Chris Kluwe Vs. Hall of Fame Voters: Ray Guy Was Great At His Job. You suck at yours
 

Great stuff.....Arguing over Ray Guy and special teamers in general being excluded from the Hall.

Kluwe Vs. HoF voters......

Kluwe Vs. Peter King.....


Thoughts?




http://deadspin.com/5960968/an-nfl-p...-job-youre-not


Dear Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee members,

I had the dubious pleasure of reading an article on Yahoo yesterday about Ray Guy, and I have one thing to ask every single one of you.

How dare you?
How dare you tell a man who devoted his life to perfecting his craft that he's not worthy of admission among the game's greatest? How dare you have the heartless effrontery to pronounce that football is a team sport, but that some positions are more equal than others? How dare you be so selfish, short-sighted, and just plain asshole-ish to declare that Ray Guy won't be recognized for his skills because you're too goddamned lazy to learn the subtleties of kicking?

That's right, voting committee, you're lazy. You're indolent, slothful, petulant, ignorant, and flat-out stupid. You perpetuate the same small-minded "Oh, he's just a kicker" stereotype every single time you refuse to acknowledge that Ray Guy belongs in the Hall of Fame, because YOU'RE UNWILLING TO LEARN.

You have no desire to understand the fundamentals and complexities of trying to make a football travel over 60 yards using just your foot; you have no inkling of just how hard it actually is to get distance, hangtime, and direction while operating under a rapid time constraint; you have no clue what it takes in terms of concentration, practice, and desire to be the very best at your job. All you can do is look at an arbitrary series of numbers and proclaim that they're not big enough, without even beginning to understand the story those stats tell. You look at a man who lowered his personal numbers so his team could succeed, choosing hangtime over distance so he would never—not once in his 14-year career—see a punt returned for a touchdown; a man who became a household name at an unrecognized position for the benefit he brought to those around him. And now you're trying to tell me that he doesn't belong in an institution nominally dedicated to the glories of teamwork and sacrifice? Seriously, are you ****ing with me? Do you even realize how absolutely asinine that sounds?

This is a player who brought the concept of hangtime to the NFL, a stat that today's special teams coaches absolutely cannot do without. This is a player who pinned opposing offenses back inside their 20-yard line instead of simply booting a touchback, winning the battle of field position before anyone realized there was even a fight. This is a player who revolutionized his corner of the sport just as much as the coaches and owners in the Hall of Fame changed theirs. And you're saying, in effect, that he's "just a kicker"?

I've been trying not to swear lately, but this is one of the most absolutely horseshit infuriating things I've noticed in the world—the idea that you can denigrate what someone does because you're not willing to take the time to learn how hard it is to accomplish. As sportswriters, you should understand more than most what it's like to have people tell you that your job is unimportant and easy and unworthy of recognition, all because they're too lazy to recognize the time that goes into it.

I mean, let's take this as a prime example. Do you know why I'm chastising you, writers all? BECAUSE I TOOK THE TIME TO LEARN HOW TO WRITE AND CRAFT AN ARGUMENT. I understand the interplay between words and logic, the pacing of a sentence, how to use the rule of three for enhanced emotional impact. I read thousands upon thousands of books and learned the styles of each particular author; I spent time sparring online to hone my techniques and skills; I chose to understand WHY something works the way it does.

How many of you can say the same about punting? How many of you have taken time to learn about why the angle of a drop is important? Who among you knows how big a difference an inch can make based on where your foot hits the ball? Which one of you indolent cows has ever bothered to even actually TRY to punt, instead of dismissing it as an inferior position because we're not on the field as often as everyone else?

No, instead you continue down the path of ineptitude and ignorance. You've elected coaches to the Hall of Fame, administrators to the Hall of Fame, owners to the Hall of Fame, players at every single position other than punter to the Hall of Fame, and every year, every single damning year that you continue this trend of stupidity, you cheapen the integrity of the game. You tell children that football is the ultimate team game, unless you happen to play a certain position. You tell players that it doesn't matter if you're the very best at your job, because you play a certain position. You tell fans that it's all about the 53 men on the roster, except for that one guy who does the job you can't be bothered to learn about.

You preach intellectual sloth and apathy and the all too popular creed of "I can't be bothered to understand something but I'm going to render judgment on it anyway" that sometimes seems woven into the very fabric of our society. As you smugly guard your gate to the secret clubhouse, you never even stop to consider the underlying message you're sending to an entire generation of football players—a message that lies completely at odds with the stated intent of the game you cherish so much.

Frankly, you sicken me, every last one of you. You have no idea what teamwork really means. If you're going to be the stewards of greatness, the arbiters of team play, then do your ****ing job. Ray Guy did his.

Sincerely,

Chris Kluwe
NFL team player

P.S. Ignorance is not bliss. It's ignorance, and you should be ashamed. Also, why don't you just change the HoF entrance by position group instead of just a static number? For example, you could do 0-2 specialists, 2-4 offensive players, 2-4 defensive players, and 0-1 administrator/coaches each year. That literally took me all of 10 seconds to think of.



Peter King response:




As I wrote to Kluwe Monday, I don't respond to yelling very well. But it seems to be a way of the new world today.

I remember Paul Zimmerman, the longtime SI writer, talking about why he never supported Guy as a Hall of Famer. He felt he was a very good punter, but he hadn't separated himself from the pack of very good punters of his day, like Jerrel Wilson. "I'm not voting for a guy just because he boomed a punt so high it hit the gondola in the Superdome,'' Zim said.

We're all different on the committee. Some feel strongly about Guy's candidacy, some don't. Same with mountains of others. I think I addressed most of what Kluwe said in his response here, but there is one thing I haven't answered that I believe merits some serious thought. It might be time for us as a committee to weigh the contributions of special teamers more seriously. I'm not sure how we can do that. Maybe it's that we should mandate one kicker, punter or predominant special teams players (such as Steve Tasker) be included among the final 15 modern-era candidates each year when we choose the Hall class. Or maybe we mandate the inclusion of one in the discussion every other year. It's something that's a valid point, seeing that we haven't elected a kicker, punter or special-teamer in the last 21 years. (Jan Stenerud, kicker, went in the Hall in '91.)

As for the "you have the power'' comment, we don't have the power. The power to change the bylaws or election procedures belongs to the Hall of Fame. The 44 selectors vote for the class each year, and we can make suggestions for a change of bylaws, but we don't change the bylaws. That is done by the Hall's board of directors. But I will suggest that we consider a bylaw to focus in a more concentrated way on special teams ... but as with many suggestions we have made over the years, I have no control whether they get adopted.

And I'll just end with this: I still don't understand why Jerrel Wilson, who was Ray Guy's peer, if only half-a-career earlier, gets zero discussion and Guy an avalanche.



Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz2Crr5a1lm

Kluwe seems to forget he is a football player.

Lately, he has been using his "celebrity" to push his views on everything.
He has started a blog, vblog, yell campaign. He made commercials against the gay marriage amendment.

He is another "celebrity" that thinks that his opinion is so important that he thinks everyone should hear it and follow what he believes.

Just because he is "famous" does not mean I will listen to him and change my views.
I hate when those think they are more informed or in touch with reality than me.

He's never said that he expected you to.

He is merely throwing his opinions out there.

And he's goddamned hilarious.

And homophobes suck.

I just disagree with his purpose and others.

It seems like he is feeding his ego and making himself more important.
Do your job-punt.

Like Springsteen-fighting for the little people-yet his concert tickets are $300.

Do your job, and quit posting on chiefsplanet.

There, does that work?

Kluwe is a great read imo.
He should ask Dustin Colquitt on the amount of respect KC gives the punter... it's chiefs fans favorite position. Colquitt is our MVP.

Go suck Jan Stanerud's enshrined penis, Kluwe :)

I am on vacation.

When it comes to punting, football and the HOF process he is more informed than you.

Football- fine. Still does not mean I have to listen and neither of us have control over the HOF.

everythng else-no. He and I don't lead the same life. I'm sure he would really want my advice on punting.

Someone in this thread is a proponent of traditional marriage definitions.

LOL

Hey, HEY, HEY!. I had floor tickets on Monday and they were only $120, which included $44 in "ticket fees". Don't you dare talk trash about Springsteen!

I think it all comes down to that voters have no idea how to quantify worth for punters and kickers. They assume things and the assumption is, they are not real football players.

I was about to make a Jerrell Wilson comment, but the article beat me to it. Wilson was every bit as good as Ray Guy, and also played some fullback. Screw Ray Guy.

I do think punters should be in the Hall of Fame, though. I've mentioned in the past that I think entry should be proportional to the positions on the field. There should be twice as many guards as quarterbacks, and there should be equal numbers of cornerbacks and wide receivers. The Hall completely discriminates against cornerbacks and safeties, and it bugs me.

Kluwe needs to get a sports radio host job on Sirius/XM when his playing days are over.

kudos to Kluwe for shining more glaring light on the pitiful NFL Hall Of Shame voters, the same voters that said Willie Roaf, the greatest LT to ever play the game, wasn't worthy of a first round selection.

And to those tempted to come back with bullshit like "he didnt play a skill position" "he played for irrelevant teams" and "that's just how the hall works" - stop watching football immediately and go be a mouthpiece for something besides the Hall Of Shame voters.

I think Louie Aguiar should be in the HOF. Nobody with one testicle has done more for the game of football.

loved the love that jerrel wilson got.

Minnesota Vikings: Coach criticizes Chris Kluwe's 'distractions'
By Brian Murphy
brianmurphy@pioneerpress.com
Posted: 12/13/2012 12:01:00 AM CST
Updated: 12/13/2012 07:57:03 PM CST

Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe (5) punts in the first half as the Minnesota Vikings play the Chicago Bears at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sunday, December 9, 2012. Vikings won 21-14. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)
Related


Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer fired a brushback pitch at his activist punter after Chris Kluwe was fined for violating the NFL's uniform policy by taping "Vote Ray Guy" over the Pro Football Hall of Fame emblem on his jersey against Chicago.

Kluwe was fined $5,250 for the public shout-out to Guy, the former Oakland Raiders great whom he is advocating to be the first punter enshrined.

Priefer casually was asked at the end of his weekly news conference whether he would hide the Post-It notes from Kluwe this week to prevent a repeat of the stunt, and he used the question to take his punter to task.

"Those distractions are getting old for me, to be quite honest with you," Priefer said Thursday, Dec. 13. "Do I think Ray Guy deserves to be in the Hall of Fame? Absolutely. But there's other ways of going about it, in my opinion."

Kluwe was not available during the media's locker room availability Thursday. On Wednesday, he said he expected the fine but acknowledged the publicity trade-off was worth it.

"It got people talking about it. I heard the broadcast team talked about it for a bit. Hopefully people will realize, 'Hey, punters aren't in the Hall of Fame. Maybe we should do something about that.' "

Kluwe is a staunch supporter of gay rights who used his megaphone as an NFL player this election to rail against supporters of a Minnesota constitutional amendment to define marriage as one-man, one-woman.

The Vikings supported Kluwe's
activism, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell encouraged him to continue speaking out during an October visit to the Metrodome. But Kluwe's advocacy apparently has worn thin on his coach.

"To me it's getting old. He's got to focus on punting and holding," Priefer said.

He was asked whether he shared that with Kluwe.

"Nah," Priefer said. "He don't listen."

Thursday night, Kluwe fired off this pair of tweets:

"I want you all to know that I just meditated for 5 hours in the lotus position, solely contemplating football. I feel spiritually cleansed."

"Unfortunately I now appear to be stuck and cannot move my legs. I might be downgraded to questionable for the game Sunday. Please send help."

Follow Brian Murphy on twitter.com/murphPPress



Side question: Was this the same Special Teams coach that was with the Chiefs at one time-name seems familiar.

Then why are you listening to him then? If you went by your advice, you wouldn't have even clicked on the thread.

Seems like his coach has the same view. More football-less commentary.

Just wanted to update the situation. The story I posted would never have made national news or other markets.

Maybe Mike Priefer should worry about Mike Priefer.

Yes, the same Mike Priefer that sucked balls in KC and Denver. That incompetent clown has no room to talk.

There are a few Vikes fans that feel the same way here.

How is what he did different then what you are doing with this post? I agree that when a celebrity uses time at an awards show to say something its going over the line because that's not what I think the platform is for. What he does on his own blogs ect. is different. Having a profession doesn't mean you can't care about other things. He isn't forcing you to read.

His view on you vs. the writers are completely different. I doubt he looks down at you for not caring about punting, but here is the difference between you and the writers. It's the writers job to know, to know who to vote for and why. Big difference. Big reason why I think he has a right to get on them about what they do and don't know. Be intelligent, care about intellectual things, or don't. I don't care and I don't judge. Damned if I know the meaning of life. BUT, if you take a position where understanding something is important, then you damn well better try to understand it.

This is very ironic as I sent a tweet tonight (before reading this) to the writer of an article on NFL.com that defended Kluwe by saying Ray Guy was the best punter ever!

I simply told him, Ray Guy wasn't even the best punter in his division when he played, see Jerrell Wilson and to ask @SI_PeterKing about this.

To funny.

I have a spreadsheet somewhere with the stats comparing Guy and Wilson and I have tweeted PK before about this and have written SI over the years also hoping they would put something in their editorial section. Finally, maybe some justice!

This, and it fills me with disgust...

Chris Kluwe is an attention whore. He's forever bitching about something, just shut the **** up already.

Are you and Kluwe related?

pure awesome

How about my advise? Shut the **** up.

LMAO

So he should do his job, and not open his mouth because athletes shouldn't be allowed to voice their opinion?

Interestingly enough he wrote a letter to a democratic senator who told his owner the same thing about another player who opposed gay marriage. "Do your job.. nobody wants to hear your opinion".

Nobody wants to hear anyone's opinion, but here in America we have this bill of rights thing that allows him to do so. He's creating his own pulpit and if people want to listen and agree, good for them.

You're in the wrong asking anyone to be silent. If you don't care, don't pay attention. How much you care doesn't matter.

He's not giving you advice. Have you talked to him? Does he call and text you?

He's giving his opinion, which he is entitled to. Welcome to America.