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Everyone Should Have Say In Ring

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By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 26, 2008

TAMPA - Now that the Bucs finally have decided to establish a ring of honor, the debate can be waged over who truly deserves to be honored.

So who's your pick? How should this be done? Should the fans have a say? As for the latter question, let's hope the answer is yes.

The Glazers own and operate this team, but the games and the history will always belong to the fans. As paying customers, they deserve to have a say in what names wind up in the ring of honor.

The Glazers should have a say, too, of course. So should former and current players and team executives. That's why the best way to determine who makes the Bucs ring of honor is to let everyone decide.

Here's how they can do it: As the 2009 season approaches, the Bucs should make ballots available online and at the stadium for fans to fill out. At the same time they should get ballots in the hands of former players, current players, team executives and the media.

Then, to ensure the thousands of fan votes don't outweigh the votes cast by the players, executives and media, the Bucs should establish some criteria that guarantees a balanced accounting of the votes.

For example, they could have each group's vote count for a fourth of the total. They also could demand that a player must appear on an overwhelming majority of each constituency's ballots, say 75 percent, to gain entry.

That should keep this thing from becoming a popularity contest, which is the last thing anyone should want. A ring of honor is supposed to honor the best and the most important, not the most popular.

The Bucs don't want this to turn into the something akin to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where it seems that everyone who ever cut a record eventually will be enshrined.

To avoid that, they should set the criteria high. They should also start small. There's no need to rush this thing and honor every worthy candidate in the first year of the ring's existence.

A good place to start - and it seems the Bucs have already thought of this, as their plan is to honor the 1979 team next year - is with the Bucs' first generation of players and coaches.

After that, they can open up the voting to all generations of Bucs players. That should spark plenty of interest and debate, particularly among the fans. Limiting the number of players honored each year will do the same.

Every great Buccaneer deserves his day, not three minutes before the opening kickoff or eight minutes at halftime. Limiting the number of inductees to say, three per year, will do that.

It will also help guarantee that every year new and old inductees are honored. That is the objective, after all, isn't it? To honor the greatest who have ever played here?

Celebrations like that should happen annually if possible, not once every six or seven years. Spreading out the induction of all the Buccaneer greats will keep the ring of honor a focal point for years.

It already figures to be a focal point for next year. Fans and players such as Derrick Brooks have been clamoring for this for years. Thankfully, the Glazers got around to granting everyone their wish.

All they have to do now is make sure everyone has a say in filling up the ring.

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979.

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