Canton, Ohio was a popular spot for Cowboys fans this weekend. “We made our pilgrimage,” said one fan from Texas, who traveled the miles to see Former Cowboys Offensive Tackle Rayfield Wright inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Is anybody more deserving that Rayfield, I asked. “No sir, he's the man.”
But the most popular jersey of the day was Former Cowboys Quarterback Troy Aikman's number 8. One fan was wearing Aikman’s number 8 from UCLA.
How long have you been an Akiman fan? “Ah since UCLA, 87, and 88,” he said.
But despite two more additions, fans still feel the Cowboys have been slighted when it comes to the number of members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Said one fan, waiting in line to enter the stadium for the ceremonies, “They need a whole enshrinement for nothing but Cowboys, add on to the ring of honor.”
But support for the two latest additions was overwhelming. So much so that Aikman made it a point to recognize the following.
“Thank you,” he said in tears. “Your support meant so much to me as it did through out my career, football is a great game that as afforded me many things and provided much happiness. But my greatest blessings in life have been my family, and friends. A high school coach once told me you have a lot of acquaintances and very few friends, for most that’s probably true, but not for me. The many friendships in my life have made me feel every single day, like I'm the luckiest guy in the world, and I thank all of you for being here today.”
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones was in the audience when the first player he ever drafted after he bought the team. “It just reminded me how important a team is to him, was to him,” he said. “What a team player he is, his recognition of his teammates, and the fans, and the coaches they played in it, were just heart warming.”
Jones said he feels like he is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with Aikman. “Of course you do, I know my eyes are red, I wasn't going to take my sunglasses off, I've been crying for 30-minutes during his comments.”
“Obviously, just a range of emotions, the loudest reception, and the most emotion, was on Troy Aikman and Rayfield Wright,” said Dale Hellestrae, a former teammate of Aikman. “It was spectacular to see it.”
While Aikman and Wright may have delivered the most emotional speeches of the day, for Wright, the long wait was finally over.
Offensive lineman are taught to protect the quarterback, the same way that the secret service protects our nation’s president,” said Wright. “In this case, Roger Staubach was our president, and the director of the secret service, was our Offensive Line Coach Jim Myers. He built an offensive line that was unmatched. And today, I can not accept this honor, without bringing Coach Myers and his offensive line into the hall with me.”
“You know his first game was against Deacon Jones and he shut Deacon out,” said Myers. “He came there as a split end and a weak safety, and they tried to make a tight end out of him, tried to make a defensive guy out of him, but he came over to the offensive line and made a coach out of me,” Myers said laughing.
The cowboys representatives in the Pro Football Hall of Fame now stands at nine, that's seven players, but its a number that will certainly grow in the future, especially with names like Running back Emmitt Smith and Offensive Lineman Larry Allen, and perhaps even Wide Receiver Michael Irvin.
But for now, these two cowboys are the focus, joining a select group of only 235-people, who make up the pro football hall of fame.
“I think the whole event was such a dramatic event, all the speakers, all the enshrines, I think they all did such a great job,” said Wright. “I think they spoke their hearts, you know, in every situation, it was just a true blessing, just to be a part of such a great class. It really was. And I'm honored.”
Said Aikman, “In a lot of ways, this has been a lot of fun, because it has made me look back on my career and the people that have meant a lot to me over the years, that have helped me get here, and at the same time, I am looking forward to as I mentioned, that we've celebrated the career, and I feel like I have a few different times now, with the Cowboys Ring of Honor, and then when I retired. I hope there are other things. I hope there are other things in life for me down the road that I'm remembered for as much as what I was or am as a football player,” he said.
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