Aaron, I do agree with your assertion that Sterling Sharpe had Hall of Fame football talent and he demonstrated that on the football field.

I also agree with your supposition that the two key items which are adversely affecting the Sterling Sharpe voting by the Hall of Fame voting committee are the short tenure in the league and his dealings with the media during his playing career.

While I have lived most of my life in California, I was born in Wisconsin and remained there until I finished my education and then relocated because of my work. I did fly back to Green Bay to watch a goodly number of training camps and football games. During those visits I observed two separate instances where popular Packer players were approached by youngsters requesting an autograph during training camp and after a practice. One was Reggie White and the other was Sterling Sharpe.

Reggie was walking towards his Jeep and wanted to get home and was approached and surrounded by a group of about 12 (an estimate) kids I would guess to be around 10 to 12 years old. Reggie pleaded that he had to go home, but in the end he stayed there until I believe every single youngster got his signature. This is contrasted by the event I witnessed involving Sterling Sharpe and a young girl.

Sterling was walking back towards the locker room after practice after a different practice session some years before Reggie White was even a Green Bay Packer player and I was close enough that I could hear most of the conversation Sharpe had with a young girl (I would estimate was around 8 or 9 years old) who had run up to and asked for his autograph. I will admit that I didn't hear every word, but I did hear Sterling say "I don't give autographs" in a not so gracious voice and I did see Sterling turn a walk away and the girl leave in the other direction crying. Not a pretty thing to see for me.

Thus, Sterling Sharpe was a rare talent on the football field and in it's truest sense and there are many people like you appear to be that believe that players should be selected to become members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame based upon what they do on the football field. However, human emotions in real life do play a part in many decisions and whether it's just or not, I do agree with you that those emotions and interactions between Sharpe and committee members are likely adversely affecting how many votes Sterling has received and will receive by the selection committee.