CANTON, Ohio -- Enshrinement Saturday is here, and NFL.com is at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, taking in all the festivities leading up to the ceremony at 6 p.m. ET. We'll provide updates on what's happening throughout the day:
Saturday, Aug. 2, 7:15 p.m.
Cowboys not welcome
It is no surprise that there were extended cheers given to former Redskins at the start of tonight's ceremony, considering the overwhelming number of burgundy-clad fans in the crowd. Joe Gibbs, Darrell Green, Ken Houston, Bobby Mitchell, and Bill Dudley were given rousing ovations. Gibbs, the biggest of that group -- he received a standing ovation. Art Monk, however, had the biggest applause from the fans who have long waited to see him enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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Some of the non-Redskins who drew big cheers were Deacon Jones and Gale Sayers. Former Cleveland Browns great Dante "Glue Fingers" Lavelli should, however, have received a bigger ovation. -- Adam Rank
Saturday, Aug. 2, 3:45 p.m.
Colorful day
In the sea of NFL colors in and around the Hall of Fame this afternoon, there's no question that burgundy and gold dominate. There are plenty of Broncos, Chiefs, 49ers and Patriots jerseys to be seen -- and really, there are fans of all 32 teams here for the ceremony -- but the Redskins fans in town to see Darrell Green and Art Monk inducted are everywhere.
Needless to say, there are people of all shapes and sizes walking around with No. 81 Monk or No. 28 Green jerseys. Perhaps the most unique fan here, however, is more of a Monk fan than a Redskins fan -- he was wearing the No. 81 Monk jersey of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Saturday, Aug. 2, 3:15 p.m.
The wedding planner
At last year's induction ceremony, Thurman Thomas told the crowd that he was going to renew his vows by proposing to his wife, Patti.
While he has yet to go through with it, Thomas is still determined to make it happen -- and he has some lofty plans.
"I personally want all the Hall of Famers to be there," he said. "Because this is where I proposed to my wife again. These guys' schedules are so busy that I probably won't be able to do it, but I'm going to try to have everyone's husband and wife to be in the ceremony."
Don't necessarily expect such a star-studded event to take place soon. Thomas admits the task is daunting and said he will take as much time as he needs to accomplish his goal.
"It took me six years to get in here, so it may take me six years to arrange all this, but it's something that I did and I told her and my kids and I promise that it's going to be able to happen. I just have to figure out a date." -- Jason Feller
Saturday, Aug. 2, 2:25 p.m.
Who's not here
One thing you can always expect during the enshrinement speeches: Members of this year's class will mention teammates or peers whom they feel should be joining them here in Canton. Well, the stumping began even earlier, with current members of the Hall making their cases. Thurman Thomas, who was inducted last year, talked up former Buffalo Bills receiver Andre Reed. Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs, who is here to see two of his players get inducted this year, made the case for former Chargers head coach Don Coryell.
Gibbs coached under Coryell at San Diego State along with John Madden -- who also backed the motion started by Gibbs and Kellen Winslow. Gibbs said Coryell was a creative force in football, and his influence is still felt today.
Coryell also was very intense. Gibbs related a story from their San Diego State days, when the team returned to the locker room after playing a very poor first half. "All the players sitting there," Gibbs recalled. "Don didn't come in… I'm sitting on the front row. Everybody is eating oranges and stuff.
"All of a sudden the door flew open. Don came in. There were a crate of oranges up here. He grabs these oranges. He started throwing them at everybody in the locker room. I'm ducking and dodging. Guys are going back, falling in their chairs and everything. That was our halftime speech. He threw oranges at us for about 10 minutes. Called us every four-letter word he could think of. We went out and played pretty good."
As for Reed's campaign, Thomas reiterated some comments he made when he was inducted last year.
"You look at a guy like Art Monk," said Thomas, "and you think about all the things he's been through to get to this point and it takes me back to a guy that I played with for so many years, Andre Reed. Almost the same numbers and I hope it doesn't take Andre 13 years (the mandatory five years plus eight more) to get to the point that Art Monk is now."
For the record, Reed caught 951 passes for 13,198 yards and 87 touchdowns. Monk caught 940 receptions, 12,721 yards and 68 touchdowns.
