Bad sports, good sports: keep the public out of the Hall of Fame voting

Posted on November 30th, 2009 by Alan Spoll

Throughout professional and amateur sports, a lot of attention is paid to each sport’s Hall of Fame. Every year, there are ceremonies and announcements to celebrate the newest inductees. In theory, the people being inducted are the best of the best, deserving of their permanent place in the sport’s history. For years, I have felt that the standards that were being applied to this selection process were being lowered, particularly in the major professional sports (football, baseball, and basketball). This week, though, I encountered something that really made me question the point of the whole endeavor: official public voting for the NFL Hall of Fame. Commercials, starring Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, are being run on television, telling us how we can go to a website and vote for the people we think are deserving of enshrinement. Brought to us by Van Heusen and JCPenney, by the way. How revolting.

The public should not vote for the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame should not be about popularity. It should be about accomplishment, exclusively. How could an internet vote be anything but a popularity contest? People will vote for the guy who played in their respective cities. We expect the average football fan to apply some kind of objectivity to his evaluation, before clicking the deserving names? These are the same people that think the only two beers on the planet are Bud Light and Miller Lite, judging by the commercials run during football games (yes, I am a beer snob). Honestly, I consider myself a well-educated football fan, with a lot of respect for the history of the game, but I don’t think I should have any say whatsoever into who is chosen for the Hall.

If you read into the details of the vote on the website, no actual decision will be made based on the results of the vote; the Board of Selectors will still make all final decisions. I guess the vote is supposed to influence them, particularly in the case of a borderline choice. That is the exact problem I have with this, however. The HOF is not for good players. In fact, the HOF is not even for great players. It is for the greatest of the great players; the players who define their eras in some substantial way. Last week, Andy Reid, the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, stated that Donovan McNabb was a Hall of Fame player. It was nice of Reid to stand up for his player, giving him a confidence boost at a difficult time in the season, so I can’t kill him for that, as long as that was the motivation. If he was sincere, however, he is delusional. I am not saying that McNabb couldn’t become a Hall of Fame caliber player by the end of his career, but at this point, there is no way he is deserving of that. His numbers don’t stack up with the majority of quarterbacks in the Hall, and he hasn’t won anything. In fact, he has performed very poorly on the biggest stages, losing the only Super Bowl in which he played, as well as four of the five NFC Championship games to which he led the Eagles, three of which had his team favored to win. Sure, he got to those games, which is saying something. He is a good player. He may be a great player. He is not a Hall of Fame player.

Either the NFL thinks that Mr. Bud Light is a discriminating enough fan to make these difficult decisions, or it simply wants to help a couple of its corporate sponsors make a few bucks. My gut says it’s the latter. I am glad to know the vote is not binding. I would prefer it if the whole thing were not happening. I don’t know whether or not the Board of Selectors is applying the same principles I am discussing here to its decisions. I suspect it is not. Still, let’s keep the average fan away from anything related to whom the Board selects. Clearly, the beer thing is a big enough decision.

Bad sports, continued:

2) Looks like we have an all-football BSGS this week. An assistant football coach from Eastern Illinois University was killed this week in an automobile accident. Jeff Hoover was 31.

3) I am all for rivalries. The more bitter the rivalry, the more fun the game. Of course, something has to happen to make a rivalry bitter. I’d prefer for that to be things that occur in the context of the game, as opposed to silly posing and showmanship. During the annual USC-UCLA game on Saturday, the Trojans threw for a long touchdown with the game well in hand and less than a minute left on the clock. Right before this happened, UCLA called a totally unnecessary timeout, simply to anger USC. All of that stuff is fine, in my book. Not very sportsmanlike, I suppose, but still okay. What’s not okay is all of the ridiculous dancing that the USC players were doing on the sideline after the score. Celebrating is fine. Showing up your opponent is not. Have a little class, guys.

Good sports:

1) I have never been a huge fan of Charles Woodson. I suppose that comes from his college days at Michigan, a team I have never liked. He’s always been a very good player, though. He has now proven himself to be an even better person, donating two million dollars to the University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital to support pediatric research. Well done, Charles.

2) Recent research is telling us more and more about the damage caused by concussions. Of all the sports, football is the one most directly impacted (no pun intended) by this, and the NFL is now working toward taking some very important steps to help players avoid permanent damage.

3) From week one of the 2008 NFL season to week 6 of the 2009 NFL season, Vince Young was an afterthought. The Titans quarterback had a very difficult year, and was written off by most Titans fans. Sunday, he led the Titans to their fifth straight victory after an 0-6 start. The victory was completed by a 99-yard drive in the game’s final two minutes, capped by a touchdown pass to rookie Kenny Britt with no time left on the clock. Very impressive.

Bad Sports, Good Sports appears every Monday

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02