Sponsored By Astroglide,The 2011 NFL Hall Of Fame Voting
Or, alternative title, "Gonzo's Fourth-Annual 'Why In The Hell Isn't Cris Carter In The Hall Of Fame Yet' Post."
I went into today with optimism as a fan of the Minnesota Vikings. Why? Because today was Hall of Fame selection day, and the Minnesota Vikings had two very worthy candidates that were up for enshrinement in Canton. Defensive end Chris Doleman was considered to be a bit of a long shot, to be sure, but he had still made the cut down to the final 15 players that were eligible.
The main reason for my optimism, however, was because I thought that today was the day that legendary wide receiver Cris Carter would finally get the call to football immortality. Carter, who still ranks third in NFL history in receptions with 1,101, fourth in receiving touchdowns with 130, and eighth in receiving yards with 13,899 despite not having played an NFL game since 2002, would surely get in this year, wouldn't he? I mean, there was nobody blocking him this year. . .in his first year of eligibility, he got passed over in favor of Art Monk, and last year was Jerry Rice's year, and no other wide receiver was going to share the stage with him. But this year, this would finally be the year that Carter would break through and get the recognition that he deserved in his first year of eligibility.
Yeah. . .not so much, no.
Star-divide
The Hall of Fame selection process had narrowed their list of modern-era players down to 15 going into today's proceedings. From there, today's voting was set to progress in stages. The first stage was to narrow their list from 15 down to 10. Following that, the list would get sliced from 10 to 5. Finally, there would be an "up or down" vote on the remaining five candidates, although with a class as strong as this year's, there would be little doubt that all five of the final individuals selected would get in.
As I watched the NFL Network stream of the selection show, I saw a man. . .whose name escapes me at the moment, stride to the podium and say, "The list of the final ten candidates for enshrinement is as follows. . ."
So, I start paying a bit more attention. . .
Read More:Sponsored By Astroglide,The 2011 NFL Hall Of Fame Voting
