Tony Gonzalez thanks Chiefs Kingdom during Hall of Fame speech

Former Kansas City Chiefs tight end took time to thank Chiefs Kingdom for so many great memories playing at Arrowhead Stadium.

Tony Gonzalez was the man of the hour on Saturday night in Canton, Ohio.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted several new faces into its hallowed halls this year, but they saved the best tight end in NFL history for the final speech of the night. The 14-time Pro Bowler is a living legend who completely redefined the position of tight end moving forward. Modern football has never been the same.

It’s not a surprise that Gonzalez played clean-up hitter, so to speak, and his enshrinement speech was a heavy one that came in around 40 total minutes including the unveiling of the Hall of Fame bust.

During the speech, Gonzalez made sure to thank several people who had impacted him during his growth as a person and player, but he also made sure to take a couple minutes to call out Chiefs Kingdom and thank them for their support even after he was traded away by Scott Pioli in a deal with the Atlanta Falcons.

More Articles About Tony Gonzalez:

“Nothing else like playing at Arrowhead Stadium. After I’d gotten traded to Atlanta, I came back to Kansas City to play a football game. I was on the other side of the ball. I wasn’t sure how the fans were going to treat me, so I was worried about it all week long. Then during the pre-game, they introduced me, which I thought was very special. Then something happened that was one of the greatest moments of my career: the Chiefs fans started yelling at the top of their lungs.

“I remember I looked over and a teammate of mine, [Falcons offensive tackle] Sam Baker, he looks at me and he goes, ‘Wow, that is really special.’ So you Kansas City Chiefs fans, know how much I appreciated you and how much I cherish the relationships before the game, after the game, coming out to the parking lot, given cookies, given burritos, words of encouragement. I love you guys. Thank you!”

Gonzalez was the Chiefs first round pick at No. 13 overall in the 1997 NFL Draft. He stayed with the team for 12 seasons before Pioli traded him for a second round pick to Atlanta (which was used on cornerback Javier Arenas). Gonzalez set several franchise receiving records as well as NFL marks for receptions and receiving yards by a tight end.