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Thrill of a lifetime Emotions, tears flow at Hall of Fame inductions
CANTON, Ohio (AP) -- Nick Buoniconti waited 25 years to finally receive the crowning achievement of his career -- induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He would gladly give it up for one wish. "My son, Marc, dreams that he walks," Buoniconti said at the close of his acceptance speech Saturday. "And as a father, I would like nothing more than to walk by his side." In a stirring moment on the front steps of the hall, Buoniconti then turned and kissed his son, who minutes earlier had been his presenter. Marc Buoniconti, paralyzed from the neck down from an injury in 1985 playing the game his father loved, received a 30-second standing ovation as he haltingly moved his wheelchair to the podium to present his father. Buoniconti was joined in the class of 2001 by offensive linemen Mike Munchak, Jackie Slater and Ron Yary, wide receiver Lynn Swann, defensive end Jack Youngblood and coach Marv Levy. The younger Buoniconti painted a picture of both his and his father's travails. So many, he said, labeled his father too small to play in the NFL. So many, Marc said, predicted he would never breathe without a machine, let alone walk. Neither heeded the skeptics. "It seems to me, Dad, that you're not a very good listener," Marc said, his voice breaking. Nick Buoniconti went on to become one of the greatest middle linebackers in football, first with the Boston Patriots of the AFL and then with the NFL's Miami Dolphins. After Marc's injury, he and his father founded the Miami Project, which has raised more than $10 million each of the last 15 years for research in curing spinal-cord injuries and helping people such as his son walk again. Buoniconti, selected by the seniors committee, wasn't the only one who had to wait to get into the hall. Yary, a cornerstone of the Minnesota Vikings' powerhouses of the 1970s, was overlooked 13 times by the voters Swann, who played his last game with the Pittsburgh dynasty in 1982, had to wait a year more. "It was 14 years on that list before I could stand here today and wear this gold jacket and say thank you and how much I appreciated your support over all those years," Swann said. A large crowd of Steelers fans -- chanting, waving towels and holding up signs -- prompted Swann's fellow wide receiver, teammate and presenter John Stallworth to survey the people surrounding the hall and say, "It feels like Three Rivers Stadium in here." Levy coached the Buffalo Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls -- and lost them all. But he chose to remember people and the victories that had marked his years in the NFL.
"It's been a long trip. It's taken 76 years," Levy said. "How lucky can a man get? What an odyssey I lived." Munchak, now an assistant coach for the Tennessee Titans, set aside more than 100 passes just for family members from Scranton, Pa., and his entourage was estimated at between 300 and 400. When he first stepped out into the sunlight at the beginning of the ceremony, he was greeted by a large banner that read, "Way to go, 63!" Still, he didn't feel he belonged. "I've been sitting up here for the past hour, nervous as heck, because I kept thinking somebody from NFL security would show up and say, 'Hey, Munchak! What are you doing up here? This is for Hall of Famers.'" Slater worked up front for 20 years on Los Angeles Rams lines that paved the way for seven different runners to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season. He was overcome while speaking about his two sons and his wife of 25 years, Annie. He blamed it on the climate. "These allergies are something in this part of the country," he said, trying to hide his tears. Youngblood is remembered for his toughness at defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams. He played in the 1980 Super Bowl with a broken leg, never missing a down on defense. He said, under the circumstances, the Steelers could have been more accommodating instead of beating the Rams in that Super Bowl. "You guys had three rings -- you could have let us have one," he said, laughing. "You could have shared." At one point, Youngblood pointed out his high school coach from Monticello, Fla. "Coach, could you have believed this?" he said, incredulous at the honor.
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