SLANTblog: Art Monk excluded again from HOF
F.T. Rea speaks on the greatest crime in the history of the NFL, that being Art Monk's non-induction into the Hall of Fame:Monk’s problem? He was a quiet, dutiful player who didn’t promote himself. He was a possession receiver and a great blocker, rather than a game-breaker. Monk simply played football in every game in a way that his teammates and his opponents, alike, respected. He was as stoic as Deion Sanders was loquacious.
Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott said, “Art Monk was an example for Jerry Rice. That’s what Jerry always told me. There's nothing negative to say. He has the numbers, the catches, the championships. You have a Hall of Fame for all it represents. I know he represents all that it’s about: Integrity, love and passion for the game, community, what he gave back. Look how he conducted himself. Nobody I know deserves it more.” I remember towards the disasterous Ritchie Petitbon experiment in 1993 that the Skins chose to bench (!) Art Monk because they were trying to put new recievers into the rotation.
Sure enough, us fans wouldn't tolerate that, and when the cry of "We Want Monk" lasted long enough, Petitbon put Monk back into the game. Today, Redskins fans should take up the cry "We Want Monk" one last time... especially in the year we're going to win the Super Bowl!
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Megan 
6 Comments:
The Steelers are establishing their dynasty at the moment, so ... choke your tears back and keep a good beer on hand so you can excuse your watery eyes on the beauty of good beer.
The problem is that diligent, dutiful, consistent, and effective are apparently used only to measure the careers of Offensive interior linemen or tight ends. Wide receivers are expected to have that signature catch (Stallworth over the head in the superbowl) or that single game performance (Earl Campbell on national tv, Darrell Green running down Tony D, Bo Jackson running over Brian Bosworth) that folks remember forever. Art did not play in the 1983 superbowl, was not part of the 2nd quarter explosion in the 1988 superbowl, and the 1991 Redskin team was so dominating (14-2 reg season, crushed almost everyone) that no one gives him the credit he deserves.
If the players were voting, Monk would already be in. But it is not, and the sportswriters are going to ignore the fundamental stuff that makes great players and put folks like Michael Irvin in the Hall in front of Art Monk.
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