With Hall of Fame induction, Champ Bailey comes 'full circle'

[Miles]

CANTON, Ohio -- Everything about the timing of Champ Bailey's induction of the Pro Football Hall of Fame seems perfect, as if he was long destined for this place.


The announcement on Feb. 2 came in Atlanta, the capital city of his home state that nurtured him from birth until his years as a two-way star at the University of Georgia. The owner who brought him to Denver, Pat Bowlen, is also a part of the 2019 class.


And then came Thursday night, when the members of the class walked across the field at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, striding the 50-yard line from one sideline to the other, flanked by the Atlanta Falcons five yards to his right and the Denver Broncos standing five yards to his left.


With sunglasses on, Bailey strode with the same cool confidence that he showed as a player. At 41, he looks like he could still play, even though the little aches that linger from his playing days tell him otherwise.


He looked like a Hall of Famer.


"I'm looking around on the field, and there's only three guys that I played with," Bailey said, referring to cornerback Chris Harris Jr., outside linebacker Von Miller and defensive end Derek Wolfe. "And I go up in the coaches' booth and there's two guys up there -- Chris Kuper and Renaldo Hill and I'm like, "OK, there's something wrong here. I'm getting old.'"


"It's surreal, man."


It also took him back 15 years. His first game as a Bronco was on that field, then flanked by two sets of aging concrete stands that comprised what was known as Fawcett Stadium. He looked across the field and saw his past team, the Washington Redskins. His team of the present, the Broncos, surrounded him on the sideline.


What he didn't realize on Aug. 9, 2004 was that he saw his future, too. John Elway was there, celebrating his Hall of Fame induction that weekend. He became the first player inducted to the Hall based on his accomplishments as a Bronco. Fifteen years later, Bailey was back, set to become the first defensive player inducted based on what he did in Denver, and the second first-ballot inductee in Broncos history.


"You couldn't write a better script for this," Bailey said.


"So a lot of it's coming full circle, and bringing back old memories, being on that field, and Elway walks right in front of me, and I'm like, this is like deja vu."


Even though it reminded him of the passage of time, that moment was easy. So was the eight hours in one day he spent sitting for the construction of his bust.


"That was an experience in and of itself. I didn't know what to expect and then the guy [sculptor Blair Buswell] takes the [cover] off -- because he had been working on this before I got there -- and it already looks like me," Bailey said. "So I'm like, 'OK, well, that needs to be a little different, and he's already telling me things that look different on my face,' and I'm like, 'I see this thing every day, so how do you get it so perfect?'