 Jim Brown. The film spawned two sequels. 14 Otto Graham. The novel was adapted into a film of the same name directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Al Pacino as Michael Corleone.

Gary Baxter. The Godfather is a novel written by Mario Puzo about a fictitious Italian Mafia family. Kellen Winslow Jr. ISBN 0451205766. Lee Suggs. The Godfather. New York: Penguin. Dennis Northcutt. Mario Puzo (paperback, 2002).

William Green. ISBN 0451208447. Braylon Edwards. The Godfather. New York: Penguin. Trent Dilfer. Mario Puzo (hardcover, 2002). André Davis. ISBN 0451167716.

Andra Davis. The Godfather. New York: Penguin. Antonio Bryant. Mario Puzo (mass market paperback, 1978). Joe Andruzzi. ISBN 0399103422. Bill Willis. The Godfather. New York: Putnam.

Paul Warfield. Mario Puzo (hardcover, 1969). Ozzie Newsome. Best Writing (adapted screenplay) (Francis Coppola, Mario Puzo). Marion Motley. Best Actor in a Leading Role (Marlon Brando refused the award). Bobby Mitchell. Best Picture.

Mike McCormack. Dante Lavelli. Leroy Kelly. Lou Groza.

Otto Graham. Frank Gatski. Len Ford. Joe DeLamielleure.

Paul Brown. Jim Brown.