Mixed Emotions on the NFL Hall of Fame

It's a good day to be a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, and even a greater day for Randall McDaniel. If ever there was a guy that deserved to be in the Hall of Fame, it was #64.

He was the first round draft pick of the Vikings in 1988, made the all-rookie team, and then the Pro Bowl...every year, except his final season. He was an incredibly durable player, missing only two games in his NFL career. As a guard. Over 14 seasons. He physically dominated just about everyone that he played against, and was the anchor for the 1998 offensive line that protected Randall Cunningham, went 15-1, and set an NFL recors for points in a season. Over the course of his career, teams he played for averaged over 1,800 yards a season on the ground and 14 touchdowns. He blocked for 1,000 yard backs 6 times in his career, and helped Robert Smith to become the Vikings all time leading rusher in the process. I couldn't be happier for him, for the Vikings organization, and Viking Nation. But I do have a few questions I would like to ask:

1) What the hell took so long for Randall McDaniel? He should have been a first ballot guy.

2) Why are Jim Marshall and Mick Tingelhoff still on the outside looking in? It's the the NFL Hall of Fame equivalent of the first OJ trial, it's such a miscarraige of justice. it's a sham. It's a travesty. It's a mockery. it's a...travishamockery.

3) How the hell can Bob Hayes make the Hall of Fame before Cris Carter? I mean, he was such a memorable player I had to look up how to spell the guys name. Did I have to add an 'e' in Hayes, or not?

I mean, Jesus doing jumprope, who the hell has Cris Carter pissed off? He scored twice as many yards, scored twice as many TD's, was a Pro Bowler twice as often, and the list goes on. I understand that Bob Hayes was a veteran's committee selection, so if you want to focus on other veteran's that should have been selected over Hayes (ahem, Tingelhoff and Marshall) I'm still your Huckleberry.

But okay, let's look at the contemporary guys that got selected over Carter. Bruce Smith, the second best defensive end behind Reggie White, never won a Super Bowl, got in on his first ballot. Okay, fair enough. He should have been. But Carter, the second best WR ever behind Jerry Rice, didn't get in on the first ballot? Why? Rod Woodson. Rod freaking Woodson deserved it over Cris Carter? Are you kidding me? Look, Woodson is a Hall of Famer, I'm not saying he isn't, but can you honestly say he was the second best defensive back in the history of the NFL? He's a top 5, definitely a top 10, but I'm sorry, he wasn't as good at his job as Cris Carter was at his--Carter played longer and is the best revceiver, ever, in the history of the NFL who isn't named Jerry Rice. Woodson got in on the first ballot. And that's bullshit.

Finally, Derrick Thomas. Great player, died tragically, had numbers that put him in the Hall of Fame discussion, but again, was he as much of a standout over his career, at his position, than Cris Carter? Borderline maybe.

My point of this rant isn't that those other guys don't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, it's that Cris Carter shouldn't be denied entry because of some bullshit belief that there's not enough defensive guys in, they already selected a WR so you can't have another, or there's already one Viking picked and you can't have two in the same class. Why? Show me where it's written that only one WR, one Viking, or so many defensive players have to go in over offensive players.

You're either a Hall of Famer or you're not. Cris Carter clearly is.

Give him that gay ass yellow jacket.