NFL Teams and "Missing" Player Recognition

[rebelx]

I was hoping that passionate fans of several NFL teams could shed some light for me on why the organizations they root for are missing halls/rings of honor, honor rolls, or other similar forms of recognition that are not in the form of jersey retirement (which most NFL teams, given the sheer size of teams, don't do on a consistent basis anyhow). As far as I can see, the teams missing such forms of recognition are:

Bears (with their history, would seem to deserve their own hall of fame a la their rivals in Green Bay)

Giants (similar situation as Chicago)

Bengals

Raiders

I'm not counting the Steelers, who have named a couple of all-time teams that act as surrogates for such honors, or the 49ers, with their 10-Year Club. The Texans, of course, are irrelevant, being that the team is so young.

Out of the teams I've named, the Raiders are the only ones who have also not retired a single number. Odd that Al Davis, who's supposedly a "player-oriented" owner, is so unwilling to recognize past team greats. Then again, it IS Al Davis.

So, any theories as to why these teams haven't gotten with the program yet? I've been wondering about this for a while. Are you fans bothered by this at all, or is it an afterthought?

[dfwabel]

I was hoping that passionate fans of several NFL teams could shed some light for me on why the organizations they root for are missing halls/rings of honor, honor rolls, or other similar forms of recognition that are not in the form of jersey retirement (which most NFL teams, given the sheer size of teams, don't do on a consistent basis anyhow). As far as I can see, the teams missing such forms of recognition are:

Bears (with their history, would seem to deserve their own hall of fame a la their rivals in Green Bay)

Giants (similar situation as Chicago)

Bengals

Raiders

I'm not counting the Steelers, who have named a couple of all-time teams that act as surrogates for such honors, or the 49ers, with their 10-Year Club. The Texans, of course, are irrelevant, being that the team is so young.

Out of the teams I've named, the Raiders are the only ones who have also not retired a single number. Odd that Al Davis, who's supposedly a "player-oriented" owner, is so unwilling to recognize past team greats. Then again, it IS Al Davis.

So, any theories as to why these teams haven't gotten with the program yet? I've been wondering about this for a while. Are you fans bothered by this at all, or is it an afterthought?

Because it is much much more important to you than it is to them.

As for the Bears, at one time, they had to rebuild their season ticket waiting list because the list was lost in a fire. Plus, Forbes wrote about the Bears and the missed opportunities in branding.

[The_Admiral]

Michael McCaskey and Phillips insist that the Bears have done all they can on the revenue side. They point to the 100,000 fans who attend training camp in Bourbannais, Ill. every year and the Bear Expo, where fans interact with coach Lovie Smith

This right here proves the McCaskeys are lying: no human being has interacted with Lovie Smith.

[infrared41]

So, any theories as to why these teams haven't gotten with the program yet?

Because a Houston Texans ring of honor seems silly? Seriously though...

Keep in mind that there are quite a few teams who have been in the NFL less than 50 years. The entire AFC minus Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis. (Technically former AFL teams are only going into their 40th season as NFL teams. The merger was official in 1970.) Add in the number of teams that are very "young" like Carolina, Jacksonville, Houston, Baltimore (yeah I know but technically they're a "new" franchise) and teams like Tampa Bay and Seattle who've only been around since the 70's and you get the idea. There's also the fact that the NFL more or less "reset" their history to start at Super Bowl I. Then there's the fact that a number of teams haven't been in their current locations all that long (Indianapolis, Tennessee, Arizona, , St. Louis, Baltimore - again.) When you take a look at all the factors, NFL "history" suddenly isn't all that it seems. How silly would it be for Indianapolis to have Johnny Unitas in their ring of honor? Or Jim Hart, Larry Wilson, or Dan Dierdorf in Arizona?

Just a thought. (Don't worry. I'm sure Admiral will come along and tell me how wrong I am.)

[The_Admiral]

Why would I do that? You're more or less right; there's not a lot of history to honestly celebrate in the 32-team NFL.

History doesn't mean anything in football. Relative to the way baseball's history is something to be cherished and defended, it feels like the NFL's history is only something to be topped and shattered for short-term glorification. Watch any game on any Sunday: NFL history, however trivial, is seemingly made on a weekly basis. You can reduce it to absurdity: "the Redskins beat the 49ers 41-38, and this is the most points the Redskins have scored in a 4:15 start at home during a Democratic administration in history! And you witnessed it, folks! On FOX!"

Compare the dynamicism of the NFL to baseball's staticism. Steroids, rule changes, training regimens, steroids, the game's natural evolution, steroids, and steroids have rocketed the game so far past its origins that Butkus and Urlacher might as well be playing different sports, there's such little sense in comparing the two. Meanwhile in baseball, you can try steroids and short fences, but certain things in baseball just sorta "top out," you know? I mean, if baseball players evolved at the pace that football players have evolved, Albert Pujols would make bids for 250-homer seasons, Steven Strasburg would throw 180-mph heaters against 120 changes, and Carl Crawford would have the speed to steal every single base he took.

There's a wealth of age-old records that will stand for all time no matter how diluted expansion makes the talent pool, or what gets injected into asses, or whatever sort of retarded ground rules the Astros invent. Football doesn't really have this. Nobody treasures the number of touchdowns that Dan Marino threw because it doesn't mean anything to anybody. NFL records are just meant to be fun facts on the lower third of your screen to let you know that you're watching an Important And Meaningful Game, provided you don't miss it after the record-breaking touchdown prompts you to jump up and down because that quarterback is on your fantasy team.

[infrared41]

I was just kidding Admiral.

[chuckymack]

The Bengals have retired Bob Johnson's #54, but that's it. I'd kinda like to see Munoz's #78 and Esiason's #7 retired, but I doubt that'll ever happen, as Johnson's number was retired under the guidance of Paul Brown.

I think Palmer and Ochocinco could be potential candidates, but I wouldn't put them on that short list until they get beyond the first round.

[leopard88]

How silly would it be for Indianapolis to have Johnny Unitas in their ring of honor?

Well, the Hall of Fame has him included among the Indianapolis Colts in grouping Hall of Famers by franchise. Just sayin'.

Meanwhile, the Ravens have Johnny and 7 other Baltimore Colts Hall of Famers in their Ring of Honor.