Irvin to Goodell: Show players the hall

I never liked Michael Irvin nor the Dallas Cowboys of the mid-1990s that were winning Super Bowl after Super Bowl. I thought Irvin was an arrogant jerk on the field and his off-the-field exploits involving hookers, cocaine and seedy Dallas hotels are the stuff of legend.

But recently Irvin has had at least one good idea – he convinced NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to make a visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio mandatory for rookies when they enter the league. That’s the best thing the league has done since imposing upon its first-year players the Rookie Symposium.

With many of the bad seeds in the NFL apparently feeling they have arrived just by showing up it’s vital that these clowns get a look at the history of the game – the people who sacrificed, bled and breathed football during a time when most players had to take off-season jobs in order to make a complete living.

New Falcon Matt Ryan in this ESPN piece says it best. “It makes you realize you got a great opportunity,” he told the Web site. While his English leaves a bit to be desired, Ryan appropriately tipped his cap to what came before him and appreciation for his opportunity to become the next great quarterback.

Clearly this move isn’t single-handedly going to rid the league of thugs and clowns. But it can only help in providing some context and some appreciation for what makes the NFL the strongest professional sports league in the world. And that can’t be a bad thing.