CANTON, Ohio — They came in No. 4 jerseys and wearing cheeseheads. They chanted “Go Pack Go.”
It was Lambeau Field transported to Ohio, and only one man could have caused it.
Brett Favre, welcome to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Believe me, I am an extremely blessed man,” Favre said Saturday night during an emotional speech spiced with humor and playfulness. “Play a game that I love so much for 20 years, to have all the wonderful things happen … to share in that joy with you guys here tonight.”
And when he choked up talking about his late father, Irv, and how Favre spent his career “trying to redeem myself” to make Irv proud, the crowd offered loud and comforting support.
Adding that “this is tougher than any third-and-15,” he spoke of his new goal once his father died in 2003:
“I said to myself, I will make it to the Hall of Fame so I could acknowledge the fact of how important he was. I would not be here before you today without my father, there’s no doubt whatsoever.”
Football’s most durable quarterback (a record 299 straight regular-season starts and 321 including playoffs) and one of its greatest passers, Favre was the first three-time MVP (1995-97) and an NFL champion in 1996. He played with four teams, defining toughness and fortitude, particularly in 16 seasons with the Packers, a franchise he helped revitalize.
A swashbuckler with no fear on the field – in addition to completing 6,300 passes for 71,838 yards and 508 touchdowns, he threw an NFL-high 336 interceptions – Favre was a three-time All-Pro and made 11 Pro Bowls. His enthusiasm and love for the game marked his career, which began in Atlanta in 1991 and ended with the Vikings in 2010. He spent 2008 with the Jets.
Joining Favre in the class of 2016 were Tony Dungy, a trail-blazing coach and Super Bowl winner; one of his stars, Marvin Harrison; Kevin Greene; Orlando Pace; Ken Stabler; Dick Stanfel; and Ed DeBartolo Jr.
The first black coach to win an NFL championship, Dungy has been a mentor to dozens of players and fellow coaches. Instead of concentrating on his role as a pioneer, he paid homage to those before him in a poignant and sometimes enthralling speech.
“Many of them never got the chance to move up the coaching ladder like I did, but they were so important to the progress in this league,” Dungy said of the 10 African-American coaches in the NFL when he broke in as a player in 1977. “They were role models and mentors for me and my generation … without those 10 laying the groundwork, the league would not have the 200-plus minority assistant coaches it has today.
“And we would not have had Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy coaching against each other in Super Bowl 41. I feel I am representing those 10 men and all the African-American coaches who came before me in paving the way, and I thank them.”
Dungy led the Indianapolis Colts to the 2006 NFL title.
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