Hall of Fame Night Highlights Family, Football
Every year the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction ceremony brings back old memories, great players, and the love of family. When the Class of 2015 was enshrined last night, there was certainly no shortage of any of those. Between Fran Tarkenton giving the ailing Mick Tingelhoff’s speech and Sydney Seau paying tribute to her late father, emotions ran high in Canton, Ohio.
Elected for enshrinement this year were six players and 2 contributors: Junior Seau Jerome Bettis, Mick Tingelhoff, Charles Haley, Will Shields, Tim Brown, Bill Polian, and Ron Wolf. Between these eight men, there are 50 Pro Bowl selections and 16 Super Bowls; ranking this class as one of the most accomplished in the hallowed Hall’s history.
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Jerome “The Bus” Bettis’s speech was one of the many highlights of the night, leading a lawn full of Steelers fans in waiving their terrible towels and chanting “Here We Go Steelers, Here We Go”. The former running back recognized his wife, who he credited with allowing him to continue his career in television, his mother, who battled breast cancer, and his two children. Bettis gave his son Jerome III the same advice his father had given to him: “Son, there’s not much that I can give you that’s more important than our great name. So don’t screw it up.”
Bettis, whose nickname “The Bus” carried with him throughout his career, proclaimed in closing “I really thought the Bus’ last stop was in Detroit at Super Bowl 40. But now I know the Bus will always and forever run in Canton, Ohio.” Bettis ended his career with a Super Bowl win in his hometown of Detroit for the black and gold.
The most heartfelt moment of the night was undoubtedly Junior Seau’s posthumous enshrinement. A video tribute from former Chargers executives and his daughter Sydney highlighted not just Juniors on field achievements, but his staple in the community and at home. Master of Ceremonies Chris Berman requested a moment of silence during the ceremony to pay homage to the late linebacker. Seau died from a self-inflicted wound following a long battle with depression and the brain disease CTE.
Seau’s four children helped remove the cover from their fathers bust, while his parents and other family members watched with tears in their eyes. Sydney Seau spoke for a couple of minutes on what this would have meant to her father. “You are a light, and I want nothing more than to see you come on stage and give the speech you were meant to give, give me a hug and tell me you love me one last time. But that isn’t a reality.” In her closing statement, Sydney gave one last moment that pulled on the heartstrings of everyone watching: “Dad, I love you and I miss you. Congratulations, you made it.”