CANTON — What you noticed most were his little asides, these purposeful whispers that helped pull him through. “Come on,” Zach Thomas said almost to himself at one point in his Hall of Fame induction speech on Saturday.
“Let’s go,” he said another time. Or, after one particularly emotional stretch about his family: “Whew.”
They were not loud and certainly didn’t detract from is bigger message of gratitude. But they were there and told of his intent in harnessing his emotion on his day of days. Emotion was his companion as a player, and his Miami Dolphins teammates knew it to the point they stood in the warmth of an Ohio summer before his speech and bet when his words would turn to tears. They all knew it was coming.
“I’m putting it at four minutes, 25 seconds,” fellow linebacker Twan Russell said.
“I’ll go under that,” said Derrick Rodgers, another linebacker.
Troy Drayton went over, and others went under in the amused debate. But as Thomas got his gold jacket from former coach Jimmy Johnson and started talking of his Texas high-school and college days, he had a good presence with the help of just one, “Come on.”
He thanked former Dolphins assistant Mike Westhoff for working him out before the 1996 NFL draft and for, “embellishing my stats, especially my 40 times.” His appreciation of teammates followed, starting with Trace Armstrong’s, “play and professionalism” and Larry Izzo, who flew in from work as a Seattle Seahawks’ assistant.
“I see you, Larry,” Thomas said, pointing at him in the crowd. “My Day One roommate and best friend. We came in as undersized longshots and created the best memories that will live forever. And you got three rings (with New England). Don’t you wear those rings to my party tonight.”
That brought laughter. Thomas then continued through a list of teammates like Sam Madison, Patrick Surtain and Jason Taylor before underlining who he is by naming a half-dozen support staff ending with the trainer, “my man Troy Maurer.”
“Here we go,” he said. “To all the Buffalo, New England and New York Jets fans. Despite all the things you screamed at me, threw at me and dished at me, don’t tell anyone, but I enjoyed it. And I still do. Yeah. Rivalries are what make the NFL so great.
“Bill Belichick, it was a privilege to play against you and your teams,” he said to the New England coach. “(Jets center) Kevin Mawae, you were one of the best and toughest opponents I faced. I’m not even comfortable with you sitting over there behind me. Look at you.”
Now came the emotional part. Thomas moved to his family now, all of them sitting before him in the first few rows. His parents were mentioned, then, “My brother, Bart. You’re my hero, man.”
He stopped here, needing to collect himself for the first time, more than eight minutes in.
“We battled at everything and you won everything,” he said. “You pursued greatness and led me to the same. When everyone else was out partying on Friday night, you and I were in the school gym working out listening to cassette tapes …”
Such work is part of his story as a Dolphin. It’s fitting the exhibition of Hall inductees includes the players’ helmets. The others are cleaned and perfectly polished. Only Thomas’ helmet is scarred with paint and gouges from NFL games.
“Most importantly, I want to thank my beautiful wife Maritza for not listening to her brothers when they told her not to date an NFL football player,” he said. “It’s true. And both of them have my jersey on now.”
He pointed at them, before talking of his wife, and three children, and taking a breath.
“There’s one person whose name I’ve yet to mention,” he said. “His poster hung on my wall in college. He was everything I wanted to be as a football player. He was my inspiration. He even became my teammate and friend. Though he’s not here physically, he’s here in spirit and with his bust in that spirit behind me. Junior Seau, I love you, buddy.”
"His poster hung on my wall in college and he was everything I wanted to be as a football player. He was my inspiration and he became my teammate and friend."
An emotional tribute from Zach Thomas to Junior Seau ❤️
📺: #PFHOF23 Enshrinement on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+— NFL (@NFL) August 5, 2023
He collected himself again with an, “OK.” He looked over the crowd.
“In closing, this is a dream come true for this small-town country boy to be standing here on this stage with all these legends behind me,” he said. “My football career has come full circle from August 5, 1996, to be given that one chance, to Aug. 5, 2023 to being forever enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Thank you. God bless you, God bless our troops and God bless America.”
As he stepped from the microphone, he let out a, “Whoo!” to show how he felt in completing this speech, an aside that underlined his big day was a success.
