Another great class officially took its place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
The class of 2023 consisted of Ronde Barber, Don Coryell, Chuck Howley, Joe Klecko, Darrelle Revis, Ken Riley, Joe Thomas, Zach Thomas and DeMarcus Ware. They got their moment in the sun on Saturday afternoon during an enshrinement ceremony at Canton, Ohio.
Here were the highlights from the speeches at the ceremony:
Zach Thomas gets the call
It took a while but Thomas, the standout Miami Dolphins middle linebacker, finally got into the Hall of Fame.
`Thomas was presented by his old coach and fellow Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson, and Thomas started his speech by saying it was 27 years to the day that Johnson named him starting middle linebacker.
"All you need is one chance, and Jimmy gave that to me," Thomas said.
Thomas thanked coaches and teammates going back to high school. He talked about being the first player from Texas Tech to make the Hall of Fame.
Thomas even thanked fans of the New York Jets, New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills, the Dolphins' AFC East rivals.
"Despite all the things you screamed at me, threw at me, and did to me, don't tell anybody this: I really enjoyed it," Thomas said. "And I still do. The rivalries are what make the NFL so great."
Thomas got emotional a few times, especially when he started talking about one of his former teammates, the late Junior Seau.
"He was my inspiration, and he became my teammate and friend," Thomas said. "Though he's not here physically, he's here in spirit and in a bust in the building behind me. I'm truly honored to join him."