HOF speeches on time limit
In 2016, Brett Favre spoke for 36 minutes in one of the most memorable Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speeches ever, a mark that was topped by Tony Gonzalez’s 39-minute address in 2019.
Nobody will challenge those marks next month when the classes of 2020 and 2021 are enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
The 19 members of those combined classes who will be giving enshrinement speeches have been asked to limit their remarks to six minutes. An Academy Awards-style musical cue will end each speech at 8 minutes if necessary.
“So, they’re saying there’s like a blinking light at six minutes, maybe a little bell going off at seven minutes and then at eight minutes, they say that someone’s going to come up and lead the applause to end the speech,” said Peyton Manning, a member of the Class of 2021.
“I look forward to seeing them come up and lead the applause while Alan Faneca is still speaking,” Manning cracked. “Good luck getting him off the stage. Or anybody that’s an offensive linemen is probably tough to pull.”
Manning said the inductees have communicated via a group text “about everybody trying to honor that to be respectful of the person behind you and have everybody have their time.”
The Centennial Class wasn’t enshrined last year because of the pandemic, so the weekend will mark the largest number of inductees in the Hall of Fame’s history, making time limits on speeches especially important.
