HOF? Perhaps for this pro’s-pro
I read with interest James Donovan’s letter regarding Max Unger. Hall of Fame? That I don’t know. I do know Max is a great football player.
Reasons:
1) Talent. After several weeks of Max’s first “fall ball camp” at Oregon, Coach Greatwood (recruiting coach) called my brother (Max’s dad) to say Max is doing great and that “he is our best lineman.”
“Of all the new recruits?” was my brother’s response.
No, of all their linemen. If not for a pulled muscle during camp, Max would have started as a true freshman. Barring injury, Max has started every game since, both college and pro.
2) Intelligence. At the professional level, talent will only get you so far. It’s football smarts that separate the good from the great. Max is one of the smartest centers in the league.
3) Leader. High school, college, and pro, Max has been voted captain by his peers. Certainly not the rah-rah type. A man of few words, he leads by example. Perhaps look back at some of the quotes from Max’s ex-Seahawks teammates after his trade, particularly Doug Baldwin.
4) Pro’s-pro. Max is all business and takes his craft very seriously. No late night parties, arrests, drugs, or outlandish quotes! Max wants nothing to define him other than his character and play!
As far as the Hall of Fame is concerned, I believe longevity at the lineman position is one of the key factors. Knowing Max, his intellect and pride will have him retiring in his prime and long before what is required of the Hall of Fame.
That said, Max is a great All-Pro and Pro Bowl center. Perhaps more important, a great representative of his family and the State of Hawaii!
Scott Unger
Kailua-Kona
Wall-deniers blind with contempt
Kathleen Parker’s column, “The stupidity of that wall,” (WHT Jan. 12) causes one to wonder if she believes those who voted for wall funding in the past are stupid. They include wall supporters Schumer, Pelosi, Obama, Clinton and numerous other politicians of both parties. It appears that the dangers faced by our country have grown, thus making the necessity of a wall greater, not less, than in the past.
Some wall-deniers say that we can’t afford one, disregarding the fact that illegal aliens cost our country much more than a wall. Some say that illegal aliens commit fewer crimes than citizens, ignoring that crime is destructive and we benefit by reducing it regardless the source.
President Donald Trump is very easy to dislike and even for many to hate. But it is dangerous vanity to let these emotions cause congressional leaders to disadvantage the country in order to show their contempt for him. Congress: Put aside your petty grudges and serve the nation responsibly.
Warren Field
Flower Mound, Texas
Groundhog Day on voting issues
We have a bone to pick with a couple of voting issues. First, is having to vote yet again to keep the 2 percent fund garnered from land taxes for purchasing land for all generations of island residents to enjoy.
We have voted three times and every time the people have voted to keep it. Two of those ballots were to change the percentage or remove it all together. Each time we said “No, we want to keep it as is!” Here it returns again, amazing, what do they not understand about how the taxpayers on this isle feel about acquiring land to keep for public use? Also, the wording has always been confusing. This land makes the lives of all Big Island residents better in so many ways and it is also good for the tourist industry.
Second, we have also voted three times to limit county council members to two-year terms and eight-year limits. Here in Ka’u, we were so glad to have this option of being able to vote out someone who was not doing a good job. I shall not mention names, but we voted two different county council members out after their first terms.
If we did not have this two-year term limit we would have had to wait another two years before changing it. Please keep this in place. The term is fair and keeps everyone in line. If an elected representative is doing a good job they do not have to worry about reelection.
Helen Behrmann, Marcus Castaing
Naalehu