NEWSLETTER
The wait til next year mantra is one I’m far too familiar with as a Chicago sports fan.
Unfortunately, when it comes to Devin Hester’s Hall of Fame journey, those words now apply to him.
Hester, the Greatest Return Man to Ever Live, was not inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022. He should go in one day, but it will not be as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Here’s who made it:
BREAKING: Eight enshrinees are headed to Canton this August as a part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2022
More on the newest members ➡️ https://t.co/1VHxa5OwYG#PFHOF22 pic.twitter.com/FMNTPHSnZ7
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) February 11, 2022
It’s not as if his day won’t ever come. When you’re the best of the best at your position and have that résumé, it is only a matter of time. Patience, young Jedi. Hester’s time is coming. It’s all I can say for now, if only because I might explode in a fit of rage if I try to say anything else. I hate it for Hester that he has to put up with the wait. It’s bullshit that Hester has to wait it out for at least another year. Fans can deal with it. We’ve dealt with worse. And as Bears fans, we are no strangers to waiting out hard times for the chance at something rewarding at the end. But when you’re a player who makes it among the finalists to make the Hall of Fame, and you’re left on the outside looking in, it’s gotta sting.
In Hester’s case, making someone wait on the inevitable is silly to me. Shouldn’t each player in each year get an individual assessment of their Hall of Fame worthiness? Or is that asking too much? There isn’t anything Hester can do to improve his résumé, so what will make him more worthy next year than this one? We’ll take another 365-day spin and Hester will still have 20 return touchdowns (14 punts, 5 kicks, and 1 missed field goal), three first-team All-Pro nods, four Pro Bowl appearances, and will still have ranked first in non-offensive scores at the time of his retirement. Hester’s Hall of Fame case won’t change one bit. So … what’s the point of the waiting game again?
Sigh. This tends to happen from time to time when leaving things in the hands of voters. After all, we’re talking about the human element here. Sometimes you just never know what you’ll get from a given group.
That we’ll have to wait another year to celebrate Hester’s excellence with a Hall of Fame trip will make it that much more sweeter when the day comes. It’s still a bummer, to be sure. I had so much fun at Brian Urlacher’s enshrinement in 2018 and was looking forward to doing it again. Nothing like a weekend of meeting Bears fans during a weekend in Canton. Few things will put you in a great mind state before a football season like a trip of that magnitude. But this just gives us more time to further spread Hester’s case. The Greatest to Ever Do It deserves that much.
And because I refuse to leave this on a wholly sour note, here are some highlights from good times:
Did you know that Devin Hester’s first punt return TD came in his first ever game against the Packers?
Now you do! pic.twitter.com/KDuajQ08Kw
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) December 11, 2021
Good morning.
Devin Hester. Devin Hester. Devin Hester. pic.twitter.com/UTJHmlU9W3
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) April 15, 2021
https://twitter.com/BN_Bears/status/1440746641506521091
https://twitter.com/BN_Bears/status/1087787265773002753
