There may be no crying in baseball, but it’s ok if you cried during the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speeches. Sydney Seau delivered an extremely moving speech about her late father Junior Seau, which, no matter if you’re a football fan or not, must have touched your heart in some way. But Jerome “the Bus” Bettis also delivered an eloquent, classy and poignant speech that, even if you’re not a Steelers fan, inspired you.
His speech was so great, even ESPN’s Skip Bayless liked it!
All-time great Hall of Fame speech, straight from the heart of Jerome Bettis. What a way to end a beautiful night.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) August 9, 2015
But there were some lines and reactions that stood out more than others. So here are my 5 favorite lines from his speech.
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1. “Your father exemplifies everything that a Hall of Famer stands for.”
Bettis spoke these words to the Seau family at the beginning of his speech. After congratulating all of the other men who were inducted, he took the time to specifically congratulate and speak about Junior Seau. It was classy moment, especially when he said Seau was a better person than he was a football player. The former Chargers linebacker shot himself in the chest in 2012, and later studies showed he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a type of brain damage.
Seau’s death shocked the NFL world, but for those who watched him play, coached him, or played with or against him, they know that Seau had a Hall of Fame career. And for Bettis to take the time to acknowledge Seau’s significance is a great way to remind his family that Seau’s legacy will live beyond the walls of Canton.
2. “I want you to be a better man than me, but more importantly, a better person than I could ever be.”
The Bus is well-loved and well-respected. And in Steelers fans’ eyes, he can do no wrong. As he delivered some memorable thank you’s to his family, it was when he delivered this line to his son, Jerome Jr., that made you think, “Wow, if the Bus is this great, I can’t wait to see how great his son will be.”
It was a touching moment between father and son.
3. “My dad was my hero… He was the strongest man I’ll ever know.”
Speaking of father and son… Bettis choked up when he delivered a thoughtful message to his late father. Bettis’ dad passed from heart complications in 2006, not long after the Hall of Famer won his first and only Super Bowl and retired from football. Although his father couldn’t be there with him, he made sure to acknowledge how important he was to his career.
The former Steelers running back said his dad always knew he’d make it to the Hall of Fame, but the young Bettis would respond coyly with “come on, dad.” Sure enough, here he is! Bettis added, “To be on the doorstep, when he isn’t going to be there with me, that’s the one disappointing part. He would have said, ‘I told you so!'”
4. “I hope one day you stand here next to me because you deserve it.”
Bettis thanked a lot of his former coaches and teammates, but when he thanked Bill Cowher it felt different. Bettis won a Super Bowl with Cowher as his head coach. It was both their first and only Super Bowl title. As Pittsburgh’s head coach for 15 seasons, Cowher led the Steelers to 10 postseasons, including 2 Super Bowl appearances. His coaching record as Pittsburgh’s head coach was 161-99-1 including playoff appearances.
Will Cowher end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with that résumé? Only time will tell. But it was awesome for the Bus to say that in front of everyone–including future Hall of Fame voters–and get the place to erupt.
5. “Son, there’s not much that I can give you that’s more important than our good name. So don’t screw it up”
Bettis ended his speech with this message to his son. Jerome Jr. shook his head in embarrassment when it was delivered… and it was adorable. But this line was a throw back to earlier in his speech when he explained how, when he was going off to college, his father said something very similar to him. It was a nice tie in, a nice moment, and hopefully a nice glimpse into the next Bus to leave the station and make an impact on this world.
Congratulations, Jerome Bettis!
Did you think there were better lines? Comment below! You can listen to all of Bettis’ Hall of Fame speech here:
Next: Pro Football Hall of Fame 2015: Enshrinement Night
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