CANTON, OH – AUGUST 04: Jerry Kramer and his daughter Alicia react as they unveil his bust during the 2018 NFL Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 4, 2018 in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
With takes on Vince Lombardi and contract negotiations, former Green Bay Packer Jerry Kramer gave a rousing speech on his journey to the Hall of Fame.
You can if you will. It’s the take we’ll probably all pull from Jerry Kramer’s speech on Saturday, an emotional review given by a former Green Bay Packers great whose trek to the Hall of Fame finally concluded nearly 50 years after his infamous block in the Ice Bowl of ’67.
Yet it would be remiss to leave out some finer points. Kramer never gave in to much emotion, despite his offerings leaving friends and family in tears. For a man who played guard in the NFL, it wouldn’t be his style anyway. Instead, he left notes of encouragement and dedication in the hopes that others would follow behind, and that they too would find their true path.
Notes hitched on the back of his time being coached up by Vince Lombardi:
He shared memories of his teammates, specifically Don Chandler, who helped Kramer regain his form after numerous surgeries nearly derailed his career. But there was as well humor. Maybe you wouldn’t expect it from a man forced to wait so long for his turn at immortality. His story on contracts in the ’60s and ’70s is a page from the absurd:
What contract negotiations were like 60 years ago…
Courtesy of @ProFootballHOF-er Jerry Kramer! ?#PFHOF18?: @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/FQd650x5qZ
— NFL (@NFL) August 5, 2018
The reading of “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley was touching, while at the same time a commanding stance by Kramer on how he chooses to live his days — and how we as well should view ourselves. Through pain there is progress, and through pain and adversity there is still much good. It’s true in football, for the men and players who take a beating every Sunday. It’s even more so in life.
In it all we will remain with only the knowledge of what we did. You choose to do right, or you do not. Congratulations, Jerry Kramer, on a well-deserved induction into the Hall of Fame.