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Richard Seymour tips cap to champion Dawgs in Pro Football HOF speech

On3 imageby:Wes Blankenship•08/07/22
On3 image
CANTON, OHIO - AUGUST 06: Richard Seymour (L) and his presenter Titus Duren unveil Seymour's bronze bust during the 2022 Pro Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 06, 2022 in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Richard Seymour didn’t forget where he came from. Which is impressive, when you consider the championship-studded path to this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

Despite the acclaim as a three-time Super Bowl Champion. Despite the general career success beyond that as a defensive line wrecking crew for the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders.

Seymour knows the most important lesson anyone who happens to be from the South knows: Don’t get above your raisin’.

Earl Scruggs wrote about it in the 50’s and Ricky Skaggs covered it three decades later.

It’s a sentiment that rings true for Richard Seymour.

Yes, he’s achieved at the highest levels of football success and plays some high-stakes poker every now and then.

But he ultimately lives his life as a normal dude who loves his family and enjoys a good cigar. He knows what’s important to him, and he celebrates every single one of the roots that makes him who he is today.

Before his professional success, Richard Seymour left his home state of South Carolina to be a Georgia football star

The Georgia Bulldogs helped make that gold jacket possible.

And Seymour will never forget those days, or his love for the Red and Black.

“Because of my family, I was well positioned for success as a young player at the University of Georgia,” Seymour said.

“The National Championship Bulldogs, I might add! We got any Dawgs in the house?”

It’s the year of the Dawg, Richard. They’re everywhere, my man.

Richard Seymour never becomes a Georgia football star without his mom and dad

In an alternate universe, Seymour never makes it to Athens (as a football player, anyway) without his mom’s influence.

“Of course to my mom, I wouldn’t be here without you or without dad, who I know is watching down on us in awe and admiration. It was 31 years ago to this month when you drove me to my first football tryout and I didn’t even get out of the car,” Seymour said.

“Mom, if I told you three decades later that I would be wearing a gold jacket, you would have no reason to believe me. But you believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.”

Georgia football fans and Patriots / Raiders fans alike can thank Deborah Seymour and the late Richard Seymour, Sr. for their influence on the football player and the man who wore all those jerseys, played all those games, and won all those championships.

“You taught me kindness and empathy. Dad taught me the value of hard work and discipline. He was my hero. Together, you and dad instilled in me the most important thing in life – as a friend and teammate, as a husband and dad, as a man – is to stand for something, to live by your values, to lead by example, and most importantly, keep God first.”

Seymour’s words for his wife and kids

“Football may be what I do, but family is who I am. To my brilliant and beautiful bride Tanya, my high school sweetheart and best friend, who saw the first snap of my career to the last,” Seymour said.

“Thank you sweetheart, to everything you added to my life. I’m not standing here without you. I love you deeply.

Seymour continued with wisdom for his children.

“Scripture teaches that your riches are in your family. To our wonderful kids RJ, Caleb, Kennedy, and London, you’re my greatest joy,” Seymour said.

“I believe in your gifts. Of everything I’ve accomplished, there’s no greater honor than being your dad. You continue to make mom and me proud. We love you.”

Someone cutting onions at y’all’s houses, too? Some kind of allergies got to my eyes.

Ragweed maybe? Dust. Or mold. Something.

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