Michael Strahan says every aspect of his football career was "improbable." He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Michael Strahan didn't wait long to get into the Hall of Fame, but he had to wait awhile to give his speech. He was the last one to go at the enshrinement ceremony on Saturday, and everybody ahead of him went longer than expected. He ... didn't cut his short to make up for it.
Strahan started by thanking the Hall of Famers around him, and said that while he didn't know what to expect this weekend, it's ended up being "the best weekend of my life." He said that it's getting really late, and that he planned to keep things short -- he didn't. He once again thanked the Hall of Famers, and said his fellow class of 2014 epitomizes "class."
Strahan said that he is "absolutely an improbably Hall of Famer," and an "improbable football player," because he was the youngest of six kids and did not say he wanted to play football growing up. He said that he worked out with his dad, who is ex-military and one day it was his dad who told him that he was going to play football someday. He said his dad made the decision that he was going to go to Houston to learn football and earn a scholarship.
The improbable happened, Strahan said, and he got his scholarship to Texas Southern University. He said it was improbable again when he got drafted by the New York Giants. He thanked the Giants, he thanked everybody involved in drafting him and "trusting" him.
He then thanked Lawrence Taylor, one of the greatest pass rushers to ever play in the NFL. Strahan said that watching Taylor at practice is what taught him what it means to work hard and how to be a great player. He then went on to thank his coaches, and rattled off a long list of teammates from the Super Bowl XLII team, saving quarterback Eli Manning for last. He made a joke about Manning not getting excited for anything, which drew laughs and a smile from Manning.
Of course, Strahan spent a lot of time talking about the Super Bowl victory, and how improbable it was to beat an undefeated team. He talked about Jon Runyan, one of his biggest rivals, but also one of his best friends. He made the rounds thanking everyone again, and his speech came to an end.
Strahan has a Super Bowl ring from XLII, and has plenty of other accolades to go with it. He was named to the Pro Bowl seven times, was named a second-team All-Pro twice and a first-team All-Pro four times. He led the NFL in sacks twice, in 2001 and 2003 and was always a force to be reckoned with. He was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2001, and was named NFC Defensive Player of the Year twice.
Strahan holds the record for sacks over the course of a single season, with 22.5. That number has almost been broken a few times, but for now, Strahan is on top. And he's got a spot in the Hall of Fame for it.
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