Robert Kraft is an absolute favorite for Hall, but discussion is a victory for the NFL owner’s idolization
Robert Kraft’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame has become something of an annual tradition throughout New England, on par with Opening Day at Fenway Park and Marathon Monday.
And now, thanks to Don Van Natta Jr.’s extensively reported piece at ESPNThe entire football world is invited to ponder the mystery of why Kraft sat by the phone all those years, waiting for that life-changing call from Canton, Ohio.
Does Kraft belong in the Hall of Fame?
Of course he does.
Let’s be clear right away: he should have been inducted years ago. As I’ve written before, Kraft would have the credibility of Canton even if his six Super Bowl championships were wiped from his resume. Kraft’s business acumen, combined with deep Boston roots, his status as a longtime Patriots season-ticket holder, and a lingering nostalgia for the old Boston Braves baseball team that moved to Milwaukee when he was just 11 years old, inspired him to buy the team, fearing it would be carted away to St. Louis by its previous owner, the late James Busch Orthwein. Remember, ground was broken on what would become the privately funded Gillette Stadium in the spring of 2000, before Bill Belichick had ever coached a game for the Patriots, before Tom Brady had thrown his first NFL pass.
There’s no need to rehash all that. A better question for today is why we’re even having this discussion. The easy answer is because of the Van Natta Jr. piece, which is dripping with backroom lobbying, petty jealousy, and an ownership depth chart that’s already entrenched. But we’re also talking about it because that’s exactly what the NFL wants, thanks to what I like to call the Owner Glorification Project, which is endless and well-crafted.
The NFL’s marketing department is a franchise unto itself, and over the years it has proven to be a bigger winner than the Patriots, Cowboys and Steelers combined. Everything from the scouting combine to the release of the schedule has been turned into must-see TV. And while the draft was once just a bunch of guys locked in a hotel room, it’s now a flashy primetime event that doesn’t start until after a famous artist sang the national anthem.
No, the NFL didn’t plan on having us sit around on a sunny September morning debating why Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is in the Hall of Fame and Robert Kraft isn’t. And yet here we are.
The NFL is in the business of selling football. But like any successful store, its shelves are stocked with a variety of products. It’s selling its players, its coaches … and, yes, absolutely, its owners. The broadcasts of most games have barely begun when we get the obligatory shot from the owner’s box, often accompanied by a glowing testimonial from the play-by-play barker. It seems that every touchdown includes a quick cutaway shot from the owner. As the clock ticks down and victory is assured, we get another one cropped shot.
This doesn’t happen in other sports. Not to the extent that it does in the NFL, anyway. There are exceptions, of course. There’s Mark Cuban in the NBA, but come on, those high-rollers have floor seats. You can’t ignore them. The late George Steinbrenner, longtime Yankees owner, also comes to mind. His reckless dealings, his obsession with being on the back page of the New York tabloids, his endless fights with manager Billy Martin transformed him into a media star. He hosted “Saturday Night Live.” He did a Miller Lite ad. (With Billy Martin, of course.) He was a parodied fixture on “Seinfeld.” God bless him, George was pleasure.
The NFL’s Owner Glorification Project has been going on for years. The first time it really hit me in the face, and with a frying pan, was on December 3, 2007, when the 11-0 Patriots took on the Baltimore Ravens on an edition of “Monday Night Football” at M&T Bank Stadium. It looked like the 4-7 Ravens were going to pull off an upset that would end New England’s bid for an undefeated season.
All seemed lost for the Patriots late in the fourth quarter, and yet they pulled out a 27-24 victory — partly because the Ravens were falling apart, but also because Brady and Belichick were in their prime. But as ESPN would have us believe, the Pats also had a secret weapon: Robert Kraft.
Let’s break down the tape, starting with 2:22 remaining. Brady went 2 yards for a first down at the Baltimore 39, and then we get a cutaway shot of Kraft in the owner’s box, looking dashing in a dark suit, yellow tie, and his usual powder blue shirt with a white collar.
We do not Check out a shot of Kraft after Brady’s incomplete pass to tight end Ben Watson prior to the two-minute warning, but the ball went straight back into the owner’s penalty box after Brady, under pressure, cleared the ball.
Brady then connected with Kevin Faulk for 9 yards, setting up a fourth-and-1 at the Baltimore 30. Here, Brady was stopped for a first down, but it was also here that the play was called short after it was revealed that the Ravens, in the person of defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, had called a timeout before the ball was snapped. The Pats were then set back 5 yards on a false start, but Brady saved the day with a 12-yard run. Cutaway shot by Kraft!
The Pats gained another 5 yards on an illegal contact call on the Ravens’ Samari Rolle, and then it was Faulk up the middle 5 yards to the Baltimore 13 with 1:06 left. Brady then threw a short pass that was batted in the air but fell incomplete. Under pressure on his next pass attempt, Brady threw a short pass to nobody. We then got our fourth cutaway shot of Kraft, with Mike Tirico telling the viewers, “So Bob Kraft, the owner, who has put together the Bill Belichick master plan, executed to perfection on the field by Brady, who is having his toughest night of the season…”
So Kraft was now part of the game. He was doing the thinking, fighting for the fans. His fight was your fight.
On fourth-and-5 at the Baltimore 13 with 55 seconds left, Brady’s short pass to Watson was incomplete. But lo and behold, a holding call on the Ravens’ Jamaine Winborne! With another first down to give away, the Patriots took the lead on Brady’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney, followed by a quick cutaway to Kraft with his hands clasped.
Tirico: “26-24, and Kraft thinks, did he get the ball in the field…”
Gaffney did in bounds with possession. Touchdown. Extra point by Stephen Gostkowski. Before you know it, Robert Kraft is on the field for the final seconds of the game, as evidenced by cutaway shot No. 6. The Ravens make one last play. Kyle Boller’s Hail Mary to Mark Clayton was complete at the 3-yard line, but with no time on the clock. Patriots 27, Ravens 24. And six cutaway shots by the owner in the final 2 minutes, 22 seconds.
It’s fine that the NFL wants to promote its owners, from what they’ve done to build their teams to what they’ve contributed to the community. And Kraft, like everyone else, has long been a philanthropic good-doer. There’s no arguing that.
But the NFL has so inflated its owners that it seems like they’re on an equal footing with the players and coaches. It’s enough to make you wonder if they all think they belong in the Hall of Fame.
(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
