Full disclosure: I’m not much for the discourse around team Hall of Fames, though I would agree that the Celtics and Bruins have sent a few too many numbers to the rafters. I also raged a few times about Bill Parcells not getting a red jacket from the Patriots, but my day wasn’t ruined when he didn’t get in for all those years (finally entered last summer).
However, when I was asked to participate in the nomination process alongside 21 other members (mostly media), I happily said yes. I’ve covered the team for 25+ years and followed them as a kid growing up in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. If there’s going to be a committee, I see myself as a value add, even if I’m not going to lose sleep over how the voting eventually plays out (the fans carry the biggest stick in this process).
Thus, about a month ago, I sat in that room with the likes of Dante Scarnecchia, Andre Tippett, and a bunch of media schlubs as different folks nominated a player. There were the obvious: Adam Vinatieri, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, and Logan Mankins. There was a strong pitch made for Julius Adams (which I backed) and an impassioned speech for Mosi Tatupu. It’s conceivable I’m forgetting someone else because I can’t find my notes from that day (nice job, Mike). I spoke up three times. Once for Welker, once for Mankins, and, as I mentioned, Adams. At the end of the discussion, we all received ballots with lines for 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-place. 5 points for 1st. 3 for 2nd. 1 for 3rd.
As I thought about how I wanted to fill out my ballot, knowing that once it was tallied, the fans would have the final say…I knew Gronkowski would win. Not like that made me Oz the Mentalist (that schtick is overplayed), but call it a combo of recency bias, his huge personality, and, obviously, the fact that he’s one of, if not the greatest, tight ends to play the game. Gronk will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and while I’m compelled to think he should go in as a first-ballot guy, I did talk to a current voter a few years ago who strenuously objected to that sentiment. So between that and the Belichick thing this past year, nothing would surprise me. But I digress…
Filling out the ballot was more challenging than I thought. I decided to give Vinatieri my first-place vote. He’s already in Canton. How can he not be in Foxborough? Plus, the entire two-decade run started, in part, because of some of the biggest kicks in football history. What happens if he misses in the Snow Game? That first title doesn’t happen (and another clutch kick to win it all vs. the Rams). What if he misses in Super Bowl XXXVIII (win over the Panthers)? The Pats defense was in shambles. Like, get the guy in already. He freakin’ tackled Herschel Walker for goodness sake. Vinatieri is not a better player than Gronkowski, and you know how I feel about most kickers. But he is deserving, obviously.
What to do then for second-place? Mankins is one of the six or seven best players in the modern era. He’s a 6-time All-Pro (first or second team). That’s the best of the best. Mankins led, he never backed down from a challenge - including beating the Pats in a game of contract chicken - and posted damn near every week, including playing a full season with a torn ACL. Oh, the humanity. 3 points for Mankins? Done and done.
That left me with the final spot. And let me tell you, internally, I hated myself a little when I put Gronkowski’s name down over