Squirrel Melts. Gold Jackets. Pushing it REAL GOOD!

You’ve heard of tuna melts or patty melts… why not squirrel melts? (Start at :33)

Now, I’ve come around slightly to the creativity of utilizing the “free-range chicken of the tree.” There are strong arguments to be made for depopulating these little, grey nibbling nuisances alone. But for most, these are not desperate end times that necessitate rodent consumption and let’s be real: some things just don’t go together, man.

For those of us who respect and appreciate true, natural partnerships, I hereby submit the following:

Jerry Kramer and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Jim Taylor, Forrest Gregg, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Herb Adderly, Willie Davis, Jim Ringo, Paul Horning, Willie Wood, Henry Jordan and Dave Robinson are all Lombardi-era players in Canton and deservedly so. But where is Kramer in this list? Why has he been so confusingly snubbed?

#64’s Canton absence may even come as a surprise to many and you wouldn’t be alone. Alicia Kramer, Jerry’s daughter, has almost single-handedly furthered the cause to get her father into the Hall. She has a great story where she was actually the one to inform Roger Goodell her dad hadn’t broken through yet.

Alicia is likely making one final push to get her dad into the HOF, and SO ARE WE. Jersey Al has put together a list of selection committee members (see below) so that fans like you and I can write them as well in hopes fulfilling her mission.

You won’t be alone. Along with the Ranter, these fine sites are using their Internetting Skillz to promote #JerryKramer4HOF. Look to them for inspiration if needed. 

Acme Packing Company
CheeseheadTV.com
Green Bay Packer Nation
Lombardi Ave.
PackersTalk
Packer Chatters
Packernet
Titletown Soundoff
The Ultimate Packer Fan Connection

Please join us. Write, tweet, message, etc. why you believe Jerry Kramer should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with #JerryKramer4HOF. These committee members are experts, mind you, and they know Jerry’s playing accolades better than most humans. Be kind, be respectful, be positive. But above all, believe in what you’re saying.

Here is my draft:

Dear Selection Committee Member,

The Pro Football Hall of Fame appears to have all the greatest Packers players from the Lombardi era minus one glaring omission: Jerry Kramer. That’s despite Kramer being voted the greatest guard in the NFL’s first 50 years, despite being the only player on the 50^th Anniversary All-Time team not in the HOF, despite almost a decade of All-Pro play and despite emphatic support from fans and NFL icons alike.

While I’m too young to have seen him play, what’s so incredible to me is how Kramer has spent decades promoting the sport through books, appearances and countless speaking engagements – each time providing new insights for all generations of fans. There are few, bigger-than-life personalities who possesses the authenticity to captivate like Jerry Kramer. His seemingly unending enthusiasm for the game is beyond contagious as evidenced by anyone who has heard him speak or been in his presence.

I believe Jerry Kramer more than warrants being more than what seems like a footnote, asterisk or disclaimer in relation to Canton. In many minds, he is already a Hall of Famer but you have the opportunity to finally make it official and create true, satisfying closure to this man’s career and lifelong passion. I strongly encourage you to give Pro Football GREAT, Jerry Kramer, the gold jacket he deserves. It is time.

Sincerely,

Robert Greenfield

Let’s work together and be part of something special. It may take 5 minutes but it would mean the world to Jerry, his family, Alicia Kramer, the Packers, the fans, the Greater Green Bay area, the NFL as a whole, America in general, and squirrels everywhere.

#JerryKramer4HOF

http://www.jerrykramer.com/#nfl-career

Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attention; Senior Selection Committee
2121 George Halas Dr. NW
Canton, OH 44708

HOF Facebook Page
HOF Twitter Account:

Seniors Committee

Frank Cooney runs NFLDraftScout.com and The SportsXchange, one of the country's leading providers of sports data and analysis.
Sports Xchange
4632 Windsong St
Sacramento, CA 95834
415-897-8555
fcooney@sportsxchange.com

Dan Pompei Bleacher Report has covered more than 500 National Football League games, including 26 Super Bowls. He was given the 2013 Dick McCann Award by the Pro Football Writers of America for long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football.
dpompei@bleacherreport.com
Twitter: DanPompei
Facebook: Dan.pompei.3

Rick Gosselin has covered the NFL for 31 years, including the past 14 as NFL columnist for The Dallas Morning News.
Dallas Morning News
508 Young Street
Dallas, TX 75202
rgosselin@dallasnews.com
Twitter: RickGosselinDMN
Facebook: richard.e.gosselin

John McClain has covered the Oilers, NFL and Texans for the Houston Chronicle. He has been a regular contributor to The Sports Xchange, The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, the NFL Network, Comcast, Fox Sports 1 and Sirius Radio.
Houston Chronicle
4747 Southwest Freeway
Houston, TX 77027
john.mcclain@chron.com
Twitter: McClain_on_NFL
Facebook: john.mcclain.52493

Ron Borges is a sportswriter for the Boston Herald. He has also written for the Boston Globe. Borges has been named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Association of Sportswriters and Sports Broadcasters five times since 1999.
70 Fargo Street
Boston, MA 02210
Ron.borges@bostonHerald.com
Twitter: RonBorges
Facebook: RonBorges.73

Bernie Miklasz is an American sportswriter and sports radio personality. He was the lead sports columnist at the St. Louis Post Dispatch from 1999 to 2015. He hosts the morning show on 101 ESPN in St. Louis. Miklasz is a native of Baltimore, MD, and moved to St. Louis in 1985 to cover professional football for the Post-Dispatch. He has also worked at the Baltimore News-American and the Dallas Morning News.

101 ESPN St Louis
11647 Olive Blvd
St. Louis, MO 63141
Twitter: miklasz
Facebook: Bernie-Miklasz

John Czarnecki, whose first pro football interview was of Johnny Unitas in Buffalo’s War Memorial stadium for the Rochester Times-Union, has been the editorial consultant for Fox NFL Sunday since its inception 20 years ago. He previously worked at CBS Sports. The winner of four Sports Emmys for work on NFL studio shows, Czarnecki wrote the book “Football for Dummies” with Howie Long. Czar’s first full season covering the NFL was 1979 and he worked for such newspapers as the Herald-Examiner in Los Angeles and the The National Sports Daily. He has served nine times as a Super Bowl pool reporter and is a longtime selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a member of its Seniors Committee.

czar5@aol.com

Ira Miller
Sports Xchange
4632 Windsong St
Sacramento, CA 95834
415-897-8555
millernfl@aol.com, imiller@sportsxchange.com

Jeff Legwold
ESPN
jlegwold@denverpost.com
Twitter: Jeff_Legwold
Facebook: Jeff.Legwold

Full List of HOF Voters:

Arizona	Kent Somers, Arizona Republic
Atlanta	Darryl Ledbetter, Atlanta Journal - Constitution
Baltimore	Scott Garceau, WMAR-TV
Buffalo	Vic Carucci, Buffalo News
Carolina	Darin Gantt, ProFootballTalk
Chicago	Dan Pompei, Bleacher Report*
Cincinnati	Geoff Hobson, Bengals.com
Cleveland	Tony Grossi, ESPNCleveland.com/WKNR Radio
Dallas	Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News*
Denver	Jeff Legwold, ESPN/ESPN.com
Detroit	Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press
Green Bay	Pete Dougherty, Green Bay Press-Gazette
Houston	John McClain, Houston Chronicle*
Indianapolis	Mike Chappell, RTV6 - ABC Affiliate Indianapolis
Jacksonville	Sam Kouvaris, WJXT-TV
Kansas City	Randy Covitz, Kansas City Star
Miami	Armando Salguero, Miami Herald
Minnesota	Mark Craig, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune
New England	Ron Borges, Boston Herald*
New Orleans	Jeff Duncan, Times-Picayune
New York (Giants)	Bob Glauber, Newsday
New York (Jets)	Gary Myers, New York Daily News
Oakland	Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange
Philadelphia	Paul Domowitch, Philadelphia Daily News
Pittsburgh	Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
St. Louis	Bernie Miklasz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch*
San Diego	Nick Canepa, San Diego Union Tribune
San Francisco	Nancy Gay
Seattle	Mike Sando, ESPN.com
Tampa Bay	Ira Kaufman, Tampa Tribune
Tennessee	David Climer, The Tennessean
Washington	David Elfin, DavidElfinonSports.com
PFWA	Mary Kay Cabot, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
At Large	Howard Balzer, The Sports Xchange
At Large	Jarrett Bell, USA Today
At Large	John Clayton, ESPN
At Large	Jason Cole, BleacherReport.com
At Large	John Czarnecki, FOXSports.com*
At Large	Clark Judge, Talk of Fame Network and Yahoo Sports Radio
At Large	Peter King, Sports Illustrated
At Large	Ira Miller, The Sports Xchange*
At Large	Sal Paolantonio, ESPN
At Large	Vito Stellino, Florida Times Union
At Large	Jim Trotter, ESPN
At Large	Charean Williams, Ft. Worth Star Telegram
At Large	Barry Wilner, Associated Press