Giants' Eli Manning and Patriots' Bill Belichick now have a Hall of Fame honor in common

Eli Manning and Bill Belichick can join the same surprising club.

Let's call it the "Didn't Get Elected To The Pro Football Hall Of Fame On The First Ballot Club."

Too long? Well, you get the idea.

It's a funny historical link that likely no one saw coming.

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The Giants' two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback beat the Patriots legendary head coach Belichick twice in the big game.

And now, after Manning failed to be elected on his first try a year ago, Belichick has failed to make it in on his first try this time around.

In a way, it speaks to the wild quirks of Hall of Fame voting in the football world.

Manning won Super Bowl MVP both times he hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, and sure, there were some knocks on his regular season numbers, but what else is a quarterback supposed to do than win the Super Bowl?

And then you've got Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as the Patriots head coach and two more as defensive coordinator of the Giants well before Manning played there. Again, what's he supposed to do besides win Super Bowls?

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It seems likely that both will make it eventually. Manning could even make it this year, as the full voting results haven't been announced yet.

But if you want to scratch your head a little, you can consider that these two adversaries both failed to make it in on the first try.

There's something a little disappointing about that.

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