Hey Sportscasters, can we please stop calling players "Hall of Famer" when they're not? (2 Viewers)

DadsDream

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I've been watching the National Football League for nearly fifty years.

It used to be that nobody ever used the words "Hall of Famer" until a player actually had a bust in the hall in Canton. Even mentioning such a prospect before it occurred was once considered to be in bad taste, if not taboo and possibly even a jinx.

But in the past few years, as the current generation of sportscasters and sportswriters have heaped superlatives on top of superlatives, they've gradually started hanging that coveted title on players who are still playing.

It began with the words "future Hall of Famer" being used about guys like Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith. It became a foregone conclusion that Rice and Smith would be honored sooner rather than later. It soon became a consensus and it seemed no reporters could talk about these guys without the "future Hall of Famer" as though it were some kind of title, like "His Royal Majesty" or something.

This year, it's gotten worse. They've dropped the word "future" from this manufactured title.

Hall of Famer Brett Favre.

Hall of Fame Wide Receiver Randy Moss.

In the past week, I've heard both of these bogus manufactured titles, not just once but over and over again. It creeps me out. Makes my skin crawl. I shift uncomfortably in my recliner and hit the Back button on my remote to go to another sports channel.

I guess it's going to take something like one of these "future Hall of Famers" getting banned for life from football and never making it to the Hall of Fame to stop these sportscasters and sportswriters from sucking eggs.

I haven't heard any baseball sportscasters and sportswriters doing this. Maybe I just don't listen to enough baseball. Then again, maybe they set a standard and stuck to it. Or maybe they got caught sucking eggs with future Hall of Famer Pete Rose.

Look, it's simple. When they've had an induction ceremony and put the guy's bust in the Hall of Fame, then and only then is he a Hall of Famer. Period.

Do we call Superbowl Champions by that title before they actually win it? Maybe we should ask the "2009 Future Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts" about that.

Hey, NFL Network, you could actually pass a ban on this bogus manufactured title in the corner of the world that you own. It's your league. It's your channel. It's your Hall of Fame. Make it happen.
 
Im reading this thread just as I am planning to attend Malcom Jenkins HOF induction in the year 2028
 
In that case, I think you might need to remind a lot of the members around here about that with our HOF Drew Brees.
 
I see what you're saying DD, but out of all the things in NFL broadcasting that irritate me, that's not very high on my list.
 
Pete Rose. He is a hall of famer, but isnt in the hall of fame.

Does that make you mad? Is it semantics that ticks you off?
 
I see what you're saying DD, but out of all the things in NFL broadcasting that irritate me, that's not very high on my list.

Hey Deacon, it's like a bye week, sitting here waiting for the Falcons game, know what I mean? :9:

Still, it did honestly bug me when they started using the "future Hall of Famer" title in recent years. Now, they're not even bothering to qualify it with the word "future."

Now, if you want to talk about getting rid of things in NFL broadcasting that irritate me in general, we could start with Joe "Norman Einstein" Theismann and work our way up from there. Joe earned that title, by the way. He was never the "Future Joe 'Norman Einstein' Theismann."
 
Pete Rose. He is a hall of famer, but isnt in the hall of fame.

Does that make you mad? Is it semantics that ticks you off?

No, Pete Rose doesn't have a bust in the hall and he's banned for life. He's not a Hall of Famer.

To say he is a Hall of Famer is at best misleading; at worst, dishonest.

I did a bit of sports reporting in my time...interviewed Karl Malone for the Shreveport Times, covered the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters a few times.

You don't give people titles in sports until they've been awarded.

Guess you could say I'm in agreement with Coach Green. Why bother to play the game? Crown 'em! :hihi:
 
Hey Deacon, it's like a bye week, sitting here waiting for the Falcons game, know what I mean? :9:

Still, it did honestly bug me when they started using the "future Hall of Famer" title in recent years. Now, they're not even bothering to qualify it with the word "future."

Now, if you want to talk about getting rid of things in NFL broadcasting that irritate me in general, we could start with Joe "Norman Einstein" Theismann and work our way up from there. Joe earned that title, by the way. He was never the "Future Joe 'Norman Einstein' Theismann."

I didn't mean to discount your original point though- it's valid. I'll bet HOF players get irritated too when they see someone yet-to-be-inducted referred to that way.
 
One of the things that bothers me most about announcers, other than their sheer stupidity, is how loosely they use the word great. "Matt Ryan is a great quarterback." No he isn't it. Good-yes.....great-no!
 
Look, it's simple. When they've had an induction ceremony and put the guy's bust in the Hall of Fame, then and only then is he a Hall of Famer. Period.

Do we call Superbowl Champions by that title before they actually win it? Maybe we should ask the "2009 Future Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts" about that.

Hey, NFL Network, you could actually pass a ban on this bogus manufactured title in the corner of the world that you own. It's your league. It's your channel. It's your Hall of Fame. Make it happen.

But the term is used in reference to players that will in all likelyhood be voted into the HOF. Not the same as "future SB champs," because that's based on having to win a football game. These players have already amassed a body of work that is more than sufficient to land them in the HOF. The word "future" is implied. Do they have to say it every time?

I didn't mean to discount your original point though- it's valid. I'll bet HOF players get irritated too when they see someone yet-to-be-inducted referred to that way.

You mean someone like Dan Fouts gets irritated when they hear Tom Brady mentioned as a HOFer? Some of these old timers should be grateful to be mentioned in the same sentence as some of the current, far more talented players.
 
No, Pete Rose doesn't have a bust in the hall and he's banned for life. He's not a Hall of Famer.

To say he is a Hall of Famer is at best misleading; at worst, dishonest.

I did a bit of sports reporting in my time...interviewed Karl Malone for the Shreveport Times, covered the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters a few times.

You don't give people titles in sports until they've been awarded.

Guess you could say I'm in agreement with Coach Green. Why bother to play the game? Crown 'em! :hihi:

If the Commisioner wouldn't have decided to add a prerequisite that was never considered before, morality, to the HOF, Rose would be a shoe in. Considering the drunks, drug addicts, etc that are in the HOF, I consider Rose to be in as well....even if it's not official.
 

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