Emmitt Smith dances into NFL Hall of Fame

[O-town Gator]

CANTON, Ohio — "It was at the intensive care unit of a Dallas hospital, one former Florida Gator comforting another.

Wide receiver Ernie Mills, at the tail end of his career with the Dallas Cowboys, had torn his small intestine after he took a shot to his midsection during a game against the Seattle Seahawks in 1998. In the hospital room beside him was Emmitt Smith, consoling him, cracking jokes, telling him that everything was going to be all right.

"That just shows you the kind of person he is," Mills said. "The kind of teammate he is."

More: http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20100806/ARTICLES/100809595/1136?p=1&tc=pg

 

[Leakfan12]

Second Gator in the hall.

 

[O-town Gator]

From Gatorzone.com about Emmitt's enshrinement: http://gatorzone.com/story.php?id=18476

 

[GainesvillebornNraised]

great speech

 

[irnndn]

great speech

Not one mention of UF, I was really disappointed. All other inductees gave kudos to their Alma mater.

Without his success at UF he may never have had a shot at the pros, and not ONE DAMN MENTION!!:confused0082:

 

[CaliZona_Gator]

Not one mention of UF, I was really disappointed. All other inductees gave kudos to their Alma mater.

Without his success at UF he may never have had a shot at the pros, and not ONE DAMN MENTION!!:confused0082:

exactly. he big leagued us. disappointing.

 

[O-town Gator]

Not one mention of UF, I was really disappointed. All other inductees gave kudos to their Alma mater.

Without his success at UF he may never have had a shot at the pros, and not ONE DAMN MENTION!!:confused0082:

It wasn't done on purpose. Last night was to celebrate his accomplishments in the NFL, not college.

(BTW, according to Twitter he thanked UF and is expected to give a shout-out to the Gators during the HOF game tonight. RELAX, please.)

 

[Mr2Bits]

It's great seeing Emmitt get inducted into the Hall of Fame - he's the greatest Gator to ever play in the NFL.

Here's that shout-out everyone was waiting for at the 1:35 mark

[youtube]UPcAcs9QGbM[/youtube]

 

[CaliZona_Gator]

It wasn't done on purpose. Last night was to celebrate his accomplishments in the NFL, not college.

(BTW, according to Twitter he thanked UF and is expected to give a shout-out to the Gators during the HOF game tonight. RELAX, please.)

I understand it was the NFL HOF, but every player mentions their college years for a reason. The college game these days is a professional league, the only thing amateur is the players. I think it was a big deal that he didn't mention the Gators in his speech, I hope it truly was a mistake. But I'm glad he made up for it during the game.

 

[O-town Gator]

I understand it was the NFL HOF, but every player mentions their college years for a reason. The college game these days is a professional league, the only thing amateur is the players. I think it was a big deal that he didn't mention the Gators in his speech, I hope it truly was a mistake. But I'm glad he made up for it during the game.

I don't think he omitted mentioning the Gators in his speech intentionally; too many people read too much into it and started a bunch of juvenile tirades on Saturday night because of it. I couldn't believe some of the nonsense I was seeing on Twitter; some Gator beat writers, whose names I won't mention in the open forums here, were acting as though they were still in kindergarten.

If Emmitt didn't give a rat's ass about UF, he wouldn't have stood with Urban Meyer on the sidelines during the '06 NC game, nor would he have reached out to a former teammate in need (Darryl Perry) and offered to help him. I mean, some people on another board were even going so far as to lambaste him for not being in The Swamp during his Ring of Honor induction, and I thought that was a rather petty thing to say. He had a prior commitment at that time and had a family member go as a proxy for him. (Then again, Rex Grossman was inducted into the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame last year and wasn't able to attend the ceremony because of his obligation to the Houston Texans at the time; he made a thank-you video instead and had his father accept on his behalf - where was the uproar over Sexy Rexy not being in Jax that day?)

If maybe he's still a bit slighted over not feeling wanted anymore once he left the UF football program, many other former Gators felt that same way before Urban Meyer arrived in '05 and welcomed them back to The Swamp; they helped make Florida football what it is today and in his opinion should always feel at home whenever they return to Gainesville.

I don't harbor any bitterness towards Emmitt Smith; he's still one of the greatest all-time Gator football players and always will be. Once a Gator, ALWAYS a Gator. 'Nuff said. :gator::gator::gator:

 

[irnndn]

Do you really think think this speech wasn't practiced at least a hundred times?

I still don't get it. He came out on Friday with the Gator Chomp at his high school home coming and going on and on about his high school gators and very few mentions about the UF Gators.

I'm still disappointed, how many Gators were watching his induction vs. how many were still watching his apology during the most pathetic HOF game ever at half time?

 

[O-town Gator]

Do you really think thik this speach wasn't practiced at least a hundred times?

I still don't get it. He came out on Friday with the Gator Chomp at his high school home coming and going on and ond on about his high school gators and very few mentions about the UF Gators.

I'm still dissapointed, how many Gators were watching his induction vs. how many were still watchiching his apoligy during the most pathetic HOF game ever at half time?

So what's your point? It was merely an oversight, not a "snub". Sheesh.

 

[irnndn]

So what's your point? It was merely an oversight, not a "snub". Sheesh.

Your thought not mine - I took as a snub. BTW he was the best that was there while I attended UF.

 

[O-town Gator]

Your thought not mine - I took as a snub. BTW he was the best that was there while I attended UF.

If he intended to snub UF, no effin' way would he have said anything the following night giving a shout-out to his alma mater and being contrite over an honest mistake he made. For crying out loud, we don't live in a perfect world. Give the guy a break.

 

[Leakfan12]

Should we add he busted his @$$ playing for the Gators for some not so good Gator teams (teams that couldn't beat UGA or FSU). He was the only thing the Gators had.