Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB.  Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives.   As such, it is important to us that the Kansas City Chiefs have announced that Derrick Johnson will become the 55th member of the franchise Hall of Fame this year.

Johnson was drafted by the Chiefs 15th overall in 2005 from Texas, where he would immediately become a starting Linebacker.  Playing 13 of his 14 NFL seasons with Kansas City, Johnson accumulated 14 Interceptions, 27.5 Sacks, 103 Tackles for Loss, and 1,154 Combined Tackles for the squad, while earning four Pro Bowls and a 2011 First Team All-Pro Selection. The Chiefs made the playoffs six times while Johnson was on the roster.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Derrick Johnson for his upcoming honor.

1997 PRELIMINARY RESULTS:

Thank you to all who participated in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project. If you are still determining what that is, we treated the PFHOF as having its first class in January 1946.

We have completed the first 50 years.

For “1997,” a Preliminary Vote with over 100 players whose playing career ended by 1991. We also follow the structure in which players have 20 years of eligibility, and if they do not make it into the Hall, they are relegated to the Senior Pool.

Each voter was asked to select 25 names from the preliminary list, and the top 25 vote-getters were named Semi-Finalists.

A week later, voters will be asked to select 15 names from the 25 Semi-Finalists, then choose five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process every week until we catch up to the current year.

Please note that a significant change occurred “years ago,” allowing voters to submit fewer than the allotted spots. 

31 Votes took place.

This is for the “Modern Era”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates they have been removed from future ballots

This is for the Senior Era

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates that they will be removed from the ballot permanently.

This is for the “Coaches/Contributors”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates that they will be removed from the ballot permanently.

Next week, we will announce the Semi-Finalists for the 1997 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project.

If you’re a sports fan, the way you engage with your favorite team goes well beyond those precious minutes when they’re on the field. You’ll debate friends and family about big games, you’ll follow players on social media, and you’ll probably wear replica jerseys and official merch of all kinds when you’re out and about. So in this context, it’s not that surprising to find fans regularly arguing the toss over who’s a GOAT, which season was the best, and which goal or touchdown deserves the most plaudits.

Even so, our desire to make rankings has definitely intensified in recent years. So, what’s behind this trend, and is it a problem or just part and parcel of being a sports fan?

Validating Emotional Opinions

Different teams and players click with different people, and often there’s no especially rational reason for it. We just get a feeling for greatness at a gut level, and that’s all there is to it. The problem comes when attempting to justify this stance to others who might not share the same opinion.

Ranking is a way of lending credence to assertions that someone is a GOAT, supporting an emotional opinion with objective stats on career achievements.

Making Future Predictions on Past Outcomes

Another catalyst for the rise of ranking culture is our desire to scour the history books and use what we find to predict what’ll happen in upcoming games. Now that fans can use a platform for sports betting to wager on their favorite team, there’s a monetary incentive to predict scorelines accurately ahead of time. And while our choices might be emotional, as mentioned, ranking gives the illusion of control.

Preserving the Past

Sports function as a living history book. Unlike standard entertainment, where old movies or albums remain frozen in time, sports history is constantly being challenged by the present.

Older fans use rankings to defend the legacy of the icons they grew up watching, ensuring that players like Pelé, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Jerry Rice aren't erased by the hyper-athleticism of the modern era. Conversely, younger fans use rankings to assert the dominance of the present. The exercise keeps historical figures relevant, enabling a continuous dialogue between generations that might not otherwise have common ground.

The Impact of Media Encouragement

Arguably, the biggest reason sports fans are so ranking-focused today stems from media trends, where pundits and personalities across TV channels and social media platforms regularly stir up debate to generate views and engagement. Placing a controversial player at number four instead of number two in a list of all-timers means a media outlet can generate millions of impressions, thousands of angry comments, and hours of programming out of thin air.

Social media, in particular, is known for its debate-centric model for earning clicks and gaining followers. Now that algorithms determine what content rises to the surface, it’s in the interest of media outlets to encourage ranking activities.

Put simply, sports fans love ranking because it makes use of past glories to contextualize what’s happening in the present. Seeing greatness on the field of play today means more when it’s juxtaposed with the difference-makers of bygone eras.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB.  Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives.  This will eventually extend to college sports.  As such, it is important to us that Florida State has announced its 2026 Hall of Fame Class.

The 2026 inductees are:

Sean Gilmartin, Baseball (2009-11).  A six-year veteran in the Majors with the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, and Tampa Bay Rays, Gilmarten was a two-time First Team All-ACC selection with a college record of 33-13, 3.57 ERA, and 321 Strikeouts.

Dave Hart, Administrator (1994-2007).  Hart was the Director of Athletics from 1994 to 2007, where the Seminoles won one National Football Championship and 33 ACC Championships.

Kassey Kallman, Soccer, (2010-13).  All of Kallman’s Seminole squads finished in the top five nationally, and she won the 2013 ACC Defensive Player of the Year.  That season, she was also named a First Team All-American.

Maurice Mitchell, Track & Field, (2009-12).  Mitchell was a 13-time All-American and won three NCAA Championships, including the outdoor 200m.  He was also a 14-time All-ACC Champion, and he represented the United States at the 2012 Olympics.

Nick O’Leary, Football (2011-14).  Playing at Tight End, O’Leary won the John Mackey Award in 2014 as the best Tight End in College Football.  He accumulated 114 Receptions, 1,591 Yards, and 17 Touchdowns over his FSU career, and he went on to play five seasons in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jace Pardon, Beach Volleyball (2012-16).  Pardon was a three-time All-American and becomes the first beach volleyball player to enter the Hall.  Pardon boasts 155 victories.

Bjoern Werner, Football (2010-12).  In 2012, Werner was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a Unanimous All-American.  He had 23.5 Sacks and 35 Tackles for Loss in his three years at FSU, and he would later play three seasons in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts.

Katrina Young, Diving (2011-15).  An All-American in 2013 and 2015 in the one-meter, she won the 2012 ACC one-meter championship and the 2014 ACC platform championship.  She later represented the United States at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.

They will be inducted on September 25.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the incoming members of the Florida State Athletic Hall of Fame.