A dominant force on the Steelers offensive line for a decade, Alan Faneca joined the greats on Sunday night when he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
With a Terrible Towel draped across the podium, with which he occasionally used to wipe the sweat from his face on a humid evening in Canton, Ohio, Faneca expressed gratitude to those who helped him reach football’s ultimate pinnacle.
“Without my teammates, all of you, I would not be here today,” he said. “We laugh, we cry, we celebrate. And through it all, we leaned on each other. We genuinely cared for each other. And we grew, as men. My brothers, I love you guys.”
Faneca passionately spoke about his wife, Julie, as well as their three children, and the impact they have had on his life.
“There are choices, decisions and sacrifices that each of us, as athletes who play this great game, must make every day,” he said. “The choices we make outside of football are even greater, because they aren’t simply game choices, they are life choices.”
A first-round pick in 1998 out of LSU, Faneca was an instrumental piece in the Steelers’ surprising run to Super Bowl XL, including opening the hole for Willie Parker’s 75-yard touchdown run, the longest run in Super Bowl history.
Faneca left the Steelers in 2008, signing a five-year deal with the Jets. In 2010, he was released and signed in Arizona, where he played one season. Faneca retired in 2011, having made eight Pro Bowls, six with Pittsburgh.
“I want to thank the late Ambassador Rooney, and Art Rooney, for cultivating a culture where teammates become true brothers and your benchmarks for success are relentlessly high,” he said. “We inspire a city, and Steeler nation, you inspire us.”
The 6-foot-5 guard was selected to the NFL’s All-Pro Teams eight times, six of which were First-Team picks. Faneca played 206 games, 158 with the Steelers.
Amazingly, he was only called for holding four times in his career.
A touching moment in his speech, Faneca directed comments to those dealing with disabilities and facing tough obstacles in the quest to live their dreams. Faneca, who was diagnosed with epilepsy as a teenager, certainly can relate.
“There are thousands of young boys around the country who dream of playing in the NFL,” he said. “I was one of them.
“Fifteen was a transformative year for me. My dream of playing in the NFL was awakened, and I was diagnosed with epilepsy… I have always told myself and spoken about that fact that epilepsy is part of me, but does not define me.
“We are in charge of our destiny… We must define ourselves.”
Faneca was presented into the Hall of Fame by former Steelers teammate Hines Ward.