Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Edgerrin James and Peyton Manning Full Hall of Fame Speeches

Episode Date: August 11, 2021

On today's episode of Locked On Colts, Edgerrin James and Peyton Manning's full Hall of Fame speeches live on forever.Arguably two of the greatest players in Indianapolis Colts history were enshrined into the Hall of Fame together over the weekend. In it's entirety, both of their speeches are featured throughout the podcast.Stay tuned for more training camp takeaways, plus special guests, as we pick up our daily schedule with Colts football right around the corner. Preseason Week 1 has finally arrived! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back to the first episode of Locked On Colts. I am your host host Evan Sutter. We're going to be doing something a little bit different today. For the full episode, I want to make sure for the listeners out there who have not had the chance to, to listen in to the full Hall of Fame ceremonies for Colts legends and arguably the best Colts players of all time, Edrin James and Peyton Manning, as they're officially in Trident and Canton, Ohio this weekend forever.

Immortalized as two of the greatest Colts in history, obviously joining Marvin Harrison there and others, and a lot more to come for the Colts. There's a lot more throughout the golden era of the Colts football that are going to be coming here soon. Reggie Wynn, Robert Mathis potentially will join them next year, Dwight Freeney down the line, Bob Sanders, Jeff Saturday. There's a lot that are going to be coming down the pipeline here soon for the Colts,

and that golden era is reaching that Hall of Fame criteria now. And it was just awesome to see not only Edge, but Peyton Manning get their flowers this weekend in Canton, Ohio. So we're going to be covering training camp once more. We're going to have Jacob Eason versus Sam Ellinger as that quarterback battle heated up. Ellinger now splitting starting reps with Jacob Eason. We'll have that covered for you with Stephen Reed on our next episode. And we're going to be back have that covered for you with Stephen Reed on our next episode.

And we're going to be back to our regularly scheduled programming with Stephen and also guests. We're going to have Jim Aiello, Kevin Bowen, George Bremmer, and others throughout the preseason and regular season, all throughout the Colts 2021-22 season. It's going to be a jam-packed, fun time here on Locked on Colts. But for today's episode, it's going to be the full speeches for Edger and James and Peyton Manning. So Colts fans, if you've not had a chance to, enjoy this one. It's a really great experience to listen to

Edge and Peyton give their respects. Bet online is the fastest and easiest way to bet on all your sports action. Baseball, scenes, and full stringer track, all the action are bet online. Get all the latest news, odds, and info for your sporting needs, including MLB, NBA, NHL, and all your UFC, MMA action. For the next pitch over the bet online, We'll see you next time. or use your mobile device right now to sign up today and receive a 50% off welcome bonus in your first deposit. Again, it's 50% off with your first deposit with BetOnline

when you use the promo code LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N. BetOnline, your online sportsbook experts. All praise goes to the man up top. This is a special moment for me, my family, and those close to me. So many individuals played a part in me joining this exclusive Pro Football Hall of Fame fraternity. I may miss a few names, but if you know, you know. I want to thank Mr. Irsay. I want to thank my Hall of Fame presenter, Mr. Jim Irsay, whom I consider to be a friend. Always been cool, down to earth, and accepted Ed for being

Ed's. Standing on this stage, I see many of the faces that have traveled every step of the way with me on this incredible journey. To my mama, we're here. No blueprint, no manual, and most importantly, no man. I'm your man. Ever since you told me I was the man of the house, I took that role seriously. Mama, you did the best you could raising your five boys. Bird, Darian, me, Jeff, and G-Man.

As a matter of fact, you did such a great job raising us, Bird, Darian, me, Jeff, and G-Man. As a matter of fact, you did such a great job raising us, God gave you the assignment two times. When God took Andrew, you stepped in without hesitation to help us raise our kids, and I can't thank you enough. To my children, you all made me proud to be your dad. Watching and helping you all pursue your dreams is a beautiful thing. Kwee Kwee, my firstborn, future lawyer, and business partner.

Iyana, my singer, with such a beautiful voice. Imani, my plastic surgeon. You're going to help so many women feel better about themselves. Thank you, Miss Devin, for giving me a beautiful daughter and being the selfless person that you are. Eden, my running back, keep working hard and blaze your own trail. And always take care of your mother. She did a wonderful job raising you. Jizzle, my basketball player. Keep working hard.

It always pays off. Euro, my youngest. My hero. Keep living the life I wish I could have lived at a young age. Stress-free without a care in the world. Main man. Keep being my main man. Family is important to me. I come from a big family. I don't want to leave anybody out, but y'all know how much y'all mean to me. Shout out to all my family in attendance and those that couldn't make it. For me, it all started in Immokalee, Florida.

I learned the virtues of hard work growing up in Immokalee. Those qualities remain with me today. Immokalee High School is where I made a name for myself in football and where I became a man at a young age. I realized I could support my family through football. It took hard work, dedication, and sacrifices to achieve my goals. Thank you to my coaches at Immokalee High. Thank you, Audrey Moss, for giving me that extra push

down the stretch to get into the University of Miami. The U has always been second home to me. The city of Miami has always showed me nothing but love. Thank you, Head Coach, Butch Davis, for believing in me and holding that scholarship. Don Solinger, my position coach, you motivated me to be the best. I was always confident,

but it was at the U where I realized how good of a football player I really was. I mean, some of the best football players in the country played at the U. Shout out to all my UM teammates in attendance. I see y'all boys. Also shout out to Dr. Ed, Pierre Rutledge, Gene Motto, Charles Bennett, and the rest of my team behind the scenes. After all these years, we're still rolling. The Indianapolis Colts made me the fourth pick in the 1999 NFL draft. I'll always be grateful to fellow Hall of Famer Bill Polian for shocking

the world and putting his faith in me. I played on some great teams in Indy, played with some great teammates. Peyton Manning, we couldn't have been more different as people. We couldn't have been more different as people, but when it came to football, the way we worked, we connected like brothers. Marvin Harrison, every day we'd meet up during special team period

and talk post-football life. Reggie Wayne, my homeboy from the youth to the shoe. Dwight Freeney, Cato June, my old line, Tariq Glenn, Jeff Saturday, Ryan Diem, Adam Meadow, and Marcus Pollard, to name a few. It was also dope to play for fellow Hall of Famer Tony Dungy, a great coach...

APPLAUSE ..a great coach, but even better man, who related to his players on a personal and professional level. Gene Huey, my coach running back coach and personal friend. Always on point and never missed a detail. Shout out to all my coach teammates and members of the organization in attendance. I will always cherish my years with the coach. I was born and raised in South Florida, so coming to the Midwest was a whole different experience for me.

To the city of Indianapolis, thank you for embracing me. Leaving Indy was tough, but you know me, Ed's always been about his business. Special thanks to Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell, general manager Rod Graves, and the late Dennis Green. My time in Arizona was short but sweet. I made enough memories and friendships to last a lifetime. We took the Cardinals to the Super Bowl. I played with some great players like Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, and future Hall of Famers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Bolden along with Antrell Rowe, Terrell Smith, Leonard Polk,

Reggie Wells and so many other talented players. Throughout my career I took pride in representing my culture, my people and keeping it real and I did it all while doing my job. In the real world, we need to think about these things and protect the people we're supposed to protect. Now, as a running back, I had to block and protect the quarterback. Just imagine if I don't protect him from the pass rush. In society, we have witnessed a lot of people turn the other cheek.

Since we're in the football world, imagine if I turn the other cheek and don't protect my quarterback. I played with two Hall of Famers and I played against my brothers, people I went to school with. What if I intentionally missed my blocking assignment and one of my boys does damage to my QB? What happens to my team if I don't do my job and protect him. Now think about what happens to our culture and to our families when we don't get the protection we're supposed to. It tears us down. It kills our confidence.

It divides us. Do your job. That's what I did. I put my body on the line and I protected my quarterback. We have a lot of things going on in this country. It's only right that we keep the light shining on these issues. Just do your job. If everybody did their job, the world would be a better place. For some reason, I always had to deal with perception. Perception, though, isn't always reality.

It definitely wasn't my reality. People looked at my gold teeth and dreads and were shocked and surprised I had never been under arrest or spent time in jail. So many people told me that you can't have dreads and gold teeth and be accepted in the NFL, but I never listened. I always knew who I was, a great football player, a great father, a proud black man, a lion, and this was my mane. Which many of those dollars were later discovered

once they got to know the real me. Times have changed. Look around the league, look at some of the young stars. As a matter of fact, look at my pro football Hall of Fame bust, rocking the same dress they said I shouldn't. My closing message proudly represent the real you. Follow your dreams, aim high, and create

the life you want to live. And to all those who have been judged prematurely because of their appearance, the way they speak, where they come from, and in the minds of many should be locked up in prison, I represent us. I'm forever immortalized, locked up in the Cannon Correctional Institution. Inmate number 336 in the Pope Football Hall of Fame. My career started with gold teeth and ended with this gold jacket. Good night and God bless. This episode is brought to you by Rock Auto.

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Thank you very much. Thank you all very much. When I was playing for the Colts, there were just a few seconds on the play clock, and we needed the ball snapped quickly. I would yell, hurry, hurry, to my center, Jeff Saturday, and he would immediately snap me the ball. Well, I got to tell you, there you go. Tonight's speech is an all-time hurry, hurry.

The 2021 induction class wants to thank those previous inductees who gave long-winded acceptance speeches, forcing us to have a whopping six minutes to recap our football careers. I want to give a special thanks to my old rival, Ray Lewis, for being here tonight. Ray just finished giving his speech that he started in 2018. Next year, acceptance speeches will probably shrink to four minutes. And speaking of rivals, my good friend Tom Brady is inducted in his first year of eligibility in the year 2035, he'll only have time to post his acceptance speech on his Instagram account.

The legendary John Madden says that the Hall of Fame busts whisper to each other at night. And it's actually true. My son Marshall and I have heard it. But I also think that they run plays at night. They scrimmage. They throw a little seven on seven. The other night I had a dream that I was in one of those scrimmages. The other team's coaches were Vince Lombardi and Paul Brown.

My coaches, Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson. That's right, a Cowboy and a Steeler working together, only in Canton, Ohio. We were on the 50-yard line with only three seconds left in the game. Coach Cowher called a running play. I said, Coach, I'm going to have to audible. Omaha. I called a pass play. My bus f coach, I'm going to have to audible. Omaha. I caught a pass play. My bus faked a handoff to Barry Sanders. I threw a 20-yard break-in route to Michael Irvin,

right as Deacon Jones and Ray Nitschke hit me at the same time. Irvin, as he was getting tackled by Ronnie Lott, then lateraled to Steve Largent, who was in a foot race down the sideline with Daryl Green and Lim Barney. The savvy Largent, knowing he couldn't win a foot race with Daryl Green, then lateral back to Lance Allworth, who dove into the end zone for the game-winning score. Now, yesterday, it was just a dream, but tonight think it's pretty cool to say you're on the same team as Johnny Unitas and Slingin' Sammy Ball. I am honored to be a member of this elite class and a teammate of Drew's, Coach Floor's, John, Calvin, Allen, and Charles.

To be inducted on the same weekend with one of my favorite teammates of all time, Edgerin James, is a thrill. Being reunited with Edgerin, my old teammates, the great Marvin Harrison, Marshall Falk, our Colts architect Bill Pollian, our Colts leader Tony Dungy, is really something special. And I'm proud to be on the same team again with John Elway and to join fellow Denver Bronco alums Steve Atwater and John Lynch in this weekend's induction class. And there's room for more Colts and Broncos in here, I'm just saying.

We have inherited the history of this sport, even helped create it, but our responsibility cannot stop there. If we simply relive history and don't ignite the future of the sport, then we're not doing football justice. Each of us has deep roots in this game. Football even helped us carve out a place to belong. In my youth in New Orleans and in Newman School, football carved out a place for my favorite quarterback, my hero, my role model, my dad, Archie Manning, to pass on something he loved to me.

Dad, there is no one I would rather have or be more appropriate than you to welcome me to this stage. My dad enabled me to play balls with my brother Cooper and Eli, the two best brothers a guy could ask for. And it gave my mom plenty of reasons to both beef me up and patch me up. You talk about walking out with the most loving mother who could also break down a cover-two defense as well as any NFL quarterback. In college, at my beloved alma mater, the University of Tennessee, football gave me a platform to help me grow as a man and refine my skills. Entering the NFL, the game gave me a profession where I could measure myself against the very best and live camaraderie at its deepest level. I always thrive on being coached, and I learned from some of the very best coaches in

the business, many of whom are here tonight. Sadly, we have lost two special coaches to me this year, the great Howard Mudd and my good friend Greg Knapp. May they both rest in peace. After my playing career, I hung a whistle around my neck and I've coached my son's flag football team for the past two years. Now I'm not sure I'm a very good coach, but hopefully that role will enable me to make a hands-on contribution to the future of our sport. Over the years, I've had the most unbelievable support from family, friends, fans, coaches, teammates, and support staffs. And I just can't say thank you enough to all of you that have come here tonight to help me celebrate. To Jim Irsay and the Indianapolis Colts organization, my gratitude is off the charts. You drafted me in 1998 and it was a joy and a privilege to represent the

horseshoe. And to Pat Bowen, the Bowen family, and the Denver Broncos organization, you took a chance on me at a crucial moment in my career and I will never forget it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. When I officially retired from football five years ago, whether in person, on a call, or in a handwritten letter, I said all the thank yous that we unfortunately don't have time to repeat tonight. But trust me, they are as heartfelt now as they were then. To my wife, Ashley, there are no right words to express how grateful I am for you. Thank you for your unstoppable love and support. And to our children Marshall and Mosley, you came into the world at the

exact time that I needed you most. The two of you have already given your mother and me a greater inheritance than we could ever leave you. If football has become my home, the people of the great states of Louisiana, Tennessee, Indiana, and Colorado have become my extended family. And as everyone knows, you can never really leave family behind. I never expected to stand on this stage tonight if it weren't for those busts and the memories of forever loyal fans. Tonight's details would blur and cheers would fade. However, our hearts will cradle the memories forever. Throughout our lives as players, coaches, staffs, and fans, we've become essential to the sports landscape.

I don't know about you, but I'm not done with this game. I never will be. I'm committed to ensuring its future, and I hope you will join me in that commitment. As members of this honored class, we have a responsibility to make our game stronger, from the corner playground to the most celebrated stadiums. During the past few years, the game of football has been challenged by an explosion of sports and entertainment options, safety concerns, erupting social justice issues, and a worldwide pandemic.

Displaced fans have taken on an entirely new meaning as our stadiums have been shut down and fans shut out. We certainly shouldn't walk away now. When we leave this stage tonight, it is no longer about us. It is about cultivating the game that has given so much to us. It's about nurturing football to live and thrive another day, another year, decade, and another generation. It's about guarantee football to live and thrive another day, another year, decade, and another generation. It's about guaranteeing that kids everywhere can learn, bond, grow, and have fun with every flag pulled, every tackle made, every pass thrown, every run, block, sack, and touchdown scored.

The audience here tonight is made up of diehard fans who feel football deep in your bones. Now we may have ignited the fire, but you, you have fanned the flames. Inevitably, those flames will be whipped by the winds of change, but they don't need to smolder. The future of this game is ours to shape. We just need to take tomorrow on our shoulders as readily as we donned our pads before each game. Let this moment become a cherished memory. And then remember, a legacy is only worthwhile when there is a future to fuel. God bless you, and God bless football. That wasn't just a speech. That was a presentation.

I've never seen more photographs that were marked to go along with a speech in real time to support visually what he was talking about to the audience here.