Linebacker Junior Seau eventually will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Before that, he’ll enter the Chargers Hall of Fame.
The team has announced it’ll happen on November 27, 2011, when the Chargers host the Broncos.
“From the day we drafted Junior, we knew he was special,” Chargers chairman/president Dean Spanos said in a release issued by the team. “He’s such an energized, charismatic person. He attacks life the same way he attacked ball carriers. It’s that passion that turned him into the Hall of Fame player he is. His athletic ability speaks for itself, but it’s his passion and energy that separate him from the rest of the league. It’s that same passion for life that has made him an icon in San Diego. He IS San Diego in so many ways . . . in how he has represented himself on and off the field, and how he has been there to help and support the community when and where it’s needed. Junior is such a unique person; so full of life, and that rubs off on everyone around him, including me. I’m blessed by his friendship.”
The fifth overall pick in the 1990 draft, Seau played for the Chargers through 2002, before spending seven other seasons with the Dolphins and Patriots. He made the Pro Bowl 12 straight years as a member of the Chargers, and he was the team’s MVP every year from 1997 through 2001. He shared the award with Leslie O’Neal in 1993.
He’ll be the 35th member of the team’s Hall of Fame.
“All I hope for is that we’re undefeated by the time I’m honored,” Seau told Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press.
On the surface, that sounds a little ridiculous. But if the Chargers can stay healthy, and if they can find a way to reverse their recent trend of slow starts, they could actually pull it off.