Canton Gets an Octet of Busts

Published on 3-Feb-2015 by bpfiester

Football - NFL    NFL Daily Review

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Canton Gets an Octet of Busts

Here we are, born to be kings

we're the princes of the universe,

I am immortal, I have no rival

Queen, Princes of the Universe

In a celebratory night before Super Bowl XLIX, the NFL put all their stars on display.

Amazingly, that included Roger Goodell.

This was the NFL’s version of the Academy Awards but without the red carpet, paparazzi, and critiques of horrid outfits. What would you expect from a vanilla league? In that respect, JJ Watt’s plaid suit was about the only digs I thought were a touch over the top.

Although Aaron Rodgers received the 2014 NFL MVP award, which served as the grand finale, the announcement of the 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was the main attraction. And it did not disappoint.

One of the largest HOF classes ever saw the late Junior Seau get inducted as the only first-year eligible player.

Former Rams Kurt Warner, and Orlando Pace were the biggest snubs out of the first timers.

Several wrongs were made right, as LB Charles Haley was finally elected to the HOF in his 11th year of eligibility. The man has five Super Bowl rings, for crying out loud!

Here's a clip from 2012 that offers a hint as to why this honor was so long in coming. Politics over performance; it's obviously taken a couple of years to win over enough votes:

Raiders WR Tim Brown was elected in his sixth try, Jerome Bettis his fifth try, and Chiefs G Will Shields in his second year.

Bettis was the first to be called out for a newly fitted gold jacket, and his infectious smile adorned the crowd. Talk about a kid playing a man’s game!

Former Vikings C Mick Tingelhoff was elected as a Veteran’s Committee selection, if you will, and executive Ron Wolf and Bill Polian were also anointed to bring the grand total to eight.

http://share.gifyoutube.com/m6qQAZ.gifHonestly, all 15 finalists had great credentials. Even the kickers. I mean, Morten Andersen should probably get in at some point. After all, Denmark is woefully unrepresented in the Hall, where back in the day, their sportscasts were a bit light on graphics.

It seems as though Marvin Harrison’s off-field issues are keeping him out for now. Will Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis suffer the same treatment? There's no reason that either of these men should be left out of Canton.

Neither should Kurt Warner. He gets his second shot next year, although he’s going to have to compete with Brett Favre. who’s up for his first crack at Canton.

Expect mega-coverage from the four-letter network leading up to Favre’s election, including whether or not he's coming back for one more season with the Vikings or if he’s going to retire.

Did he ever officially retire? Rickey Henderson never did.

Click on a photo to enlarge.