On Saturday, August 6, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will welcome eight new members. Finishing up the array of speeches will be former Eagles, Rams, and Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil.
Via NFL.com, the Hall of Fame announced the order for the eight speeches on Tuesday.
Here’s the roster: (1) LeRoy Butler; (2) Sam Mills (remarks will be made by his widow, Melanie); (3) Richard Seymour; (4) Art McNally (by prerecorded video); (5) Tony Boselli; (6) Bryant Young; (7) Cliff Branch (remarks will be made by his sister, Elaine Anderson); and (8) Vermeil.
The ceremony moves back to the afternoon. It begins at noon ET on Saturday, August 6. And NFL.com says that enshrinees have been asked to limit their speeches to six minutes, with music to play them out if they last longer than eight minutes.
We’ll believe it when we see it.
Some would say that the Hall of Famers deserve to take as long as they want. And that’s fine, if it’s not being broadcast on live television. If it’s a live TV show, the audience has to be respected. Letting the speeches go on and on and on and on fails to do that.