– Tony Dungy on Marvin Harrison’s impact.
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Pace’s choice was Browns tackle Joe Thomas, who has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his nine National Football League seasons. That’s one of the things: “Don’t let my emotions get the best of me”.
And just like his playing days, when he was known for having a gunslinger’s mentality, Favre shot from the hip during his enshrinement speech; instead of writing it out, he instead opted to “wing” it, taking the podium without notes.
“I just remember the Raiders players standing outside the locker room smoking”, he said, drawing laughs from reporters. I know my son. More than I care to count.
Before the induction ceremony, Favre participated Saturday morning along with other members of the 2016 class in the annual Hall of Fame parade through the streets of Canton. That was OK. Never did I hear him say, ‘Son, you’ve arrived. “It’s emotional for me and that’s part of the legacy”.
A bronze bust of Favre was also unveiled during the ceremony. When you think about the Raiders you think about Ken Stabler.
While his blocks were memorable, my most unbelievable Pace moment was one that showed off his ability to run and move like he was one of the guys in the offensive backfield. That if you win a championship but don’t make the community where you live better, you have lost. But in those defeats, he insists, are the life lessons he has preached since the first time he put a whistle around his neck.
“Going into the Hall of Fame is pretty special, and you’re right, I know two guys, Orlando Pace and Tony Dungy”, Lovie Smith. “It’s not 100 percent highs. You are going to have some disappointments that you can bounce back from”.
Edit, 11:22 AM: Good news: while it’s not advertised a single time on the homepage of NFL.com like the videos of every other inductee’s speeches, the complete and unedited video of Pace’s speech can be found deep within the ranks of NFL.com. Can you just sum up the weekend now that its all said and done? Four is tough already, and now we have five.. “To everybody who has come up to us in the past year, we’re so grateful and thankful”.
Despite directing one of the most forlorn professional sports teams out of the abyss, Dungy was sacked after leading the Bucs to the playoffs four times in six seasons. Holmgren led the Packers to a Super Bowl championship in 1996 – their first since Kramer’s Packers won it all in 1967. His accomplishments were celebrated, which was well-deserving given all he did for the sport. By the time both had retired from the Colts and the National Football League in 2008, they had built an 85-27 record together in Indianapolis for an astonishing.759 winning percentage. We weren’t just a family on Sundays. As parents, we marveled at Dungy’s quiet strength.
A disciple of Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll, Dungy went 139-69 in 13 seasons, including 85-27 with the Colts from 2002-08.
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We’ll have more coverage of Favre’s induction on NBC26 Live at 10 after the Olympics. That was the second-most ever at the time of his retirement. We were only ahead for one minute. Behind that podium, I saw what every hero should be: imperfect, but determined to strive for perfection not as an end goal but as a forever ongoing process; human, but pushing past the expectations and limitations that come along with that humanity to achieve greatness; and proud, but acknowledging everyone that had helped him reach such heights, and without whom he’d be nothing.
