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2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Della9250, Aug 2, 2019.

  1. MileHigh

    MileHigh Moderator Staff Member

    Pregame, halftime. Whatever. That was totally predictable.
     
  2. CD Boogie

    CD Boogie Well-Known Member

    Johnson deserved it and not sure why there’s a problem with how it was done.
     
    JC likes this.
  3. DanielSimpsonDay

    DanielSimpsonDay Well-Known Member

    I think if he had been first, there wouldn't have been much bellyaching, if any. The way he built that team, the titles, the influence of the draft pick value chart - a terrific mix of personal success and league contribution.

    Cowher going in called into question the intent of the centennial class. Him being first probably added cynicism - albeit unwarranted - to Johnson's induction.
     
  4. JC

    JC Well-Known Member

    And it was great. Real emotions. Why would anyone complain about that?
     
  5. Della9250

    Della9250 Well-Known Member

    From Peter King's column:

    FMIA Divisional: Aaron Rodgers Isn’t Finished, And Neither Is Green Bay

    • My hopes: That the committee of 25 would be attentive to the first 40 years of the NFL. The Cowher pick might be a sign that the committee wasn’t as keen on the early history of the game as the original intent of the committee was supposed to be—or at least what I thought the intent was.

    • My fear: The key to this Centennial Class should be the old timers. We stress out about the people in our lifetime who we think have been bypassed in the process. The selection of two modern coaches closes out any chance for strong candidates like Buddy Parker, a running back for Detroit who won one championship as a player in the thirties and two more as Lions coach in the fifties—beating Paul Brown in both in the process. As I wrote when this process was announced, this should not be the cleanup class for hotly debated candidates of the last 30 years.

    But that’s just my opinion. If others feel differently, so be it. One other note on the coaches: Though I wasn’t in the room and don’t know the substance of the discussion, Johnson is a unique person in recent NFL history. He coached only nine years in Dallas and Miami, winning 89 games—including two Super Bowls. But the Johnson résumé has to include his team-building skills. The Cowboys that he took over were a moribund group; Tom Landry stayed too long, and the three-decade administration left a bare cupboard for Johnson. He was the major architect for a three-time Super Bowl winner, plus he built a different kind of team, bringing speed on all three levels of the defense. After he retired, a stream of coaches, club officials and even owners made pilgrimages (still do) to the Florida Keys to pick Johnson’s brain. It’s an annual event for Bill Belichick, who doesn’t have a lot of people he can use as mentors. Johnson’s one.

    There might be one other unintended consequence of the coaching picks. Including playoffs, for instance, Cowher won 161 games, with one Super Bowl title and two conference titles. Including playoffs, the Steeler coach won 161 games, with one Super Bowl title and two conference titles. I would expect the momentum now to build for Mike Shanahan (178 wins, two Super Bowls, two conference titles), Tom Coughlin (182 wins, two Super Bowls, both over Bill Belichick, two conference titles) and Mike Holmgren (174 wins, one Super Bowl, three conference titles). The irony of the Centennial Class is that it could end up creating more of a logjam than it fixes.
     
  6. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Agreed. I was ready to roll my eyes when it started, too, but then I saw Johnson's reaction. He was literally gasping for breath when he tried to speak.

    I kept thinking of his famous comment to a player who was struggling through sprints and claimed he had asthma. "Asthma my ass. The asthma field is over there," Johnson responded as he pointed to the parking lot.

    (I had to look up the exact quote)
    Practice bubble flattened, Jimmy's 'asthma field' comment ... Valley Ranch chock full of Cowboys history

    I would have fallen off my couch laughing if somebody had told Johnson the asthma studio was over there and pointed off set.
     
  7. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    Are they going to spread the induction ceremony over two days? Because with the number of people going in, some folks might get heat strokes sitting outside for all the speeches.
     
  8. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    The emotion was fine, but the HOF is morphing into an entertainment vehicle and I think that cheapens it. Could extrapolate that from what Peter King was saying, too. Why put in all those dead old guys if there's no video of them and we can't surprise them with their induction?
     
    Liut likes this.
  9. Della9250

    Della9250 Well-Known Member

    The Centennial Player selections are going to be done as part of a Centennial Weekend in September. The coaches and contributors will be part of the regular induction
     
    Inky_Wretch likes this.
  10. CD Boogie

    CD Boogie Well-Known Member

    They've been an entertainment vehicle ever since they put a minimum requirement on the number of yearly inductees.
     
  11. HappyCurmudgeon

    HappyCurmudgeon Well-Known Member

    I was hoping Ken Riley would've gotten his acknowledgement through this Centennial class thing. Happy for Johnson, not sure if Cowher should be in. Him getting in felt more like a promotion for the Centennial class than something he deserved.

    My question is are all these guys going to have speeches too? Along with the seven traditional entrants. That's going to make for a long ass ceremony.
     
  12. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

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