Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees 2013: A YouTube tribute

Ramon Ramirez is a writer for FanSided partner, BroJackson.com.

Cris Carter will be wearing a suit Saturday during his induction, not the blue golf polos given to him by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The deft sophistication fits one of the most distinct, memorable classes to date. The class of ’13 isn’t littered with hardware like, say, the Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice class of two years ago. But I’d rather wear a suit and enjoy conversational wine over a steak and listen to these guys talk.

The seven men going into Canton, Ohio–Carter, Jonathan Ogden, Larry Allen, Bill Parcells, Warren Sapp, Dave Robinson, and Curley Culp–are loud, deeply individualist icons. Sapp is a defensive lineman and gifted storyteller–see his anecdotes about Jon Gruden and Bill Belichick. Culp was a collegiate wrestling champ that played both sides of the ball and once picked up a fumble and ran the wrong way. The Houston Oilers’ circa ’75 baby blues accent the memory. Parcells had the ego of a blue whale and backed up every one-liner. Allen was basically a blue whale–one of the most physically imposing offensive lineman ever; ditto Ogden. Robinson was a Joe Paterno soldier at Penn State who went on to play for Green Bay–he let his game speak for itself and won the first two Super Bowls.

Iconography for days, son.

In honor of these men, a collection of YouTube clips. Let’s go to the highlights.