Kevin Faulk Inducted Into Patriots Hall of Fame, Tom Brady Shares Surprise Tribute
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At the beginning of every New England Patriots season, it has become an annual summer tradition under owner Robert Kraft where a former player is selected by fans for a spot in the teams Hall of Fame.
In 2016, running back Kevin Faulk received the nod as the Hall’s 25th member and the ceremony that followed on Monday didn’t disappoint.
Kevin Faulk entered tonight's ceremony in a Brady jersey: pic.twitter.com/Atv4VLtZjI
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 1, 2016
Faulk spoke very openly about his time in New England, thanking both his teammates and fans for all their support over his 13 seasons and five Super Bowl appearances.
“To the fans of New England, thank you for all the countless hours that you spent in this stadium cheering us on,” Faulk said. “Thank you for all the countless hours standing up for this organization whenever people say that we’re not who we are. All those people that say that we’re cheaters, just tell them to come to our meeting rooms, come in our practice one day and see what we do and understand why we are who we are. We are the New England Patriots. Thank you, and I love you.”
Congratulations to the newest memeber of the Patriots HOF Kevin Faulk @nflnetwork @NFLTotalAccess @Patriots pic.twitter.com/36UwdYw6JU
— Willie McGinest (@WillieMcGinest) August 1, 2016
A key third down back, Faulk became a fan favorite in New England for his durability and impact in the clutch. When Head Coach Bill Belichick spoke about Faulk he stated;
“Of all the things I can say about Kevin, to me the one thing that stands out more than anything else is even though his role changed and even though he was always there for us, the biggest contributions from Kevin Faulk always came in the biggest games and the most critical situations. That’s when he played his best football.”
Belichick also took note of a key moment in Faulk’s career against the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII,
“The 2-point play against Carolina was a huge play,” Belichick said. “It was the only time he scored all year. Kevin didn’t have a lot of touchdowns. He wasn’t a big scorer. He was a third down (converter) and a returner. More of a situational player.”
Kevin Faulk hugs Coach Bill Belichick. #patriotsHOF pic.twitter.com/9mewDX7uzQ
— The Hall presented by RTX (@TheHall) August 1, 2016
Many of Faulk’s former teammates and fellow hall of famers were also in attendance, but quarterback Tom Brady brought the house down with the biggest surprise of the evening.
Brady and some other pretty good players pic.twitter.com/8YP0h4w0e5
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) August 1, 2016
Brady, originally unscheduled to speak, took to the stage revealing a “33” Faulk jersey under his jacket as a tribute of his own in response to Faulk’s now infamous moment of Brady support at the 2016 NFL Draft back in April.
Chants of “Brady! Brady! Brady!” rang down from the thousands of fans in attendance, with Brady jokingly saying “No, this is for Kevin!” to respectfully remind the crowd whose night it really was and delivered a two minute speech to Faulk of his own.
https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/760242514284711936
“Respect. Its something that we are losing sight of in America, in the world right now, that’s what that was to me. Respecting me as an individual, respecting the thing that I did and showing it right back” Faulk later said about Brady’s tribute.
“We played 12 years together, I knew him back, front, side to side, he knew me back, front, side to side, I knew when he needed someone to get open, because like he said I was two feet away, and you look at the coverages they got Wes doubled here, they got Moss doubled here, they got me one on one with a linebacker, in my mind ain’t no linebacker in the league could of covered me, that was just my mind, and he knew how I felt, so when he would see those situations he’d always say ‘get open Kev’, and snap the ball, and I knew what to do.”
When asked how he handled the build up and nerves to the ceremony Faulk stated; “I was standing at the back waiting to walk out, and the only thing I kept saying in my head was the moment…flourish in my moment…its my moment and it was like anything I ever practiced for, I had to execute it, I had to do it, and that was me, thats Kevin Faulk.”
Videos courtesy, Patriots.com/Masslive.com
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