Per NFL:
Would you rather win a Super Bowl or be a Hall of Fame player without a ring?
It’s not exactly a fair question — or a legitimate choice — but it is a fascinating way to examine what we value in sports. LaDainian Tomlinson didn’t hesitate when asked what he valued more on NBC SportsTalk on Monday:
“Hall of Fame player without a ring, because you’ve got to sacrifice so much individually just to be good,” Tomlinson said via ProFootballTalk. “They draft you individually and you’ve got to back them up and make them right. I think at the end of the day, even though I didn’t win a Super Bowl ring, I felt like I backed them up for drafting me. I backed up the San Diego Chargers for picking me with the fifth pick.”
We can imagine a lot of fans will find fault with LT2′s answer. When we first saw the headline, we also thought it sounded typical of a player that didn’t win a title.
But it’s the right answer. Ramses Barden, David Carr, Jernal Jernigan, Jimmy Kennedy and Tony Ugoh were among the New York Giants to win a Super Bowl title in February. Are they somehow more “clutch” or true “winners” because they got lucky?
Tomlinson was an all-time great who did everything possible to put his team in position to win. It didn’t happen. He couldn’t control winning a Super Bowl title, but he made sure that he’s headed for the Hall of Fame.
