2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction

Comments · 303 Views

2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction

After six months of waiting, the seven members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Cla s of 2017 have finally been inducted.The group was officially voted into the Hall back in February, but they weren't officially enshrined until Saturday night when they took the stage at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.This year's cla s was one of the most diverse to be inducted in history of the Hall of Fame, with a kicker (Morten Anderson), a safety (Kenny Easley) and two running backs (Terrell Davis, LaDainian Tomlinson) all being inducted.To give you an idea of how rare that combination is, a kicker hasn't been inducted since 1991, and a safety hasn't been voted into the Hall of Fame since 1998. It's also the first time that two running backs have gone into the hall together since 1994. Kenny EasleyThe festivities started on Saturday when Easley took the stage for his induction. During his nearly 22-minute speech, the former safety didn't Thurman Munson Jersey talk much about football. Instead, Easley focused on his family, his friends and one important cause: Black Lives Matter.Kenny Easley: "Black lives do matter. And all lives matter, too." Sporting News (@sportingnews) "Black lives do matter, and all lives matter, too," Easley said. "But the carnage affecting young black men today from random violence to police shootings acro s this nation has to stop."Easley probably could've talked all night, but he didn't get the chance too, thanks to a teleprompter i sue. During the tail end of his speech, Easley's teleprompter went out, and at that point, he thanked everyone and walked off the stage. Amazing speech ! More coverage on Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) Jason TaylorAfter Easley's speech, Jason Taylor took the stage next, and it's safe to say that Taylor was pretty excited to see his new Hall of Fame bust. Once the bust was unveiled, the former defensive end ki sed the bald head of the statue. Forever enshrined in Canton. Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) Taylor definitely had the most diverse cheering section show up for his induction. coach Dan Quinn and former star Alonzo Mourning were among the group that made the trip to Canton for Taylor's induction.The most amazing part of Taylor's speech came near the end when he . "I stole a lot of money from owner Dan Snyder ," Taylor said. "But I appreciate it."Taylor had the worst season of his career in 2008 when he played for the Redskins. Lou Gehrig Jersey Morten AndersenFollowing Taylor's speech, Morten Andersen took the stage. The 's all-time leading scorer started his speech by explaining how improbable it was that he even made it to the NFL. The former kicker grew up in Denmark playing soccer and didn't even kick a football until high school, when he moved to the United States as part of a student exchange program. Andersen soon became the kicker at his high school, which led to a career at Michigan State, which then led to one of the most improbable careers in NFL history.Andersen, who spent time in both New Orleans and Atlanta, is so well loved by both fan bases that they were able to put their rivalry aside at Andersen's induction. A Saints and Falcons fan working togetherThat's the kind of power Morten Andersen has :) New Orleans Saints (@Saints) Not only is Andersen is the leading scorer in Saints history, but he's also the second-leading scorer in Falcons history. Alex Rodriguez Jersey Andersen joins Jan Stenerud (inducted in 1991) as the only other true placekicker in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.Terrell DavisAfter Andersen was done, former running back Terrell Davis took the stage and gave one of the most informative speeches of the night. Rub it.Salute it.Ki s it.You look great in bronze, . : Denver Broncos (@Broncos) During his nearly 20-minute speech, Davis revealed that his NFL career nearly ended before it even started. During his rookie year in 1995, the Broncos were playing the 49ers in a that was being played in Tokyo. While he was on the trip, Davis decided he didn't want to play football anymore, so he tried to get a flight booked from Japan back to the United States."I called the front desk to arrange for a ride home, but because they spoke Japanese, we couldn't communicate," Davis said.The running back decided to stick out for one preseason game, and after playing Aaron Judge Jersey against the Niners, Davis decided he would go ahead and tough it out for the rest of the season. After that, the rest was history. Davis won two Super Bowls, two Offensive Player of the Year awards and one NFL MVP award during his seven-year career. Davis also made one request to the Hall of Fame selection committee."A few weeks from now, the Hall of Fame selection committee will be voting on a contributor category. Let's make sure Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is enshrined in 2018," Davis said.The Broncos owner is currently suffering from Alzheimer's.LaDaianian TomlinsonAfter Davis was done on stage, the fifth speech of the night went to another running back: LaDainian Tomlinson. Football immortality. You're in, you're in! Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) Going into the night, one of the biggest questions was how Tomlinson would dance around the topic of the leaving San Diego.In the end, Tomlinson didn't have to do much dancing because the fans did it for him. When he mentioned San Diego for the first time, the former Chargers running back got a huge cheer."I spent nine years with the San Diego Chargers," Tomlinson said.That might not seem like a big shout-out, but the San Diego fans in attendance loved it. One thing the San Diego fans didn't like was any mention of Chargers owner Dean Spanos. One of the few boos during the nearly five-hour ceremony came when Tomlinson mentioned Spanos for the first time. Chargers fans boo when LT thanks the Spanos family Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) YES BOO THE SPANOS BOO THEM BOOOOO kyler (@kyweezybeeitch) Tomlinson also spent a good part of his speech letting the world know how vital his mom was to his NFL career."People ask me, 'Who do you get your work ethic from? it was my mom," Tomlinson said. "I was Roger Maris Jersey motivated to work hard by watching her."The former Chargers running back also used his speech to preach inclusion."Let's not slam the door on those who might be different from us," Tomlinson said. "When we open the door for others to compete, we open the door for one nation, under God with liberty and justice for all. On America's team, let's not choose to be against one another, let's choose to be for one another."Jerry JonesAfter Tomlinson's speech, it was Jones' turn to take the stage. The owner didn't spare any expense for his week in Canton. Not only did throw a party on Friday night that was estimated to , but he also forked over enough money to keep the Cowboys' entire roster in Canton for two extra nights. Every member of the team was on hand for Jones' induction. The entire team just entered the building en ma se. Rich Eisen (@r
Comments