What follows is a sponsored post from JC Penney and Van Heusen. Vote at www.fanschoice.com.
Many moons ago now, I encouraged you all to vote for Atlanta Falcons in the Van Heusen Pro Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Fan's Choice sponsored by JCPenney, which didn't have any direct effect on the Hall of Fame voting but was an interesting way to get fans involved and to arms. Looking over the list of 25 finalists, I can't help but be struck by the fact that you all failed miserably.
Just kidding, of course.
Still, it's interesting for me to take a gander at this list and see how closely it matches up with the NFL's own list of 25 finalists. It's especially interesting to note that the two people on the top of the list are both Raiders, in the form of legendary punter Ray Guy and wide receiver Tim Brown, who is somehow situated against noted Falcon nemesis Jerry Rice. Those are the things that jump out immediately, besides the fact that not a single Falcon made this list despite Mike Kenn being one of the most clearly qualified candidates. Oh well.
When the final vote from the NFL side comes in, it'll be interesting to see how it stacks up against the fan vote. So frequently I feel questionable choices are given a pass into what is supposed to be the most sacred and lasting monument to NFL success, but I don't necessarily feel that the fans have gone leaps and bounds above that. Maybe we'd be best off entrusting the voting to robots. Certainly works for college football...
Weigh in on the choices here, if you're so inclined.