Chris Carter on Art Monk and Hall of Fame Denial

[12thMan]

I've said this on more than one occasion and I'll say it again, the Hall of Fame will never be what it ought to be until they induct Art Monk in.

I once visited the Hall of Fame when I was kid. My best friend's dad took us on a road trip from Washington D.C. to Canton, Ohio. On the way we stopped at his sister's graduation ceremony at Ohio State. Ironically, the same class as Art Schlichter. I thought I was in football heaven -seriously. In just about every room and upon nearly every turn you see those sculpted bronze busts of legends staring you down, almost silently telling you their story and why they deserved to be there.

Monk's absence from the Hall is almost like visiting the Air and Space Museum here in D.C., and not seeing any exhibits or artifacts of the first trip to the moon. No Neil Armstrong, no Space Shuttle photos, no Kitty Hawk, no dust from the moon. You know, it's a place of firsts. We've advanced so much since Armstrong first stepped foot on the moon, but it doesn't diminish the greatness of the men and women who have gone before.

Sure, football records have been broken and the game has evolved since Monk left, but he was the first in many of those categories and he did it with class and dignity. In that regard, I'm not sure what the Hall of Fame really stands for anymore. I mean, is it the Hall of Stats? The Hall of "media" Fame? I'm not sure, but I'm so glad Monk has been tight lipped about the whole thing and let others opine about the situation.