“He is the first Polynesian and Samoan to make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and that is an accomplishment in itself”.
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The humbled men in gold jackets entering football immortality were unmistakable.
So were the unending seas of yellow bad Towels there to greet them. A six-time All-Pro, Seau could beat you with his smarts or his ridiculous speed.
Chargers great Junior Seau was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday in Canton, Ohio in an emotionally charged ceremony.
Bettis had overwhelming support from Pittsburgh Steelers fans that saw his career end with a Super Bowl victory over the Seattle Seahawks in February 2006.
“I know this isn’t my speech to give, this is his”, she began.
Only Seau was elected in his first year on the ballot.
Your Junior Seau, your No. 55 and your buddy, was also my father.
Not allowed by Hall policy to officially speak in his place, Sydney spoke from the back of the stage, answering an interviewer’s question about what her father would say by ostensibly delivering her own brief speech. “He was a better person than he was a football player”, said Bettis, “so rest in knowing his legacy will live forever in the Pro Football Hall of Fame”.
After a six minute presentation video that left very few dry eyes in attendance, Sydney and her brothers Tyler, Jake and Hunter stepped to the stage to unveil Junior’s bronze bust.
It was the emotional high point of a night that flipped between laughter and tears and back again.
With their inclusion in the Hall, Notre Dame is now tied with rival USC for the most players from the program in the Hall of Fame with 12. Wide receiver Tim Brown led chants of Rai-ders!
Pro Football Hall of Fame 2015 inductee Jerome Bettis is surrounded by reporters during a media availability in Canton, Ohio, Friday, August 7, 2015.
Charles Haley, the only player in NFL history with five Super Bowl title rings, gave a rousing, freewheeling speech that included good-natured jabs at everyone from former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr.to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
While Haley retired after the 1999 season with 100½ sacks and a fistful of championships.
Sydney Seau, her voice cracking at times, described her father as “everything” and said that more than anything she wanted was for him to hug her one more time. Mr. Furyk spent part of his youth in Uniontown.
“My life spiraled out of control for years, for years”, Haley said. But today, guys, I am getting back into the locker room, to my teammates and tell them guys the mistakes that Ive made and that the only way you can grow is that youve got to ask for help..
Wolf, who hired Mike Holmgren and traded for Brett Favre shortly after taking over in 1991, praised the core that restored the Packers to legitimacy after two decades of mediocrity. “We worked hard to eliminate that stigma”. “You wonder, ‘How are you supposed feel if you get in the first year, the second?’ Then by the fourth year, you’re pretty docile by then”. The two men put together the foundation of a team that made four straight Super Bowl appearances behind Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed, all of whom Polian joined in the Hall. He selected quarterback Peyton Manning and finally captured that elusive Super Bowl when the Colts won it all in 2007.
At one point, his backup, Richard Huntley, was asked if he could imagine playing through the injuries that Bettis was fighting through. Many were on hand to watch, including Franco Harris, Joe Greene and Lynn Swann.
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But, the road to the Super Bowl nearly ended in Indianapolis when, with the Steelers ready to run out the clock in an AFC playoff game, the sure-handed Mr. Bettis fumbled at the goalline and safety Nick Harper started running the other way in what looked to be an improbable touchdown. I think it’s safe to say that he has most definitely made it.
