Throughout the six month car wash that Andre Johnson has traveled through since being named a Pro Football Hall of Famer back in February, one thing he has repeatedly said is that he never thought about becoming a Hall of Famer at any point in his upbringing, nor any point during his playing career. Andre Johnson is a worker, and the work always deserved far more attention, to him, than the long term accolades for said work.
So perhaps it was ironic, in a way, that among a seven person class inducted into Canton’s hallowed ground on Saturday afternoon, that Andre Johnson seemed the most ready to accept his Hall of Fame honors. Without disparaging the other inductees, whose speeches ranged from rambling to “not bad,” Andre Johnson was perfection — the perfect balance of joy and gravitas, the perfect length of speech (14 minutes, 18 seconds, I timed it). On a day celebrating his greatness, he was truly great.
Evidently, at some point during the speech, the teleprompter stopped working, and once again, emblematic of who Andre Johnson was as a player, there was zero panic. He just went ahead and did what he did his whole career — he made the difficult look easy. In case you missed it, or you want to relive it, here is the speech in its entirety, with a few thoughts below about a glorious day in Canton, Ohio:
Houston Texan fans showed up HUGE in Canton
I was not in Canton for the ceremony, but I had several friends and coworkers who were, and all of them, unanimously, said that the Houston Texans fans showed up in droves, and that Andre Johnson got the loudest and longest cheers of the ceremony:
Houston Texan fans have been waiting for this day since the inception of the franchise, the team’s first true Hall of Famer. (No, we don’t count you, Ed Reed.) It makes you wonder what the J.J. Watt ceremony will be like in five years. There may be more fans there, and it will be special, no doubt, but there’s nothing like the first time.
Gary Kubiak presenting Andre was very appropriate
I’m not here to power rank the people who were most important to Andre Johnson becoming a Hall of Famer, because there is so much that goes into performance to THAT level that we, as fans, don’t ever get to see, but I feel safe in say9ing that if Andre Johnson had not been attached to Gary Kubiak, and that sublime offensive scheme, the seasons that REALLY pushed Andre over the top for the Hall of Fame are likely not other worldly to the degree they were — leading the league in receptions and yardage. Maybe they would have been, who knows? But what a marriage between coach and star player. So it was appropriate that the presenter for Andre on Saturday was Gary Kubiak:
On to next year’s class….
Texans fans will not have to get Texan-invested in the Hall of Fame voting until 2028, when J.J. Watt will waltz in on the first ballot, but it is fun to see the list of people Watt will sail past grow over the next few years. Here is the list of noteworthy first time eligibles for the upcoming class:
If I’m giving an early forecast of this class, I think Luke Kuechly is a lock to go in as a first timer. Marshal Yanda, Terrell Suggs, Adam Vinatieri, and Earl Thomas will be in at some point, and Eli Manning’s candidacy will be the dead horse that gets beaten to a bloody pulp come ballot time later this year. Regular season Eli isn’t remotely close to being a Hall of Famer. Postseason Eli, and his two Super Bowl runs, combined with being part of a blue blood NFL surname, are the crux of his case. I would vote “NO” on Eli, but I think he gets in eventually.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
