Jared Allen’s FULL Hall of Fame speech

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Football Hall of Fame. Ladies and gentlemen, presenting Jared Allen for. Enshrinement in the wake of man is his father, Ron Allen. All right. You’d think they’d figure out where tall on this stage here. Hopefully they all can hear me. Oh, first off, thank you so much to the Hall of Fame and all the volunteers. It’s been a fantastic weekend so far. To the audience. I know Cam’s not always easy to get to, so thank you for showing up and making this day special. To every single one of these men on this stage wearing a gold jacket. It is an honor, and it is a privilege to stand up here with you. I watched majority of you guys growing up. So this is this is a real thrill. And the most importantly, thanks to all the men and women who served this country bravely that make today, like today, possible. So people always ask, how did I get here? Why was I better than others? And usually fans have really bad timing and they ask these questions when you’re at dinner or you’re with your, you know, watching your kids sporting events. So I usually make some crap up. I make it up. I’m like, you know what, you got to eat three jalapeno peppers before every game because you got to have a burning in your gut. And I feel bad about that now because there’s probably some kid out there with some serious gut issues because his dad was just jamming peppers in his mouth before every game. So my apologies for that. But seriously. So I was a PR marketing major in college, and my family and friends right now are probably wondering why on earth is the guy who dropped out of college twice talking about his college major? It’s because of marketing and branding. There’s a concept that called sell your why, right? The what is your product? There’s 1,000,000W in this world. But the why is what makes you different. The why is your long game. It’s what drives you to get up and take whatever steps necessary to achieve your goal. So my why can be summed up with three things. Fear, respect, and the pursuit of greatness. And when I talk about fear, I’m not talking about that type of fear that cripples you and makes you avoid something. I’m talking about that healthy fear of failure, that fear that motivates you to do whatever you can to succeed, that type of fear that lets you get knocked down and then realize you don’t want to get knocked down again. So you pick yourself up, you learn and you improve and respect. I’ve only played this game for two reasons the respect of my peers and the respect of those who came before me. I will never forget the day I got an email from Jack Youngblood telling me that he thought I played the game the right way. That, to me, is worth more than any All-Pro I’ve ever gotten. And the pursuit of greatness. When you respect something or someone so much that you want to honor that thing or that person by being the best you can possibly be. That is why I had the NFL sack leaders taped up in my locker every season, so I could show up to work and physically see greatness, and never allow myself to feel like I arrived. And now I apply this why to everything in my life, to my walk with Christ, to my marriage, to being a father, you name it, you got to have a why. So another fun fact about me is I love history and I actually changed my major to history before I dropped out for the second time. Parents are probably wondering we are not giving good school talks up here right now. So I asked Jim Porter when I got why gold was chosen for the color of the jacket, thinking there might be a deeper reason, other than the obvious, that gold represents the best. Surprisingly, there was not. So I like to believe it’s because gold is a reflective metal. Because none of us stand on this stage alone. This jacket is a direct reflection of all of you who have poured into my life and in my career. I might be the one wearing this jacket, but I hope every time you see this jacket, you see yourself. So to the fans, thank you for showing up. Rain, shine or snow for spending your hard earned money to come watch us play. It’s because of you that we have jobs and that this is the greatest sport on earth. To the organizations, the Panthers, thank you for making the trade and allowing me to finish my career with my hand in the dirt and being able to play in Super Bowl 50 in my hometown. And even though we didn’t win, it was a heck of a way to end my career. The bears. Yeah, well. So just. I’m teasing. Listen, when you when you blow your back out, you blow your L5 out. Catch the moment. You only have five sacks. I don’t think they were too happy either. But you cannot have the game of football without the Hallows family. So thank you so much. And Kevin Warren, I love you. I wish you all the best when you guys play except for the Vikings. So. To the Chiefs, I cannot thank the hunt family enough for making an eight year old kid’s dream come true. To be drafted to such a storied franchise was absolutely incredible. And I’ll never forget the embraces the great Lamar Hunt would give after every single game. And it didn’t matter if you were half naked or fully dressed, he was going to give you a big old bear hug and tell you he appreciated you. And of course, the Vikings. So as a Norsemen by blood, because I am Norwegian, it was only fitting that I became a Viking. And first off, hoping to get this guy in trouble. I want to say a quick thanks to glaze for making it happen. You avoided. You helped us avoid some tampering issues. And you know what? Appreciate you working that one out. But Rick, Rob, George, Kevin, Paco, Brad and the entire Will family, I don’t think I can ever truly express the depths of my gratitude to the entire organization. I’m a firm believer that God puts people in your life at the appropriate times. And what you did for the growth of my career, but more importantly, the people that you surrounded me, surrounded me with in that organization helped me grow as a man. That is why I will forever call the Vikings my home. And to my coaches. And when you play for four teams, you got a lot of them. I repeat what I said earlier, this jacket is a direct reflection of all your efforts. I was blessed to have played for some of the greatest coaches this game has to offer. From Pat McGrady, my Pop Warner coach, to Mark Ray and Larry Lewis, my Idaho State coaches who took me from outside linebacker and said, hey, why don’t we try putting your hand in the dirt for a week? And here we are, 25 later standing in canton, Ohio. And then, of course, the pros to be able to play for the likes of Coach Vermeil, Herm Edwards, Brad Childress, Leslie Frazier, John Fox and Ron Rivera. My position coaches, like the late, great Bob Carmelite’s, Bob was a master of technician or of technique. Sorry. We would spend countless hours talking about big bones on little bones and how to manipulate an offensive tackle to get where you want to get to gain fractions of a second. In the rush to Tim Krumrie, who would, no joke, wrestle a toddler if he had to, just because that’s what Timmy did. And of course, the Beastmaster himself, Carl Dunbar. You guys held me to a standard of greatness every single day, and I cannot say thank you enough because you got me to where I’m at. And of course, I can’t leave out the greatest strength coach ever, the Colonel Tom Navy. If you don’t know him, get to know him. It’ll change your life. So my teammates, I literally can speak for hours. I won’t, I won’t. I learned from Brett. Seven of them are wearing gold jackets. Right? When you have to battle, guys like Willie Roaf, Will shields, Steve Hutchinson on The Daily, you either get better or you get fired. That’s the only two options you got, and I took something from each and every one of you. I have a scar on my ribcage from Will shields. I took one, excuse me, kids, for this, but I took one of the best whippings I’ve ever taken from Willie Roaf. My rookie year, we were doing a half line drill back when you could still hit people in training camp, and I locked Willie out. Greg Wesley came down from the safety position, smacked Priest Holmes right in the mouth. Victory defense coach Vermeil was not having it. We had to do it again. So I hit Willie again. I went to lock him out. This time, for some reason, my feet were in the air and he was driving about seven yards down the other way. He dumped me on my head and when I tried to get up, he speared me in my back. And I knew right then and there there was levels to this game. And if I could make Willie Roaf my friend and learn how to beat him, I’d be all right in the NFL. So wherever Willie’s at, appreciate you, Willie. I learned how to be a pro from guys like E Hicks and Vonnie Holliday. Ty law taught me the importance of rushing coverage working together. This jacket is a byproduct of not trying to be one of the best in the league. I was just trying to be one of the best D linemen in our room, and of course, had guys like John Browning and the Williams Wall, Pat and Kevin, man, you guys pushed me to new levels and Kevin, I cannot wait to be sitting in the stands or on this stage when we celebrate you one day. You are a true, amazing player my friend. And if it weren’t for the guys like Ben Leber, Chad Greenway, EJ Henderson, Antoine Winfield, Peanut Tillman, Roman Harper, I mean the list goes on and on and on that always had. My back allowed me to play free up front. I would not be standing here today. I have no doubt that everybody on this stage would say the exact same thing. We did not get here without great teammates. So to my agent, Ken, my financial guy, Jeff, you guys are two of my greatest teammates I’ve ever had. Thank you for your loyalty, your honesty over the years, and you are truly family. I can’t thank you guys enough for the role you played in my life and then my family, my dad. I’m reminded of Philippians 411 to 12, Philippians four, verse 11 and 12. The verse reads, I’m not saying this because I’m in need, for I have learned to be content in whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. You never let circumstances rusiec you never let circumstances affect your joy. You were constant example of hard work. You taught me work ethic and most importantly, your consistent belief in me gave me the confidence to achieve greatness. And I love you for that. Terry hadn’t come down to anybody getting out there and they haven’t come yet. And my mom, you’re always a source of compassion and grace, always there with a prayer. Even when I was a complete knucklehead and you never judged me, at least not to my face. So I appreciate that. My stepdad, Vic, whether you knew it or not, you taught me so much. You’ve been successful in everything you do. And by watching you, I learned about process. And if you have the right process and you take the right steps, you will succeed in anything you do. You’re always well informed, well read. So that made me want to not be the dumbest person in the room, so I appreciate that. And to my wife. I’m reminded of what Tom Lanphier said when we were going through our premarital counseling. He said the two most important, important decisions you’ll make in life is one whether you follow Jesus or not. And two is who you marry. Because there’s only two types of people. There’s boat anchors who drag you down, and there’s people who elevate you. And you are a true game elevator. You’re one of the smartest people I know. I am in awe of you every single day. And I love you more than life itself. To my amazing daughters. Brittany and Lakeland. Through this process, the word legacy has been talked about a lot. The Hall often says they’re here to tell my story. Well, I’m here to tell you two. You are my greatest accomplishments. When I get called home to heaven one day, if all they talk about is this gold jacket my career, then I failed miserably as a father, a husband and a friend. You two are my legacy. You were both so talented and I cannot wait to see what you decide to do in to conquer this world. So always put Christ first. Find your why, dream big dreams and always pursue greatness in whatever you do. Thank you all and may God bless you all.