The smile on his face said it all, as Peppers, famously a man of few words when he played, took it all in.
He just shook his head when Hall of Fame safety Steve Atwater walked by in his gold jacket (Peppers won’t get his until August) and said, “Congratulations again, man, see you soon.”
That was a thing that just happened. One of the hardest hitters the league has ever known just pointed at Peppers, gave him the nod, and acknowledged him as a peer.
It didn’t seem real to him.
He sat uneasily during a press conference for the entire class, checking his constantly buzzing phone for texts of congratulations. He didn’t look perfectly at ease in the moment, such that a man his size can get comfortable in a spare metal stool. So as the television screen nearby showed the memorial montage to the sounds of Boyz II Men, he swayed nervously, waiting for someone to call on him.
When they did, he talked about what it meant, how even when he was in Canton two years ago to see Sam Mills enshrined, he never assumed this day would come for him.
“I was hopeful that it might happen one day, but, you know, I don’t like to make assumptions or have any expectations of all the things I don’t control,” Peppers said from the podium. “So, it was nice to be there to get us that moment for Sam. And, you know, I was grateful to be there for them.”
Thursday night, his moment came. As quickly as you’d expect, even if he didn’t.
“I mean, yeah,” Peppers said, shaking his head as he processed it all.
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