In a move I find strangely fascinating, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has decided not to wave it's 5 year waiting period for sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer Reggie White.
Why do I find this so fascinating? Well, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is not the most difficult of Hall of Fames to gain entry into. The standard for enshrinement is much lower than it is for say, baseball players at Cooperstown. In fact, baseball may have the most difficult Hall of Fame to become enshrined in. I'll make a rough comparison. I'd say James Lofton is the Dale Murphy of football. They both had some great, dominate years, followed by mere good years. Lofton is in Canton, Murphy has to buy a ticket to get into Cooperstown. Now when a definite first ballot Hall of Famer, Roberto Clemente, died in a plane wreck, the Baseball Hall of Fame did the right thing and waived the waiting period. The almost pedestrian Pro Football Hall of Fame cannot do the same for White? We are not talking about a guy who may or may not make it, and for whom sympathy could push him in if the waiting period were lifted. We are talking about a guy for whom enshrinement is a matter of when, not if.
If I could be permitted to expand this out into a bigger issue (since this is my site, I can), I'd like to compare the Pro Football Hall of Fame's approach to the trend in society for everything to be equal for everyone, and that everyone feel good about everything. Adhering to a policy of everything being fair and equal, and everyone feeling good, has two side effects. Bad decisions are made in the name of fairness, and the bar to excellence is lowered. The Baseball Hall of Fame, on the other hand, has some very high bars a player has to vault to be included. The Baseball Hall of Fame is not about everyone feeling good. If it were, players like Dale Murphy, Fred Lynn, and Jim Rice would be enshrined. Instead, the Baseball Hall of Fame is a celebration of excellence. It recognized the excellence of a Clemente, and used common sense to waive it's waiting period. I'm sure the Pro Football Hall of Fame recognizes Reggie White's excellence, but common sense is apparently second to giving out equal treatment.
K. I've made my mountain out of a mole hill today. In a decision I do respect, Packer President Bob Harlan basically told those opposed to the lowering of the flag at Lambeau to half staff to bugger off. Hooray for Harlan for exhibiting good common sense.
UPDATE
The Packers have decided to no longer lower their flag to half staff for the deaths of former players.
1 comment:
Dale Murphy was my hero as a kid. I had his swing down to a T. It's funny to compare him to today's juiced power hitters as the 36 or so homers he managed in his back to back MVP years are almost laughable.
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