LAS VEGAS - On the one hand, Darren Woodson is probably correct about what seems like an inevitability.
"My confidence is that it's going to happen," said Woodson on Thursday here in Las Vegas as he learned during Super Bowl Week that he fell just short of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
And indeed, the credentials are there, the Cowboys' all-time leader in tackles having played 12 seasons from 1992-2003 as a five-time Pro Bowler and a three Super Bowl champion ... and "Woody'' is just 54 years old.
On the other hand, Woodson might be right, too, when he laments the reality of what some might call the Hall's level of exclusivity and what others might call an annual oversight.
"You can't do anything. It's not like I can go back and play this game or do something to convince someone. It is what it is," Woodson said. "The work is out there. For me, the hardest thing is that I put this work out there a long time ago. A lot of that is just forgotten in time. It sucks, but it's the reality."
"Forgotten in time''? Indeed, as it's now been 20 years since Woodson's retirement, and every season that comes along - as even older generations of faded stars know - brings with it another crop of worthy candidates.
This time around? The 2024 Hall of Fame class included Dwight Freeney, Devin Hester, Julius Peppers, Andre Johnson, Patrick Willis, Steve McMichael and Randy Gradishar; no one there is unworthy, as Woodson noted.
"I'm happy for the guys that got nominated. They're much deserving of that," Woodson said. "But I'd be lying if I told you I'm not disappointed. I'm disappointed that I'm not going into the Hall of Fame.''
Woodson, who has consistently represented the Cowboys and the NFL in the classiest possible way, is doing the same here, even in the face of the disappointment.
"I'm a firm believer that I'm deserving of it,'' he said. "And I still believe one day it's going to happen."
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