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Ravens Nation Says Goodbye To David Modell

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Kind words and loving memories.

David Modell, who helped bring football back to Baltimore, and was with the team when it won its first Super Bowl, was remembered today by family, friends and the Ravens.

Modell passed away from lung cancer on Friday. He was 55. He leaves behind a wife, six children and hundreds of thousands of grateful fans.

"Life is hard enough, to lose someone so young, " said Ravens legend Ray Lewis. "To see his daughters, to see his kids. Man."

But mixed with the sorrow were the memories of a man who enjoyed life.

"During the football season it was not unusual to find other team's media guides spewed on the kitchen counter, with cut outs of the coach's heads, frozen in Dixie cups in the freezer," his son, Arthur Modell, said at the ceremony.

"Just his joy for living, his sense of humor, his energy, his enthusiasm," head coach John Harbaugh said. "Those are the things you always remember."

Baltimore's first memories of Art and DAvid modell was the move from Cleveland in 1996.

As team president, David involved fans in selecting the Ravens name and team colors.

He also negotiated player contracts.

"He meant so much to the foundation of the Ravens and who we are and what we are, and the connection with the community," said team senior vice president Kevin Byrne.

And there are no doubt the team and its fans meant just as much to David as he did to them.

"Sunday afternoon here at M&T Bank Stadium is a special, special place," he once said. "And to have shared that with this group of people here, 70,000 of my closest friends on Sunday, is one of the greatest treats any human being can ever have."

Following the service, the Modell family and the Ravens entertained members of the public who cam to pay their respects at the stadium.

In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations to a cause that has obviously become very personal for them -- cancer research.

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