I don’t recall the exact year, but I was young enough to still be feverishly interested in collecting football cards. For my birthday that year, my oldest brother went to a hobby shop/sports card store – not at all a frequent stop for him – and bought a mint condition rookie card of a flashy young wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers. Sterling Sharpe. He was far and away my favorite player back then. Although his career was cut woefully short by a neck injury, he is still held in high regard in NFL circles, by me and most especially by his younger brother.
His kid brother also caught some pigskin. A lot of pigskin actually. Shannon Sharpe, a bigger more physical pass catcher, played tight end and played it very well. On Saturday, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, alongside greats Marshall Faulk, Richard Dent, and Deion “Primetime” Sanders.
I didn’t watch this ceremony. Never do. But I heard bits of the younger Sharpe’s speech and was moved by the passage about Sterling. Shannon used his platform to promote his big brother’s case for the Hall of Fame saying that of all the football players in enshrined in Canton, he’s the only one who is the 2nd best player in his own family. Touching sentiments from one brother to another.
I can only hope my girls will stand that close to each other as they age and continue to champion each other’s talents, cheer on each other’s accomplishments, and console each other after failures.
That would truly be Hall of Fame caliber.
Watch and listen to this special bit of brotherly love in Shannon Sharpe’s HOF speech video montage from NFL.com. It’s the very first moment in the clip:
