Despite the fact that the Denver Broncos will be playing in their eighth Super Bowl Sunday night, an NFL record, they continue to receive little respect from the league’s Hall of Fame voting committee.
For what now seems to be one of the NFL’s most-consistent traditions, the Denver Broncos were snubbed.
On Saturday night, the NFL announced their 2016 Hall of Fame inductees, and while the Broncos had three finalists (Terrell Davis, Steve Atwater and John Lynch), they came out empty handed. Instead, it will be Brett Favre, Marvin Harrison, Kevin Greene, Orlando Pace, Tony Dungy, Dick Stanfel, Ken Stabler and Edward DeBartolo Jr. entering football’s most sacred halls this summer.
Between Davis and Atwater, the two have now been semifinalists 15 times, but hope is beginning to fade with each failed attempt. The same can be said for Broncos legend Karl Mecklenburg, who’s no longer even a part of the discourse.
And it’s a shame, really. There are five franchises with over 20 Hall of Famers, eight with over 15, and 14 with over 10; yet, the Broncos can muster just four.
Any reasonable football fan could argue the merits of all three men — in fact, I already have — but it seems to be a moot point. The Hall of Fame committee has made it very clear: They don’t believe the Denver Broncos deserve another Hall of Famer.
Apparently, eight Super Bowl appearances and decades’ worth of success aren’t worthy of acknowledgment. Hopefully, though, a third Lombardi Trophy on Sunday will ease the sting.
