My Cup is Overflowing with Love and Gratitude
Reflections as one of my college teammates/roommates enters the Hall of Fame
I first met Larry Fitzgerald and I knew he was talented.
I didn’t know he’d be one of the all time greats.
I definitely couldn’t tell he was going to be the 385th player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This past weekend, I got to witness that reality and it was one of the most beautiful celebrations of a person’s football life I’ve ever seen.
You likely know Larry’s stats: more tackles than drops. Second all time in receptions and yards. Walter Payton Man of the Year. All time Pitt Panther.
What you don’t know is the work that was done when no one was looking. The inner belief he carried in himself. How he had to process loss in a way that, sadly, some of us have had to navigate too.
And as I reflect back on the past week in Canton on my flight home I am smiling ear to ear in a way I haven’t in decades.
I arrived this past Wednesday after watching the 2026 Michigan Wolverines practice under new coach Kyle Whittingham. After covering the Utah Utes since 2004 it felt like I was home in a weird way. Friends from my past and a team I’ll cover in the future.
Ironically, once I arrived in Canton it felt relatively similar. Past and future, all connected in the present.
It would begin by shadowing absolute legends in broadcasting, Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth, as well as their entire NBC Sunday Night Football crew.
I sat in on a production meeting and proudly listen to them trade memories of Larry while getting a masterclass in television production.
I walked the field in pre-game and saw longtime Pitt strength coach Buddy Morris. I watched every member of the Arizona Cardinals wear number 11 in warmups. I ran into Michael Wilson, Gardner Minshew, Dave Canales and so many members of the collective ‘football family’ that 25 years around college football can provide.
And again, perma-grin.
I stood in the booth watching the greatest broadcast crew in our sport’s history do their thing. I looked over and saw Larry getting interviewed by Melissa Stark. All class, all the time.
In between days, I found myself at Michigan State, learning from new head coach Pat Fitzgerald and running into former Pitt Panther Hank Poteat during my training camp tour.
It was then back to Canton for the Hall of Fame. My cup was already full but over the next 24 hours it would overflow in the most beautiful way.
I saw teammates, coaches and administrators from twenty years ago. I laughed with the ones I used to sweat with. I went deep with the ones I used to sit on the locker room floor with after summer workouts. I looked my head coach in the eye and asked him questions I’d dreamed about asking him for years.
Most importantly, I got to listen.
I listened as grown men—former teammates—talked about fatherhood and marriage. I learned as they talked about struggle and growth. And I discovered a hole in me that only teammates could fill.
I started thinking about my time at Pitt. When you meet people at eighteen and go through hard, rewarding things together until you’re twenty-two years old a bond gets built. It’s different than high school and different than college football today. When we signed at Pitt, we stayed there. Memories were made. Relationships were formed and a powerful connection for life was created.
That truth just kept showing up as the day went on.
I watched Devin Fitzgerald present his father at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Listening to him took me back to the day he was born. I got to spend time with Devin on Notre Dame’s campus a few months ago and three weeks from now, we all may be watching him play for the Fighting Irish. How cool is that?
I looked at Larry’s other two sons and thought about similar moments, watching them evolve in life and share in this experience.
I stared at my own teammates and coaches, twenty five years older than the last time I saw most of them, and I just kept smiling.
And then we went to the After Party.
I’d never been to the Hall of Fame, let alone a Hall of Fame After Party.
If you ever get the chance, don’t pass it up.
Music, food, all first class. But the stories. The laughter. The loss of my voice by 9 PM. That was the best part.
By midnight the stories only got better. The connections only got deeper. Kelly James had the whole room going, roasting the crowd, calling friends, coaches and former teammates up on stage. It was hilarious.
I got called up on stage alongside Bruce Arians, who coached Larry Fitz. They asked us and Larry’s brother Marcus to sing a song none of us wanted to. Mid song I just looked out at the crowd and took it all in.
Everyone here for Hall of Fame inductee number 385.
Everyone connected to Larry Fitz from his past.
Everyone so connected to the present.
Everyone smiling.
Hours after we shut it down I arrived on the Minnesota Gophers campus to learn about their team ahead of their opening game of the college football season, which I’ll be calling on NBC/Peacock.
For 2 days the same theme continued: listen, learn and discover.
Sitting on this plane I’m still smiling, my cup is overflowing with joy, gratitude, and love.
I missed my teammates.
I missed my coaches.
I even missed triple sessions in training camp. Yes, that was a thing.
I got to see Walt Harris in a different light, connect with J.D. Brookhart in a new one. I got to see mentors of mine like E.J. Borghetti, Burt Lauten, Chris LaSala, and Bryan Deal.
If you couldn’t tell, it was one of the most enjoyable nights of my life.
And as my friends and I all agreed late into the night while celebrating an all-time great, “we can’t let it be this long again.”
So, what’s the point of today’s long newsletter? Hang for a few more paragraphs as I promise, it’s coming.
When I was coaching at USC, Pete Carroll made me study Abraham Maslow and the hierarchy of needs. He wrote about the five basic levels of needs: physiological requirements, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization
My interpretation of that has always been we need to feel seen, to connect, to love and be loved and to have friends. To have a team.
I try to build a team environment every fall as a broadcaster. I think we accomplish that.
My wife and I built a team at home. I know we’re accomplishing that too.
A football team has over a 105 players competing for one goal, knowing success only happens if everyone does their job on every single snap time and time again. It gives me chills to think about that and the bonds formed in training camp, through a season, through an offseason, and then through a lifetime, are bonds that can’t be broken.
Whether it had been twenty years or two days, those bonds were alive all weekend. With Tyler Palko, Kris Wilson, Justin Belarski, Shawn Robinson, Trey McMurray, Brandon Hayes, Joe Stephens, and so many more.
They live on. Strongly.
So here is today’s ask and the point of this newsletter.
If you’re missing your teammates, call them. We want to hear from you.
If you miss the players you coached, call them. They would love to hear from you.
If you have something to say, apologize for or celebrate with a former teammate - do it. Make the call.
For those not on a team right now, create one. If you find yourself on one you might just never stop smiling, and have a cup that overflows with love, joy and regard for those you get to compete in life with. Trust me.
One more thing before I go. Today’s newsletter is an honor to write. Celebrating a teammate who is in the NFL Hall of Fame doens’t happen often, if ever. And I wanted you all to feel it. After all, we are a community who love the power of play and what sports can do.
And this fall, we have some fun plans for this Y-Option community. If you enjoy this content or want something specific please let me know in the comments below. Each Sunday, I am planning to write this newsletter for you and this fall, it will be behind the paywall. We hope to compete to take you inside the stories, beyond the highlights, into the essence of this great sport.
Thanks for considering and grateful for your support.
Much love and stay steady,
Yogi