From time to time, ESPN.com will publish an old-fashioned, continued-from-page-5 #longread. Usually, there’s a lot of good stuff tucked carefully between the phrases and clauses and descriptions and, frankly at times, filler.
I’ve got no problem with a #longread. (I’ve written more than a few books.) But it can’t be long simply for the sake of being long, triggering attaboys and huzzahs from fellow writers who will blindly praise it, often without, you know, reading it.
The latest ESPN.com #longread feels long. It feels largely pointless. It’s about the chronically failed effort to get Patriots owner Robert Kraft in the Hall of Fame.
Should he be? Yes. Should he care that he isn’t? In my opinion, no.
Over 24 years of covering the NFL closely, I’ve come to regard the Hall of Fame for exactly what it is. A museum in Canton, Ohio that becomes the epicenter of the NFL for two days in August and that leverages the annual class of inductees into as much money for the museum and the surrounding community as possible.
The selection process is flawed and imperfect, as evidenced by the fact that the rules constantly change. Also, and as Deion Sanders has articulated in the past, too many get in.
Most importantly, a Hall of Fame that celebrates individuals defies the very notion of football as the ultimate team sport.
But, yes, Kraft should be among the busts. He laid the foundation for one of the greatest runs of excellence in league history, hiring Bill Belichick and drafting Tom Brady and finding a way to make it work for two decades.
The most newsworthy nugget comes from a secondhand account that underscores the rivalry between Kraft and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
“He hasn’t been to the NFC title game in two decades and he gets in?” Kraft told “a confidant,” as explained in the story. “How does that work?”
It works because Jones made it work. To date, Kraft hasn’t. It’s unclear how hard he’s trying.
He really shouldn’t care. He knows what he has done. Patriots fans know what he has done. Those who appreciate and understand the history of the game know what he has done.
All that said, he’ll eventually get in. Whether it’s under the current rules or the next set of rules or the eventual opening of the floodgates to rectify all the mistakes made in overlooking those who should be in, he’ll be in the Hall of Fame.
As he should be. Even if he shouldn’t care.
