CANTON, Ohio -- I asked some members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013 to choose a play or a moment that defined their careers. Here were their answers:
Larry Allen
"I played against Reggie White, and he threw me," Allen said, laughing. "I had never been dominated like that before. It just made me work a lot harder.
"After that, I just wanted to be dominant. I wanted to win every single play. And embarrass them like Reggie embarrassed me."
Allen did just that, showing incredible athleticism and tenacity on his way to 11 Pro Bowls and six first-team All-Pro honors. Perhaps no offensive lineman of his era struck more fear in the hearts of opposing defenders. And that only happened after Reggie White showed Allen what a legend looked like.
Jonathan Ogden
"When I was younger and we were playing in Memorial Stadium, Ernest Byner was our running back. He caught a screen pass, and I swear I outran him on the way to the end zone and knocked a safety on his butt. That showed everyone what my athleticism could do out there. When I was younger, I was quite the athlete out there. Not anymore," Ogden said.
Ogden remembers the confetti falling after the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl win as a moment he'll also never forget, but I like the Byner play even better. There just haven't been many humans Ogden's size who could move like he did.
Cris Carter
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Carter couldn't come up with a single play, but he did provide a great breakdown of what defined him as a player. His hands.
"I catch the ball. You throw the ball, I catch it. You throw it close to me, I catch it. If you make me do something crazy to catch, I still catch it," Carter said.
Carter's big mitts were used for his first love, basketball, in high school. Carter played quarterback in high school until his senior year, but he said catching the ball always came naturally.
Bill Parcells
"After the 1984 playoff game against the (Los Angeles) Rams, I felt that, if we didn't screw it up, we could get things underway like I hoped. ... But I don't spend a lot of time thinking about those kind of things. Most of the time when I think about football, I think about the people I was involved with and the experiences I had with those people.
"That's what this is game is about. It's about camaraderie. There would be nothing without that. To see some of my boys, and they are in the Hall of Fame. To see them, and I'm their guy. And their my guys. It's special."
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