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Kevin Hagen/for New YOrk Daily NewsLast year, Michael Strahan missed out on the special honor, but this year he makes it.
So much for Warren Sapp's opinion, and a strange first-year snub. Michael Strahan was always headed to the Hall of Fame.
And now, he's officially gotten in.
One year after just missing the cut to get into Canton, the Giants' all-time leader in sacks finally earned a spot among the NFL's greatest. On Saturday night, during the NFL Honors awards show at Radio City Music Hall, Strahan was announced as part of the Class of 2014, according to two sources. Tampa Bay Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks, Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Walter Jones and Buffalo Bills receiver Andre Reed joined him as modern-day candidates, according to reports. Legendary Raiders punter Ray Guy also made the cut.
Strahan's gap-toothed smile was undoubtedly the star of Saturday night. Last year, he'd missed out on a special honor, just failing to make the cut in his first year of eligibility, but on Saturday night, he got to experience something else, getting announced as a Hall of Famer in the very city in which he blossomed into a star.
Strahan, a second-round pick by the Giants out of Texas Southern in 1993, spent his entire 15-year career in East Rutherford, emerging as one of the finest pass-rushers in the game. His 141.5 sacks are the most in Giants history, and his 22.5 sacks in 2001 are a single-season NFL record.
It was that very record that stirred so much controversy between Strahan and Sapp. Strahan had broken Jets great Mark Gastineau's old mark against the Green Bay Packers, when quarterback Brett Favre had essentially collapsed at his feet on a rollout, and at the time, Sapp called it a 'travesty.' Sapp, who beat Strahan into Canton last season, revived his feud with Strahan last week, insisting that Strahan's resume 'doesn't stack up.' Strahan would respond by saying Sapp was a 'coward.'
None of that mattered Saturday, and it shouldn't have mattered at all. Strahan was a seven-time Pro Bowler and a four-time first-team All-Pro, and he was a master of reinvention. His first four years in the league, he was a solid pass-rusher, piling up 18 sacks. But it wasn't until 1997 that he exploded and came into his own, dropping the quarterback 14 times.
As his career went on, Strahan would drop from 275 pounds into the 250s, developing into a feared, technically savvy speed rusher who could still over-power right tackles. In 2000 and 2007, he'd power the Giants into the Super Bowl, and in Super Bowl XLII, he spearheaded a furious pass rush that left unflappable Patriots quarterback Tom Brady shellshocked, part of the reason the Giants upended then undefeated New England.
It was a resume that was always destined for Canton. Strahan was snubbed last season, and he was dissed by an old rival last week.
But none of that could keep him out of a Hall that would never have been complete without him.
'He was one of the greatest players certainly in our franchise history,' said Giants co-owner John Mara, 'and I think arguably NFL history as well.'
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