A month ago the NFL celebrated the 2015 Hall of Fame inductions. This year’s class included Jerome Bettis, Junior Seau, Charles Haley, Tim Brown, Will Shields, Mick Tingelhoff, Bill Polian and Ron Wolf. It was great to see Ron Wolf honored. Wolf was the Green Bay Packers’ GM from 1991-2001 and orchestrated one of the greatest turnarounds of a team in NFL history. He started what has been a great 25-year run!
I love the Hall of Fame weekend because it’s a reminder that the NFL season is just around the corner. I can’t wait to see how my beloved Packers handle the disastrous way the season ended at Seattle last year.
For the past several years I’ve DVR’d the induction speeches. I read that the HOF guidelines require each inductee to limit their speech to 8 minutes! You have to be kidding me.
Fortunately, most of the inductees disregard that guideline and the average speech goes between 15 and 20 minutes. The speeches are filled with emotional stories of determination and gratitude. The inductees thank everyone from the nominating committee, their parents, grandparents, siblings, coaches, trainers, owners, agents teammates, fans, wives, children…not necessarily in that order. View the best of this year’s HOF speeches here.
As I watched the speeches it got me thinking. Why does it take an occasion like being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame to thank everyone that helped you achieve that goal? It happens all the time in our own lives. How many times have you heard someone say… “my only regret is I never told her how I felt before she passed away.” You don’t have to have that happen!
Go out and thank somebody that means something to you today. Thank your parents for raising you. Thank your spouse for putting up with you. Thank your boss for hiring you. Thank your customers for placing their trust in you.
You don’t have to be a Hall of Famer to thank someone….but done in the proper way…might just make you feel like one!
