Mike Celizic

DETROIT - Fans live on sentiment. Hall of fame voters don’t. And because of that, fan didn't get the feel-good story they had been hoping for when the Pro Football Hall of Fame electors met on Saturday.

Troy Aikman, winner of three Super Bowls, was one of six players elected for enshrinement in Canton, Ohio. However, for the second straight year, Michael Irvin — the man who helped make Aikman a winner – was left off.

Reggie White, Warren Moon, Harry Carson, John Madden and Rayfield Wright also were elected Saturday. Not since 2001 had the maximum number of candidates been chosen.

You don’t have to be a Cowboy fan to appreciate how special it would have been for the two teammates to enter the hall together. They were two of the major cogs in one of the great dynasties. For them to go into the hall as they went through their careers – on top of the football world together – only seems right.

But unfortunately it didn't happen. For reasons that are unfathomable to me, Irvin missing out once, but twice is just wrong. There is no doubt that the 12-year pro was, along with Jerry Rice, the best receiver of his era and one of the best ever. He was a five-time Pro Bowler who caught 750 passes for 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns. He played in a season’s worth of playoff games – 16 of them – and caught another 87 passes for a whopping 1,314 yards and eight more touchdowns.

He had size and speed and charisma, the prototype of Terrell Owens. Like Owens, he liked to showboat after big catches and touchdowns. His showboating and problems with drugs may be what prompted the voters to deny him entry last year, but the rules are clear: Election is based solely on on-the-field accomplishments; character is not an issue.

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What separates Irvin from Owens was Irvin’s work ethic and commitment to his team. He never lobbied to be shipped out of town; he was a Cowboy from day one and forever. And on the practice field, Jay Novacek pointed out, every time he caught a pass he ran it all the way to the end zone. Every time. He may have been a showboat, but he worked at his craft harder than anyone, and his teammates admired and appreciated that.

I will give credit to the committee for getting in Aikman on the first ballot.

Only Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, with four each, have more rings than Aikman’s three. In a sport that values championships above all else – especially for quarterbacks – those are credentials enough.

During his 12 seasons – his career was cut short by injuries – Aikman compiled 165 touchdowns, and 200 is considered a magic number for hall of fame candidates. (Phil Simms, who won one Super Bowl and is not in the Hall of Fame, had 199 TDs.) Aikman is just 48^th on the all-time touchdowns list and 22^nd in passing yards.

On the other hand, he completed 61.5 percent of his passes, and if he didn’t pile up yards like other quarterbacks, it can be argued, it’s because he spent a lot of his time handing off to Emmitt Smith, one of the all-time great running backs, and not because he was deficient as a passer.

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Voters also have an aversion to voting people in on the first ballot. Some think that’s an honor reserved only for the greatest of the great; the mere great must be made to wait a year or two to get in. So despite the fact Aikman’s career numbers aren’t eye-popping, it was great to see him in.

But it's a crime Michael Irvin didn't get elected.

And they should have gone in together.

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