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http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... 16e28.html

NFL notes: Pace picks son to introduce him at Hall of Fame inductions

by Jim Thomas



INDIANAPOLIS • Three weeks ago, Orlando Pace got the call to Canton. Actually, it wasn’t a call — it was a knock on the door.

All of the Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists are brought to that year’s Super Bowl city, where the annual Hall voting takes place. They’re lodged in a hotel, where they anxiously wait to get the word on Saturday afternoon — the day before the big game.

A year ago, Pace was waiting in his hotel room in Phoenix, site of Super Bowl 49, when he got a knock on the door.

Was it the big moment?

Alas, it was room service.

This time around, in San Francisco, Pace didn’t order any room service. He didn’t make any calls, he didn’t take any calls.

And this time, when there was a knock on the door, it was Hall of Fame president and executive director David Baker — an imposing figure at 6 feet 9 — personally informing Pace that he had been voted into the NFL’s most exclusive club.

“You never know how the scenario plays out, because I was in a good position last year and it didn’t happen,” Pace said. “So I didn’t want to be overconfident.”

So he tried to relax, get a little rest, on selection Saturday. He had a scheduled public appearance in the Napa Valley earlier in the day, sipped a little wine, then headed to his hotel.

“It was something to calm the nerves a little bit,” he said.

Pace plans to have his teenage son, Justin, present him at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony — on Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio.

“For me it was important,” Pace said. “I want him to be a part of that legacy and be a part of that ceremony, so 10, 15 years down the road from now he can tell his kids that he was a part of that ceremony and that special time in my life.”

Things have been moving at a whirlwind pace since Pace’s selection, with appearances and obligations piling up on his calendar. One of those took place last week when Pace served as a mentor through the NFL Legends program for offensive linemen competing at the NFL Scouting Combine.

“Just trying to show them what to expect, what the league is about,” Pace said. “Talk to them about what to expect, expectations and how to become a pro.

“I said, ‘You guys have earned the right to be here, now you’ve got to earn the right to stay here. And that’s in the NFL. Go in as a rookie, keep your mouth shut, and work hard.’”

And show up to training camp on time, right?

“I won’t say that,” Pace chuckled. “I won’t say that.”

Pace, of course, missed several training camps because of contract stalemates during his time with the Rams.