El Diablo passed over again!

[Clint Eastwood]

I've gotta get something off my chest with my fellow DC fans here. How the effin hell does El Diablo not make it into the hall of fame AGAIN!

Here are the results of the 2008 ballot:
http://www.ussoccerhalloffame.com/Induction/2008/Results/player_results.html

A player needs 75% to get in, and the best player in the history of the league gets 53%. There are 128 voters. That means (if I do the math right here), 60 of them didn't put him on their ballot. The voters can vote for up to 10 people!!!!!!!!!! How do you not vote for him. It's ludicrous.

Other DC players:

Jeff Agoos 59%
Earnie Stewart 42%
Roy Wegerle 14%
Roy Lassiter 9%
Raul Diaz Arce 8%
Richie Williams 3%
Brian Kamler 1%

What exactly is the point of a US soccer hall of fame if Marco Etcheverry, Jeff Agoos, and Earnie Stewart are that far away from getting in. You could in all honesty make a serious case that Lassiter should be in, and yet he got 9% of the vote.

I'm I the only one who sees this as a serious, serious joke?

Or do people not really care about the US soccer hall of fame? Or does the fact that somebody out there voted for Brian Kamler make the whole thing a disgrace?

[jason1551]

There's another thread on BS that delved into the lack of a clear defining guideline for voters, and I tend to agree with it. Does someone get in based on USNT, MLS, or international team accolades? There really is no set formula that any one voter is following, and the end result is that people who are shoe-ins for one of those three categories get passed over for seemingly no reason at all. There needs to be a set criteria to follow and probably an MLS Hall of Fame set up to cover the players (like Etch) who really don't fit the ideal (whatever it may be) that the US Soccer HoF is looking for.

[Doctor Woo]

If building soccer in the US is a quality they want, who was the backbone of the best franchise in MLS history, the cornerstone? If they are looking for the character of the man, I see no problems. He most certainly deserves it and I am sure he would take the honor to heart and give it the respect it should have.

OTOH, my opinion won't be moved one way or the other. He is still the best DCU has ever had, and probably will remain as such for the future that I can see. I can't say the opinion of the HOF folks would make an iota of difference to me.

[luciusmagister]

Marco Etcheverry was the best MLS player of his era, hands down. I don't know what the voting criteria is but if it has anything to do with the most influential player of an era then El Diablo is a lock.

[bigredfutbol]

That list was a grab-bag. It was so diluted, I'm not surprised that nobody could break through.

FFS, Earnie Stewart got below 50% of the vote...dude played in three WCs, going back to 1994. He shoulda been a lock.

[JeremyEritrea]

The US Soccer HOF is, IMHO, a joke.

[Clint Eastwood]

That list was a grab-bag. It was so diluted, I'm not surprised that nobody could break through.

FFS, Earnie Stewart got below 50% of the vote...dude played in three WCs, going back to 1994. He shoulda been a lock.

It's pretty clear that some of the voters don't take into consideration a player's club career abroad.

A more compelling argument could be made for Jeff Agoos, actually. He's probably the most decorated player in MLS history as far as silverware goes. He was MLS Defender of the Year in 2001 and earned a place in the MLS Best XI three times (1997, 1999, and 2001). In 2005, Agoos was named to the league's tenth anniversary All-Time Best XI. On top of that he had 134 caps for the USMNT, which I believe is 2nd all-time after Cobi.

So people voting based on the USMNT should have voted for him, and people voting based on MLS should have voted for him. What does that leave? People who only watch the women's game who don't have clue about men's soccer? But that can't possibly be 40% of the voters.

It's an insane, a joke, and it makes me angry. If we're going to have an effin hall of fame we should actually put people in it.

[Section106]

Or does the fact that somebody out there voted for Brian Kamler make the whole thing a disgrace?

What's wrong with voting for Brian Kamler? I loved Kamler on our team. He did anything the coaches asked of him and is a hell of a nice guy. I'd vote for Brian for HOF!

I wish I had the money to win that silent auction for his game worn jersey all those years ago. Oh well.

[mcontento]

What's wrong with voting for Brian Kamler? I loved Kamler on our team. He did anything the coaches asked of him and is a hell of a nice guy. I'd vote for Brian for HOF!

I wish I had the money to win that silent auction for his game worn jersey all those years ago. Oh well.


Hey I like Brian Kamler as much as the next guy but if he were to go into the Hall of Fame then you might as well open it up for everyone not named Thor Lee. You could make a better case for Nick Rimando, Tom Presthaus, Mario Gori, Diego Sonora, and the Big Cat Tony Sanneh, but none of them belong in the Hall either.

[Section106]

I'm an unabashed homer. I'd vote for almost anyone that wore the shirt. Of course, no MetroSteer would even be allowed in the same town as the HOF. Other teams players would be taken on a case by case basis. On second thought, Chicago would recieve the same ban as the Steers as they are born of evil and are an abomination.

Man has it been a long offseason!

[AMERICANS SC]

The US Soccer HOF is, IMHO, a joke.

I always wanted to go there, on our trips to Canada during skiing season, but your post sums it up the best! We won't be wasting our time going there (unless we have to make a bathroom stop in their building).

THE US SOCCER HOF IS A F*CKING JOKE!

[Clint Eastwood]

I'm an unabashed homer. I'd vote for almost anyone that wore the shirt. Of course, no MetroSteer would even be allowed in the same town as the HOF. Other teams players would be taken on a case by case basis. On second thought, Chicago would recieve the same ban as the Steers as they are born of evil and are an abomination.

Man has it been a long offseason!

I suspect with the way the voting goes, that is about as much thought as most of the voters put into it.