It’s not everyday that you get to write about your boyhood idol being elected into the Hall of Fame. But that’s exactly what I get to do today. I’ve been running around my pad, doing the tomahawk chant and chop all day long. It should have never, ever taken this long, but now the best pure speed pass-rusher to every lace ‘em up is getting his bust in Canton.

I’m not going to write about the stats. Anybody can do that and everybody will. Derrick Thomas was my hero — I owe him more than that. Besides, his stats only tell half the story. Roughly a year ago, all of us Addicts voted him the COAT (Chief of All Time). There’s a reason for that.

You know that essential team identity thing I always write and talk about? D.T. gave the Chiefs team of the 90s that. He was what Larry Fitzgerald is to the Cardinals. What Ray Lewis is to the Ravens. He filled opponents’ hearts with fear and the hearts of Chiefs fans’ with fire. Like Lawrence Taylor, D.T. caused opposing offenses to dramatically alter their gameplans. The way he fired up the crowd altered offensive gameplans as well.

Arrowhead is the loudest stadium in the NFL, but it was at its loudest when Derrick was rocking the place. I’ve never seen a football player capable of hyping up the crowd the way he did. Sure, he had the uncanny ability to take over games late with his pass-rushing ability. It wasn’t just the way he took over games, though. D.T. communicated to the Arrowhead crowd with his body. He was in sync with us, and we were in sync with him. Derrick talked to us, and when he did it was sweeter than the sweetest lullaby our mothers ever sung to us.

For those of you who never saw Derrick play, he worked us into a fan frenzy. Like a Dante Hall kick return TD on Red Bull. Like Jared Allen roping the calf on steroids. With him on one side doing his thing, and Neil Smith swinging on the other — damn, that was beautiful.

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Derrick Thomas: He Sacked The NFL…And Our Hearts - Arrowhead Addict - Arrowhead Addict - A Kansas City Chiefs Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more

Update (5 PM CT): Anyone who would like to … [visit site to read more]