The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony is finally here after a long wait for the players and coach that were voted in for 2013, including Cris Carter, Bill Parcells, Jonathan Ogden, Larry Allen and Warren Sapp, and on Saturday they will be immortalized in Canton for all-time.
Parcells and Cris Carter have been waiting years to finally get voted in and now two of the top offensive linemen of the last generation in Allen and Ogden will go into the Hall. The 2013 class also has senior members of the class, including Curley Culp and Dave Robinson and this weekend the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins will play the first preseason game of the year. Parcells has intimate ties to both teams and the ceremony will have a number of notable people attending, including New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, who used to work with Parcells.
The ceremony will be broadcast on ESPN2 and WatchESPN on Saturday at 7 PM and NFL Live host Trey Wingo, NFL analyst Tom Jackson and reporter Sal Paolantonio will be on site to cover the event and the enshrinement. Parcells enters the shrine after winning two Super Bowls with the New York Giants and taking a number of teams to the playoffs, including the Cowboys and Patriots and now he will be immortalized forever. Last season the Saints and Cardinals played a close game that saw New Orleans win 17-10 and now it will be the Cowboys and Dolphins at Fawcett Stadium in Canton.
Former Vikings receiver Cris Carter will enter the Hall of Fame after playing college ball at Ohio State and professionally in Minnesota and for the Philadelphia Eagles. Carter works for ESPN and is one of the most accomplished receivers in history with 1,101 receptions for 13,899 yards and 130 touchdown catches. Carter finally breaks up the logjam a bit at wide receiver with Tim Brown and Andre Reed also very close to getting in and they likely should in the future. Charles Haley, Andre Reed, Michael Strahan and Aeneas Williams were all on the final vote and didn't make it into the Hall and Parcells enters after 19 years as a head coach and 172 wins during that time.
Sapp is one of the most entertaining members of the class and the outspoken defensive star made it into the Hall in his first year of being eligible after 13 seasons in the NFL. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle also spent time with the Raiders and finished his career with 96.5 career sacks and won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay. Sapp won the defensive player of the year award in 1999 and he also helped lead the Bucs to a division title for the first time in 18 years. Carter played 16 years in the NFL and caught 70 balls in 10 different seasons.
Check here for the Watch ESPN coverage of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony from Canton in Ohio and for more NFL news.
