PITTSBURGH — Channel 11 Sports Director Alby Oxenreiter has confirmed and was the first to report that former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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“It’s amazing, it really is amazing,” Betts told Channel 11’s Damany Lewis.
Bettis talked with Lewis about the journey he's taken since retiring after Super Bowl XL.
“It’s been a long time coming. You go through so much disappointment and you don’t know what you’re going to feel like when you get the knock on the door,” Bettis said. “It was such an amazing feeling. I’m so happy I can share this with my wife, my kids and my mother.”
Jerome continued to elaborate on his relationship with his parents.
“I think about my father at a time like this because he was my No. 1 supporter,” Bettis said.
“It means so much to (my mom) because she’s taken this journey with me,” Bettis said. “She never missed a game in high school, she never missed a game in college and never missed a game in the NFL. And so she’s taken this incredible journey with me.”
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“Going on her journey, with her, has also been amazing. I’m so proud to be her son,” Bettis said about his mother’s fight with breast cancer.
Lewis asked 'The Bus' what kind of nerves he experience Saturday waiting for the announcement.
“I had a quiet confidence because of what I have been able to accomplish and what I’ve done. But then there was also the concern that it’s not in my hands. I can’t control it and I can’t push it through on the goal-line,” Bettis said about his emotional Saturday. “Because of that, that’s where the nervousness came in.”
“After a while, I hadn’t heard anything, and I hoped that was good news,” Bettis said. “But ultimately, when I got the knock on the door, it meant so much because it’s my career that I put a lot of my own blood, sweat and tears into.”
As always, Jerome was quick to thank others.
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“There were a lot of people who went on this journey with me,” Bettis said. “I have to thank my teammates because without them, I wouldn’t have been the player I was capable of becoming.”
The man who ran for 13,662 yards in his career also had a special thanks for Steelers Nation.
“The fans in Pittsburgh are incredible. To see the fans respond and say they want me in, that was incredible within itself,” Bettis said.
“The Steelers organization and Mr. Rooney, what they did for me, it can’t be understated. They’ve been behind me and in my corner, and I’m so thankful,” Bettis said.
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