Sadly, this has become a yearly event with the Pittsburgh Steelers fan base. What event, you ask? The Pro Football Hall of Fame announcing their finalists and Hines Ward’s name not being among those 15 finalists.

It pains me to say, tweets like this one from Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette almost become expected at this point, at least for Ward.

Hines Ward and James Harrison fail to make it to the final 15 for Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) December 28, 2023

James Harrison is in the early years of this process, while Ward has been through the proverbial ringer on more than one occasion, 8 times to be exact, as he waits to get a nod to be a finalist for the prestigious recognition of being a Hall of Famer.

In case you were wondering, here are the 15 finalists for the Class of 2024 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

15 from the Modern Era, three Seniors and one Coach/Contributor.

THESE are the Finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2024, which will be announced on February 8 during NFL Honors.

Full Story: https://t.co/UyjZ0a1Ag7 pic.twitter.com/Nd7UHTh7st

— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) December 28, 2023

When you see the wide receivers on the list, you can’t help but play the comparison game and wonder why Ward isn’t on the list over players like Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne and Andre Johnson. But this isn’t mean to degrade what those players did, they were both great in their own right. This is about Ward not being credited for the statistics and accolades he put up during his time in the league.

Some say Ward doesn’t have the stats to be in the Hall of Fame. To those people, look at this numbers:

Ward finished his career with 1,000 career receptions — 80 more than Holt — and his 85 touchdowns were more than a number of Hall of Fame receivers such as Calvin Johnson, Charley Taylor, James Lofton, Art Monk, Bob Hayes and, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. They were also more than Holt, Wayne and another of the 25 semifinalists, former Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith.

He also had 88 catches for 1,181 yards and 10 touchdowns in 18 postseason games. He was also MVP of Super Bowl XL in Detroit, one of just eight receivers to ever win the award.

Want to get really mad? Go look up Andre Reed’s career statistics and accolades, and compare them to Ward. In case you didn’t know, Reed is in the Hall of Fame.

When you look at those numbers and combine them with his blocking ability, Ward redefined the position and the way it was played. Isn’t that what the Hall of Fame is looking for? Players who didn’t just put up the numbers, but also changed the way the game is played?

Some will call Ward dirty, and that’s fine, but for those who say he doesn’t have the numbers or accolades to be in the Hall of Fame, we must be looking at different players because I just don’t see that being an argument against Ward. It’s sad to say, but every year Ward doesn’t even become a finalist seems like more and more of a long shot he’ll get into the Hall of Fame anytime soon.