USA Today
Posted 8/6/2006 10:56 PM ET
By Jon Saraceno
Sometimes, even when it is terribly belated, grievances are addressed. Wrongs are righted. Men — real men like Rayfield Wright — receive their due.
Wright's delayed day in the sun finally came in Canton, Ohio, a special place where his bronze likeness should have resided years ago. Maybe that's why his Pro Football Hall of Fame acceptance speech was so powerful, so inspiring for young people.
It made me wonder: Are we producing Rayfield Wrights anymore? And: Why did it take so long to notice this 6-foot-6 rock was being overlooked? If greatness is what the Hall is about, folks fumbled the ball for two decades on a player who was a member of the NFL's all-decade team of the '70s.
"Some say that patience is a virtue," Wright said. "After 22 years of eligibility, God knows that I'm not a saint, but I am a Dallas Cowboy."
And a 60-year-old grandfather. Moments like this produce humility and gratitude. Some men, like Harry Carson, took the occasion to remind the union and the league to "take better care of your own," when it comes to retirees. Son Donald, suffering from a rare blood disorder, told a story about how Harry jumped in the car and drove from Maryland to Georgia just to feed his fish. "They were, like, $2 fish from Wal-Mart," Donald marveled. "I don't know too many people would do such a thing like that. But my father did."
John Madden got "a little goofy" with his fantasy of one day joining nightly chats with other famous busts.
Warren Moon reluctantly discussed induction as the first black quarterback. "It's a subject that I'm very uncomfortable about sometimes, only because I've always wanted to be judged as just a quarterback," he said. "But because I am the first and because significance does come with that, I accept that."
Troy Aikman, saluted by a sea of No. 8 Cowboys jerseys, gave a touching, classy acceptance speech.
And there was the emotional acceptance by Reggie White's wife, Sara, and children Jecolia and Jeremy.
Rayfield Wright didn't give a speech.
He shared wisdom gained from a difficult life.
He talked about a poem he read in the eighth grade, The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost.
"One was well-traveled," Wright said. "The other was grassy and wanted wear. Through this poem, I discovered that life would give me choices. It was recognizing those choices that proved to be the greatest challenge. Looking back, my instinct was to always take the easy road. But the easy road never came my way. See, I grew up in Griffin, Ga. ..."
Mother Opel and his grandmother raised him with love and spiritual nourishment. In the '50s, Wright recalled, "kids in my neighborhood didn't wear hundred-dollar tennis shoes and never went to sporting camps. After chores and homework, you'd find us in an empty field playing football, basketball, baseball."
Yet, he failed to make his high school football team. Wright was headed for the Air Force when Stan Lomax, who would become his father figure as basketball and football coach at Fort Valley (Ga.) State, offered him a scholarship. Wright later spurned an offer by the Cincinnati Royals of the NBA to turn pro, because "I needed to stay in school and get my education."
By 1967, he was drafted by Dallas as a tight end. Tom Landry eventually moved him to tackle to help protect new quarterback Roger Staubach. "I was never one to question the authority of elders," Wright said. "I believed in his decision, and it was good enough for me."
Wright acknowledged his rivals for making him bruised but better. "My body still hurts when I hear their names called," he said of Deacon Jones, Claude Humphrey and Carl Eller. He credited his line mates, including John Fitzgerald, Ralph Neely and Blaine Nye. He singled out the "angels" in his life: "Big Mama," his grandma; brother Phillip; and Cowboys legends Bob Hayes and Harvey Martin, along with his coaches.
He called Opel, sitting nearby in a wheelchair, "my rose garden."
"You watered each day with your love, with your faith and your prayers," he said, voice cracking.
He asked parents to "teach your children well," to encourage them.
"Remember that you are the windows through which your children see this world," he said. "Take notice of yourself and the things that you do in hopes that your example will stir their hearts and souls.
"To every young athlete within the sound of my voice, it takes courage to dream your dream. Don't let them sit in the locker room. Take a leap of faith. Listen to your parents and respect your elders. Learn from your successes and your losses. Be satisfied you gave the game everything that you had and remember this:
"Don't be afraid to travel the road less traveled, because Larry Rayfield Wright did, and you can, too."
And, finally, justice was done.
***
E-mail Jon Saraceno at jons@usatoday.com
Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/saraceno/2006-08-06-saraceno-wright_x.htm
Posted 8/6/2006 10:56 PM ET
By Jon Saraceno
Sometimes, even when it is terribly belated, grievances are addressed. Wrongs are righted. Men — real men like Rayfield Wright — receive their due.
Wright's delayed day in the sun finally came in Canton, Ohio, a special place where his bronze likeness should have resided years ago. Maybe that's why his Pro Football Hall of Fame acceptance speech was so powerful, so inspiring for young people.
It made me wonder: Are we producing Rayfield Wrights anymore? And: Why did it take so long to notice this 6-foot-6 rock was being overlooked? If greatness is what the Hall is about, folks fumbled the ball for two decades on a player who was a member of the NFL's all-decade team of the '70s.
"Some say that patience is a virtue," Wright said. "After 22 years of eligibility, God knows that I'm not a saint, but I am a Dallas Cowboy."
And a 60-year-old grandfather. Moments like this produce humility and gratitude. Some men, like Harry Carson, took the occasion to remind the union and the league to "take better care of your own," when it comes to retirees. Son Donald, suffering from a rare blood disorder, told a story about how Harry jumped in the car and drove from Maryland to Georgia just to feed his fish. "They were, like, $2 fish from Wal-Mart," Donald marveled. "I don't know too many people would do such a thing like that. But my father did."
John Madden got "a little goofy" with his fantasy of one day joining nightly chats with other famous busts.
Warren Moon reluctantly discussed induction as the first black quarterback. "It's a subject that I'm very uncomfortable about sometimes, only because I've always wanted to be judged as just a quarterback," he said. "But because I am the first and because significance does come with that, I accept that."
Troy Aikman, saluted by a sea of No. 8 Cowboys jerseys, gave a touching, classy acceptance speech.
And there was the emotional acceptance by Reggie White's wife, Sara, and children Jecolia and Jeremy.
Rayfield Wright didn't give a speech.
He shared wisdom gained from a difficult life.
He talked about a poem he read in the eighth grade, The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost.
"One was well-traveled," Wright said. "The other was grassy and wanted wear. Through this poem, I discovered that life would give me choices. It was recognizing those choices that proved to be the greatest challenge. Looking back, my instinct was to always take the easy road. But the easy road never came my way. See, I grew up in Griffin, Ga. ..."
Mother Opel and his grandmother raised him with love and spiritual nourishment. In the '50s, Wright recalled, "kids in my neighborhood didn't wear hundred-dollar tennis shoes and never went to sporting camps. After chores and homework, you'd find us in an empty field playing football, basketball, baseball."
Yet, he failed to make his high school football team. Wright was headed for the Air Force when Stan Lomax, who would become his father figure as basketball and football coach at Fort Valley (Ga.) State, offered him a scholarship. Wright later spurned an offer by the Cincinnati Royals of the NBA to turn pro, because "I needed to stay in school and get my education."
By 1967, he was drafted by Dallas as a tight end. Tom Landry eventually moved him to tackle to help protect new quarterback Roger Staubach. "I was never one to question the authority of elders," Wright said. "I believed in his decision, and it was good enough for me."
Wright acknowledged his rivals for making him bruised but better. "My body still hurts when I hear their names called," he said of Deacon Jones, Claude Humphrey and Carl Eller. He credited his line mates, including John Fitzgerald, Ralph Neely and Blaine Nye. He singled out the "angels" in his life: "Big Mama," his grandma; brother Phillip; and Cowboys legends Bob Hayes and Harvey Martin, along with his coaches.
He called Opel, sitting nearby in a wheelchair, "my rose garden."
"You watered each day with your love, with your faith and your prayers," he said, voice cracking.
He asked parents to "teach your children well," to encourage them.
"Remember that you are the windows through which your children see this world," he said. "Take notice of yourself and the things that you do in hopes that your example will stir their hearts and souls.
"To every young athlete within the sound of my voice, it takes courage to dream your dream. Don't let them sit in the locker room. Take a leap of faith. Listen to your parents and respect your elders. Learn from your successes and your losses. Be satisfied you gave the game everything that you had and remember this:
"Don't be afraid to travel the road less traveled, because Larry Rayfield Wright did, and you can, too."
And, finally, justice was done.
***
E-mail Jon Saraceno at jons@usatoday.com
Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/saraceno/2006-08-06-saraceno-wright_x.htm
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