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I feel bad for the table that was nearest to Warren Sapp. The defensive lineman said he jumped on a table, or perhaps desk, after he found out Saturday that he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sapp, who racked up nearly 100 sacks during his career, was one of seven announced honorees. Warren Sapp joined Fox Sports Radio with FS Primetime to discuss his reaction to being voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the process of getting in, his reaction to Super Bowl XLVII, some of the important moments, playcalls and non-calls of the game and who will be presenting him at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
What was it like when you got the call?:
“I’m going to send you a picture when we get off the phone. You don’t get the call. You have to sit and watch it on the television. I was standing on the little desk that had the lamp in the living room. I’m standing on top of it yelling at the TV.”
On the Hall of Fame process and the idea of making some guys wait:
“I learned this from the Hall of Fame people as I went through the process, of them speaking with me and going through some of the things: When you have a resume as good as the guys on that list when you’re a finalist, you’re a Hall of Famer, it’s just when. It’s not if you are, it’s just when. Because there’s a certain time that the next guy’s resume is just a little better than yours. It’s just the way it is. We look at Michael Strahan, who’s a monster, you can’t write New York Giants history without Strahan. There’s just a bunch of stuff that goes on with this that we don’t know about. They’re all Hall of Famers to me, it’s just when their selection happens for them.”
What did you think of the Super Bowl?:
“Oh my God, what a game. I always tell people, ‘Watch the Super Bowl.’ You will see something that you’ve never seen before in this game. You saw the lights go out for 30-some minutes. Ain’t that something?”
What will you remember most about it?:
“The goal line stand that Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens walked off on. I mean, Frank Gore runs that ball down and Ed Reed pushes him out of bounds right there at the five-yard line. I know what they said as a unit. ‘Fellas, we’ve got four plays to win a world title. Do your job.’ Because down in that area, there ain’t a lot of room.”
On the controversial fourth-down non-call:
“That’s a penalty. That’s a penalty. You can’t pull the jersey.” What about the play where Joe Flacco appeared to get hit out of bounds and the Ravens settled for a field goal?: “Yeah, he was hit out of bounds, but it wasn’t late. Jerome is one of those refs that he lets it get a little rough. That’s always been his thing, since he’s been a referee, because he kicked me out of the game, I know it personally. They can’t see defensive holding. They cannot see it. They put the umpire 12 yards, the same position as the referee. They can’t see the defensive holding. That’s why you need 30 points to win a football game now.”
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