Congratulations to the newest class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Five new members were inducted on Saturday, August 8th, including a running back who had to wait way too long to be selected.
Adam Vinatieri, Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly and Roger Craig joined the greats of the game. I was fortunate to see Brees play in person at the then Trans World Dome in St. Louis, before Stan Kroenke bought out the rest of the Rams stock, from the estate of Georgia Frontierre. Kroenke then ran the Rams into the ground to get the team out of the Midwest and into a much larger market on the West Coast.
Brees played against the Rams and I saw him play in-person twice. I remember him as a guy who would figure out a way to beat you if given the time. He helped win a Super Bowl for the city of New Orleans a couple of years after Hurricane Katrina damaged much of the city. Brees and the Saints beat the Colts in the 2010 Super played on February 7.
Craig revolutionized the RB position by becoming the first to gain over 1000 yards rushing and 1000 yards receiving. He was one tough son of a gun. Unfortunately, the only times I got to see him play were on television. I watched a lot of 49er games after the Rams left St. Louis. I was a fan of the 49ers from the late 80s into the mid 90s.
Vinatieri was the guy who kicked a game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI in February 2002. The Rams had battled back to tie the game at 17 each with 90 seconds left in regulation. As a Rams fan, I thought it would go to OT, but the Pats drove down to the Rams 20-yard line with no timeouts. Vinatieri came on the field and made a 48-yard FG to win it for New England as time expired. He becomes one of just five kickers in the Hall of Fame.
Fitzgerald was a favorite of mine with Arizona. He played 17 years, all with the Cardinals. The Cardinals have been charter members of the NFL since 1922. However, the franchise has played in just one Super Bowl. Fitzgerald is a key reason Arizona made it to Super Bowl XLII in February 2009. Fitzgerald scored twice in the game. (He scored on a 64-yard pass/run with 2:47 left in the game to put the Cardinals up 23-20). But, Fitzgerald had an even better post-season. In four playoff games, he had 30 catches for 546 yards and seven touchdowns. His quarterback that year was Kurt Warner, who'd won Super Bowl 32 with the St. Louis Rams. And, the Cardinals came close to winning the game until the Pittsburgh Steelers scored with 7 seconds left in the game. I've watched every game, (not always start to finish), since Super Bowl 1 in 1967. This is the best Super Bowl ever played!
Kuechly was a tackling machine. He played only eight seasons in the NFL. All of them with the Carolina Panthers. He played his first season in 2012 and retired after the 2019 season. Kuechly cited concussions for his retirement after that season. My guess is, had Kuechly played in New York or Los Angeles or Chicago he would have been better known and a superstar. But, opposing offenses knew him and how good he was. Three times he helped his team to the post-season playoffs. In early 2016, the Panthers, with Kuechly's defensive play, made it to Super Bowl 50.
Congratulations to all five of these men in the Canton class of 2026!
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