On the night before the Super Bowl, the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame class will be announced. After falling short in previous seasons, will former Pittsburgh Steelers guard Alan Faneca make the cut, and be enshrined to NFL immortality?
Faneca is most certainly deserving of a bust in Canton, as are all of the finalists on the list. In fact, it's those finalists that voters must be convinced of which Faneca ismore deserving.
Headlining this year's list are the following:
As with any list of football greats, its hard to discredit anyone from making this list. However, a minimum of four players must be selected, with a maximum of eight being picked to wear the gold jacket in August.
Embed from Getty Images
Among those 15 names are 2 linemen other than Faneca: Jaguars tackle Tony Boselli and Seahawks/Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson. I felt that last year may have been Faneca's year and that he was more deserving than former Jets guard Kevin Mawae, but if there's any year for Faneca to get the nod, it's 2020. With the Centennial class inducting former Steelers coach Bill Cowher and former Steelers safety Donnie Shell, the modern-era list is headlined by first-time eligible former Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.
That's a lot of Black and Gold, but it makes perfect sense to center the ceremony, as well as the accompanying Hall of Fame Game, around a Pittsburgh fan base within a short drive from the Hall's location in Canton, Ohio,
While all of the above players are well deserving of being Hall of Fame finalists, it's Faneca who stands head and shoulders above his offensive line peers. His 9 Pro-Bowl selections are the most of this group. His 8 All-Pro selections (7 first-team) are 1 less than Mawae (in both categories). He has a Super Bowl ring (the others never won one) and was named not once, but twice, NFL Alumni Offensive Lineman of the Year (2004, 2008).
In addition, Faneca was also named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, and the Steelers 75th Anniversary Team.
During his first 10 years in the league he played with the Steelers, before rounding out his final three years with the Jets (2008, 2009) and Cardinals (2010). While in Pittsburgh, Faneca paved the way for Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis, Willie Parker (who has a Super Bowl record-holding longest run) as well as long forgotten names such as AmosZereoue andNajeh Davenport.
Considering his achievements, theonly thing that could hold him out another year is if no lineman is selected at all... which could certainly happen: no linemen were inducted in 2017. Packers great Jerry Kramer was inducted as a senior member in 2018, meaning no modern-era offensive lineman has been inducted in two years.
Furthermore,Redskins great Joe Jacoby failed to make the finalists list again this year (as well as in 2019) after getting close previously. (Jacoby is widely considered the greatest Redskins player who is not currently inducted into the Hall of Fame.)That's a shame, as the honor is long overdue for all of the players on this list.
Mawae was great for the Jets, and finally got his nod, but Fancea, Boselli, and Hutchinson continue to wait.
Boselli was the face of a new franchise with then expansion team Jacksonville. Hutchinson was great not only with one team, but two. And Faneca's best days were obviously with Pittsburgh but he also had Pro Bowl caliber years with the Jets.
Embed from Getty Images
Will a lineman be chosen this year? And if so, will it be Alan Faneca?
I believe the committee has to finally draw the straw of one of these linemen, and for Faneca to continually be a finalist since becoming eligible for induction, his time is coming: and if Polamalu is selected, I have no reason to believe Faneca wouldn't join him in the 2020 class.
I know that offfensive linemen are never "sexy" picks: whether it's entering the league and getting chosen for the Hall of Fame, there are no gaudy stats to point to in order to support their success.That's a shame too, because Faneca had in fact been a dominant player during his career. He paved the way for Ben Roethlisberger's early start, and Jerome Bettis' classic end: a true benchmark of his greatness, aside from the various accolades he acquired throughout the years.
Seeing how long many greats wait out for their names to be added to the immortal halls of Canton, Ohio, we have come to expect Faneca to wait a little while longer. Offensive lineman do "make it" but usually it's a short list with only one getting selected with each class.
However, this season appears to be as good as any. With the Steel City flavor added already, Faneca's selection would be the icing on the cake. His accolades are rivaled by no other lineman in this class and the only reason he would have to wait longer is if, in my opinion, the committee passed on picking an offensive lineman altogether.
That doesn't seem likely, at least under the given circumstances. Therefore, 2020 should be the year we hear that Alan Faneca will be immortalized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Link:
Is this Alan Fanecas year to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame? - Steel City Underground
- Real Vampires, Immortality, Gothic, Pagan, Eternal Life ... - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Semi-Immortality - Superpower Wiki - Wikia - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Crown of Immortality - Wikipedia - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Amrita - Wikipedia - January 5th, 2017 [January 5th, 2017]
- 'Rick And Morty' Theory: Did Rick Gift Morty With Immortality ... - moviepilot.com - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Brian Dawkins: One day away from pro football immortality - Inside the Iggles - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Is Brain Augmentation Leading The Way To Immortality? - Wall Street Pit - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Jeff Jacobs: Near NFL Immortality, Tom Brady Shows Human Side - Hartford Courant - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- 3 former Cowboys ready to fight for immortality in Super Bowl LI - Cowboys Wire - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Diet Culture Exists to Fight Off the Fear of Death - The Atlantic - The Atlantic - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- The best evah? Not everybody at parade rated this year's comeback number one - The Boston Globe - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Why Immortality Is Overrated - NPR - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Immortality of written words - University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Baidu-backer Singaporean Finian Tan bets on the next big thing ... - DEALSTREETASIA - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Sleepy Hollow: Ichabod Comes Home and Malcolm Achieves Immortality - TVOvermind - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Immortality | The Institute for Creation Research - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Immortality | Dragon Ball Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Immortality (Celine Dion song) - Wikipedia - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Quotes About Immortality (489 quotes) - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Reality Of Immortality: Oregon State Is Five Games Away From ... - Building the Dam - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- New Yorker seeks pinball immortality - Fox5NY - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- McGraw One Step From Hoop Immortality :: Notre Dame Women's ... - Notre Dame Official Athletic Site - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Blind love and immortality haunt 'The Invention of Morel' | Chicago ... - Chicago Sun-Times - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Aussies should prep for immortality, as life expectancy rises - Techly - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Johnson chasing 8th title, racing immortality - La Crosse Tribune - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Technology, immortality and pensions - The Times (subscription) - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Fighting McGregor Just Another Easy Step to Immortality for Mayweather - The Sweet Science - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Faces of Russia: Mila Arutyunyan on Immortality - Argophilia Travel News - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Frank Mason becomes a part of KU basketball immortality - Wichita Eagle (blog) - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Living Immortality, Russian Economy in 2017, How Big Is Russia's Inequality Gap, and the Kremlin's Risky Plans - Institute of Modern Russia - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- The mortal side of biological immortality - Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Immortality | Harry Potter Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Georges St-Pierre Takes Aim at Immortality in Title Shot Against Michael Bisping - Bleacher Report - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- Middletown's Bertoni is 4 wins away from 4 titles, state-wrestling immortality - Frederick News Post (subscription) - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Lecture 18 - The Badness of Death, Part III; Immortality ... - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- Decoding death: Craig Venter's quest to uncover secret to immortality in our DNA - Genetic Literacy Project - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- Atlassian aims for corporate immortality in the cloud - The Australian Financial Review - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- How two trades pushed Patrik Elias into Devils immortality | New ... - New York Post - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- The baseball immortality of Beaver County's James Madison Toy - Tribune-Review - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Why the Grand National is the holy grail and sporting immortality the prize - Telegraph.co.uk - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Diane Paulus sees immortality in 'Finding Neverland' - Orlando Sentinel - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- AI experts: Prepare for a sad immortality - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- The Ayatollah and his immortality - Tehran Times - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Public broadcasting's immortality defies reason - The Washington Post - Washington Post - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Golden State Is One Win Away From Immortality, And The Cavs Can't Do Anything About It - UPROXX - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Golden State Is One NBA Finals Victory From Immortality - The Federalist - June 10th, 2017 [June 10th, 2017]
- Nick Tavares: Reds' Scooter Gennett the latest to achieve baseball immortality - SouthCoastToday.com - June 11th, 2017 [June 11th, 2017]
- Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Stanley Cup immortality - Yahoo Sports - June 12th, 2017 [June 12th, 2017]
- LIVE FOREVER? Julian Assange claims immortality is near by 'DIGITISING BRAINS' - Express.co.uk - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- immortality at a price - TheRecord.com - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- Achieving immortality through good cinema - The Navhind Times - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- 'Immortality mushroom' discovered in mountains of western Turkey's anakkale - Daily Sabah - June 20th, 2017 [June 20th, 2017]
- FILMING IMMORTALITY: Independent filmmaker Tanya Fermin brings unreal life to Wilmington's film industry - encore Online - June 20th, 2017 [June 20th, 2017]
- Scientist Say Lack Of Funding Is Biggest Obstacle To Immortality - EconoTimes - June 21st, 2017 [June 21st, 2017]
- Hang in There: The 25-Year Wait for Immortality - June 21st, 2017 [June 21st, 2017]
- Lions v All Blacks: Furlong ready to take next step in bid for immortality - Belfast Telegraph - June 23rd, 2017 [June 23rd, 2017]
- Keanu Reeves Addresses Those Immortality Rumors (Video) - TheWrap - June 24th, 2017 [June 24th, 2017]
- Complete Immortality - TV Tropes - June 24th, 2017 [June 24th, 2017]
- Can The Harry Potter Fandom Survive A New Canon? - BuzzFeed News - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- Why the super-rich are ploughing billions into the booming 'immortality industry' - Evening Standard - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- Lions reaction: Sean O'Brien wants 'immortality' as Ferris says momentum could prove key to beating All Blacks - Belfast Telegraph - July 1st, 2017 [July 1st, 2017]
- Living to 125 and beyond: Scientists dispute there's a limit to - KMOV.com - KMOV.com - July 2nd, 2017 [July 2nd, 2017]
- Graham Simmons Takes Lions Hype To Barely Palatable Level During Sean O'Brien Interview - Balls.ie - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- Achieving immortality through literature - The Navhind Times - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- Immortality crowned best at Italian film festival - Tehran Times - Tehran Times - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- Fancy a vitamin infusion? - EsquireMe - July 4th, 2017 [July 4th, 2017]
- British and Irish Lions 2017: Warren Gatland tells Lions to seize immortality after naming unchanged side for third ... - City A.M. - July 5th, 2017 [July 5th, 2017]
- Billionaires dream of immortality. The rest of us worry about healthcare - The Guardian - July 5th, 2017 [July 5th, 2017]
- Newgrange: Ireland's amazing feat of Stone Age engineering - CNN International - July 6th, 2017 [July 6th, 2017]
- Ronan O'Gara suggests how Sean O'Brien should have responded to immortality question - SportsJOE.ie - July 7th, 2017 [July 7th, 2017]
- The immortality of man - The Hindu - July 7th, 2017 [July 7th, 2017]
- Lions have what it takes to claim immortality against All Blacks - Irish Times - July 7th, 2017 [July 7th, 2017]
- 'Biggest game ever' for Lions as immortality beckons - Irish Times - July 8th, 2017 [July 8th, 2017]
- Reliving Edhi's journey to immortality | Pakistan | thenews.com.pk - The News International - July 8th, 2017 [July 8th, 2017]
- Conditional immortality - Sunbury Daily Item - July 8th, 2017 [July 8th, 2017]
- Maradona, the mafia and immortality: three decades on from Napoli's Holy Grail - The42 - July 10th, 2017 [July 10th, 2017]
- DARK NIGHTS: METAL #1 First Look - The Hints, Symbols, & 'Ocean of Possibilities' - Newsarama - July 11th, 2017 [July 11th, 2017]
- DARK NIGHTS: METAL 101: The Immortal Man & The Four Tribes - Newsarama - July 11th, 2017 [July 11th, 2017]
- Immortality Inducer - TV Tropes - July 12th, 2017 [July 12th, 2017]
- Letter to the Editor: Conditional immortality? - Sunbury Daily Item - July 14th, 2017 [July 14th, 2017]