It’s time the Hall of Fame Committee stops voting with their emotions and get back to voting by what happened on the field. This year’s class featured a powerful list of WR candidates but only one got it, Marvin Harrison. But this was not Harrison’s first attempt, he was snubbed last year, while deserving, his off the filed issues may have been a good reason he was shunned in 2015. I was never one to get involved with their off the field issues, I was under the impression that it was a NFL based decision and while some may make mistakes in their personal life, it’s still a performance based honor.
Terrell Owens was snubbed and the Committee can try to spin in any way they want to but the truth is, not too many people cared for Owens. He let fame get to his head but when on the field he gave he gave us T.O, one of the best receives in NFL history, that alone should have awarded him a gold jacket, but this is the sports world and politics always plays a part.
Owens is well deserving, he played 15 seasons and compiled some of the best stats in history. What makes his story so special is how it began. For those not in the know, Owens was the reason the San Francisco 49ers were able to let legendary receiver Jerry Rice walk out the door. What Rice was to the 49ers and the league Owens wanted to be, and while Harrison and Torry Holt had great individual seasons in terms of catches, Owens did more with less.
For all the talk about his locker room issues and tantrums people tend to bypass his stats. Owens is 3rd in receiving TDs with 153, 6th in receptions with 1,078 and 2nd in receiving yards with 15,984. On what planet does that not scream 1st ballot? But the catch to those are names like Jeff Garcia, Carson Palmer, Donovan NcNabb and Tony Romo. Maybe one has a slight chance to get in the Hall but Owens has never had the chance to play with a stellar QB while in his prime. Harrison had Peyton Manning, Holt and Isaac Bruce had Kurt Warner and while each of them has a Super Bowl ring, they also had better teams surrounding him.
Owens may not be the best teammate, not the best with money but when it comes time to step on that gridiron he is one of the greatest to ever play the position. The HOFC clearly dropped the ball on this one, just as they did with Harrison last year. It’s not a given they will let him in, in 2017, but name a receiver that’s more deserving.
The decision this year was based on a logjam. I get that, but the logjam was led by players who were chasing Owens stats. You must let the leader in first before the followers.