Matt Light, Mike Vrabel, Raymond Clayborn. Those are the three former Patriots players who I voted for to be the next finalists for the Patriots Hall of Fame.
In voting for those three, here are some of the other men I passed on who were up for nomination this year: Rodney Harrison, Kevin Faulk, Bill Parcells, Chuck Fairbanks, Leon Gray, Irving Fryar and Fred Marion among others. On Thursday April 14th, you will know who the three finalists are that you can vote for as the next Patriots Hall of Famer.
The job of choosing these three finalists is getting harder and harder each year. That task is put in the hands of the Patriots Hall of Fame Nomination Committee. It is a committee made up of 24 men. I have been a member of this committee since it's inception ten years ago. On Wednesday April 6th, we held our annual meeting at CBS Scene in Foxboro. This year we were joined by 5 current Patriots Hall of Famers. Gino Cappelletti, Steve Grogan, Andre Tippett, Stanley Morgan and Troy Brown.
What does it mean to these men to have been chosen to be in the team’s hall of fame?
“It tells me that the fans hadn’t forgotten me. It’s good to be recognized for something you’ve done over the course of 13 years” , said former Patriots wide receiver Stanley Morgan (2007 inductee).
“It’s great to be among some of these guys that have actually been the building blocks of this football team and we greatly appreciate them having to go through those pains of having to get this franchise started” , said former Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown (2012 inductee).
Steve Grogan , who was inducted in 1995, 12 years before the fans were allowed to vote in this process is equally as proud. “It’s absolutely a great honor and I jokingly tell people if I”d have come along after Tom Brady I’d have never gotten in. So I’m glad I played when I did”
There is some truth to what Steve Grogan said. As the “Super Bowl Era” Patriots players become eligible for the hall, there is the danger that older Patriots players will be forgotten. Players like Raymond Clayborn, Fred Marion and Leon Gray are most definitely in the discussion as Hall of Fame finalists. But when the fans vote, the reality is those players do not stand a chance against the likes of Matt Light, Mike Vrabel, Kevin Faulk and other modern Patriots who are more popular with younger voters. The last five inductees are all modern era Patriots and have all won the fans vote easily: Willie McGinest, Ty Law, Tedy Bruschi, Troy Brown and Drew Bledsoe. And in the next few years , the issue gets compounded even further with these players becoming eligible: Richard Seymour, Randy Moss and others.
“People should be able to recognize great players on every level and in every era. You know there’s some great players who have come through here. These guys have done so much to bring such great pride to the organization”, said Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Tippett (1999 Patriots Hall of Fame inductee).
1992 Patriots Hall of Fame inductee Gino Cappelletti speaks for the Patriots players of the past when he says, “We like to think that our teams in those years had a lot to do with the building of Gillette Stadium. I sit back and I watch and I see and I’m just happy that the Patriots of old had something to do with the success of this franchise today”
There is a nine member senior committee that has been formed in recent years so that older Patriots players are not forgotten in this process.
Feel free to debate my three choices this year. But know that, like all the committee members, I take this very seriously and take all kinds of factors into consideration. On April 14th this year's finalists will be announced and you will all get the chance to vote for who will be the next Patriots Hall of Famers.
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