Marvin Harrison prepares, meticulously, for his Hall of Fame induction
CANTON, Ohio - It was as if Marvin Harrison couldn't help himself. During 13 NFL seasons, the North Philadelphia native was obsessed with preparation. So on the weekend that spectacular career was being celebrated, he knew only one way to get ready.
CANTON, Ohio - It was as if Marvin Harrison couldn't help himself.
During 13 NFL seasons, the North Philadelphia native was obsessed with preparation. So on the weekend that spectacular career was being celebrated, he knew only one way to get ready.
"Practice," Harrison said Friday. "Practice is my motto."
On Thursday, 48 hours before he'll be one of eight men inducted during the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony Saturday night, Harrison conducted a one-man walk-through at 23,000-seat Tom Benson Stadium.
He located the spot where he and the rest of an eight-man 2016 class that includes his Indianapolis Colts coach, Tony Dungy, and Packers quarterback Brett Favre will be seated. In much the same way, he used to pace off those precise pass routes, he counted the steps from there to the stage. Then he checked the brightness of the stadium's lights. And before he left, Harrison mouthed the opening lines to a speech he's been working on for months.
"That's Marvin," Dungy said Friday when the class met the media at a high school adjacent to the Hall. "You'll never meet a football player who practices or prepares any harder."
And, as was evident Friday, you also probably won't find too many more who would be as ill-at-ease in this weekend's spotlight.
Harrison, 43, who starred at Roman Catholic High and Syracuse before debuting with the Colts in 1996, didn't talk much or often as a player, not even when he set the NFL record with 143 receptions in 2002. Eager for this rare crack at him, a slew of media members surrounded his interview table 30 minutes before his scheduled arrival.
"I wanted to get here early," explained one Indianapolis TV reporter, "because Marvin might not say much."
When he arrived, Harrison, looking smaller than the 6-foot, 185 pounds that were his listed playing dimensions, was polite, friendly, and accommodating. But after each question, he hesitated, scrunched up his face, and cocked his head as if he instinctively wanted to disagree with the premise.
"I didn't really have a problem with the media," Harrison explained. "I was just focused on wanting to get better week after week. My goal was always the perfect game."
If he never quite managed that, it was about the only thing he failed to accomplish as the go-to wideout for Peyton Manning, who will be here Saturday. Harrison caught 1,102 passes for 14,580 yards and 123 touchdowns.
Asked which one of those statistics he was most proud of, he said "nothing in particular." Asked to choose one catch that stood out, he was equally unenlightening.
"When you have 1,100 catches, it's kind of hard to pick one over the other," Harrison said.
Harrison, who grew up near 24th and Thompson Streets and still resides in the city, didn't want to discuss any of the shooting incidents that have clouded his legacy since the Colts released him in 2006.
"Not the time or place for that," he said when approached after the mass interview.
He said he was proud to be going into the Hall with Dungy and a year after longtime Colts general manager Bill Polian's induction. Harrison will be introduced by Colts owner Jim Irsay.
"Mr. Irsay is a guy who's been at every level of football, from water boy to owner," he said. "He's a generous guy who did whatever he had to to help our team win. Whatever it took, whatever we needed, he gave us. And knowing this is probably one of the few chances he'll get to present an award like this, I thought it would be special for him."
Besides Harrison, Dungy, and Favre, the other inductees will be 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo; longtime pass-rushing specialist Kevin Greene; offensive lineman Orlando Pace; late ex-Eagles assistant Dick Stanfel, a guard with the Lions and Redskins; and the late Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler.
Surprisingly, given his reputation, Harrison hinted that his talk might exceed the seven- or eight-minute limit Hall officials have suggested. He's been taking notes, he said, adding and subtracting subjects almost since he got the good news last winter.
"I'll be comfortable up there," he said. "I don't talk a lot of trash behind the mike so that won't be a problem. I'll be fine with it. I'm a little bit [nervous], but I'm not worried.
"I've been practicing."
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