"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."
- George Orwell, 1984
The NFL has done it again folks! Turning something that should be an open-and-shut case into a laughable miscalculation that's a kick in the balls to any average football fan whose watched the game the last 25 years.
To not vote Bill Belichick into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot instantly turns the HoF into a complete and utter mockery. I could list off all his record-breaking stats and honors. But we all know them. We all witnessed it. Both fans of his and haters.
How can anyone take Canton, or the voters who vote for HoFers seriously after this? The whole Hall of Fame thing is already kind of a joke. And has always been a popularity contest to some degree. In all sports, not just football. But this takes it to a level that hasn't been seen before. A nail in the coffin to the whole thing.
Sure the Pats got caught cheating a couple times. But those were questionable scandals to begin with. And let's not pretend the HoF voting committee hasn't turned a blind eye to other nefarious actors over the years. There are criminals, abusers, and deviants decorated all throughout Canton. Who are we kidding folks?
And I don’t even think it’s really a cheating thing at the end of the day. Or at least not totally over the cheating scandals. Because it’s mostly media members who vote. And I bet they are just crying and butt-hurt about Belichick being nasty to them for all those years. So this is how they get back at him. It’s basically like if Greg Popovich doesn’t get in first ballot for NBA because he's outspoken politically. That is an unimaginable thought.
And not to get too deep, but this really is just another example of the overarching decay of institutional integrity within this country. I know it’s just the NFL Hall of Fame. But the NFL is the most influential sports league in America. And this vote is just another moment where a powerful group of people are spitting in the face of the general public. These elite scumbags don’t give a fuck what the public thinks. And don’t even pretend to care anymore. They are emboldened to just do whatever the fuck they feel like, with no worry about public backlash. We all have eyes and ears and witnessed what Bill did for 25 years. Love him or hate him, it is undeniable he is first ballot.
I guess ultimately the voters get their “revenge” on Belichick here in the short term. But in the long term they have completely tarnished the reputation of the HoF and the prestigious nature of what it means to be a HoFer in Canton. Not having Bob Kraft in was already a complete joke. Ommitting BB is disqualifying. And has arguably made the Hall of Fame illigitmate. At least for the foreseeable future. They have some serious damage control to get going on.
A sad day for any serious fans of football. At least New England has the Super Bowl to look forward to. Pats by a million.
-ZB
