Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists for 2012

Quiet greatness.

Ding ding ding.

 

Let me make my point clearer. I don't necessarily think Jones and Kraft are Hall eligible. I'm just sure DeBartolo isn't. Kraft and Jones, at least, are insiders in the committees on making all the other owners more dough. That's the owners' second-most important job, after hiring people who can win games.
It continues to amuse me that because I was lucky enough to cover one of the NFL dynasties, some people here think I root for it. Geography is not destiny, but to some bitter losers apparently it is.

 

I can understand the love for Tagliabue in this light: His reign mirrored the wild boom days of Wall Street. And that's when the pile of money became the #1 measure of a person's contribution. The NFL made billions of dollars; ergo, Tags as CEO was awesome. Never mind the franchise instability, labor strife, taxpayer extortion and the lasting health effects on the players. Money!

 

Still don't see how this is a legit comparison. These guys all were owners during the time of the AFL/NFL merger and/or played big roles in the rise of the league. Kraft, Jones and DeBartolo did not come up in that era, so it's unfair to compare them. I'd argue that the latter three also played a role in making the NFL the behemoth that it is today, for better or worse. The 49ers dynasty, the Cowboys of the 1990s and the Patriots of recent years were all big players in making the league as popular as it is. Maybe you don't think the owners had much to do with that, but I would disagree. I grew up in the Tampa area during the Culverhouse era, so I know that good ownership makes a difference.

 

So you just think the best owners of every era should be let in even if they didn't do anything except own? The earlier guys are there because of their contributions to the league as a whole. Can't see what DeBartolo did on that front, except everyone brushed up on ownership rules involving felons.

 

Not what I said at all. Read it again.

 

Interesting clarification; a far cry from the whole "100 times!!!" qualifications post of earlier.

"Bitter losers"?

I sense danger, Will Robinson.

 

I stand by that statement. I resent to the max that praise I give for Boston teams or personalities is somehow tainted because I live here. I think it's just a malicious substitute for a real argument, that is, a loser's argument.

 

We are all bigger than we were, even a half-century ago. The average Civil War soldier was about 5-foot-8.

It doesn't mean you don't adjust to the physical explosion of the game. Chris Chandler's concussions were no mystery at the time.

 

Be critical of a Boston-based team and folks might think otherwise.

You have been deep-dishing them on these forums, for years.

 

But Bettis has an awesome nickname and he won a Super Bowl in his home town!

 

If not for DeBartolo, there'd be no salary caps ...