By John Ingoldsby | Engagement Insider
Ty Law left quite a legacy in New England, and now he is a permanent fixture in Foxboro with his induction Friday into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
Before a big and boisterous crowd in Patriots Plaza, the three-time Super Bowl champion delivered his speech with the same self-confidence for which he became known while securing the secondary.
A group that showed up, along with many other former teammates, at the ceremony to honor their running mate, and included Rodney Harrison, Lawyer Milloy and Otis Smith, who basically covered all of Law’s period with the Pats.
An era that will be remembered for this group’s hard-hitting style of play that was so physical, in fact, that the League created what came to be known as the ‘Ty Law Rule,” which became the beginning of the end for bump-and-run coverage.
A scheme that reached its peak in the 2003 AFC Championship when the Patriots faced Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.
“Coach Bill Belichick said he was taking me off my usual assignment of covering the other team’s best receiver, and was going to use two other players for that and put me on the other side,” recalled the two-time All-Pro cornerback of the days leading up to that epic encounter.
“Well naturally that made me mad, and I let Coach know, and he said that he would let me start with my usual assignment, but if I got beat he would do it his way,” said Law recalling his coach’s motivational moment from the famous snow-on-demand game against their dome-field opponents. “Three interceptions later we were going to the Super Bowl.”
That three-pick performance became Law’s signature game, and served as a perfect postseason bookend to his signature play, a pick-six off Kurt Warner in Super Bowl XXXV that propelled the Pats to one of the biggest upsets in NFL history and helped launch a dynasty that’s still playing like one to this day.
Famously, a few days later back in Boston for the Parade, Law showed his dance moves on stage, and forced owner Bob Kraft to do the same in a moment most all New Englanders remember.
Law later captured that iconic moment when he presented the autographed picture to Kraft, where he wrote “Who says white men can dance?”
And while introducing Law into Patriots immortality on Friday, Kraft said he still has that photo on his office desk and it brings a smile to his face first thing every morning.
No surprise since Law left a lot of smiling faces in New England during his career, where he not only played for Belichick, but also worked under Coaches Bill Parcells and Pete Carroll, both Super Bowl winners as well.
“Parcells always called me chubby, even when I was in my best shape possible, and Pete simply said to me that ‘I was that guy to cover the other team’s top player man-to-man,’ which gave me great confidence,” remembered Law fondly.
Just one of many fond memories for the University of Michigan product, who called his decade here “the best 10 years of my playing career and my life.”
A life that is now filled with his growing business called “Launch,” a chain of trampoline parks, as well as family, where he touchingly told his five kids Friday, “When Daddy’s gone, you can come see me here in the Hall of Fame.”
A Hall that will commemorate a career that found its roots in the famous football factory of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, that produced the likes of Mike Ditka and Tony Dorsett.
A tough town where strong parents are paramount, and Law recalled how his mother was his first call for every game.
“’Get an interception for mommy,’ is what she said to me every single time,” noted Law, which worked since he got almost 60 as an eight-time pro-bowler.
Impressive numbers indeed, and which could continue with Western Pennsylvania pride since amazingly, another Aliquippa all-star is suddenly a Patriot and will try to carry on Law’s legacy.
“Now it’s time for Darrelle Revis from my same hometown, playing my same position while wearing my same number 24 to play here,” said Law in closing his speech, clearly confident that his turf is in good hands with another Aliquippa legend capable of carrying on the long reach of Law.