Rod Woodson Hall of Fame Speech – Excerpts

I really appreciated Rod Woodson’s NFL Hall of Fame induction speech. So much so that I typed some of his words here.

Rod_Woodson_20010607-4You may remember Rod when he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Oakland Raiders. He played with such excellence that the Steelers named him to their 75th Anniversary Team.

“‘… I want to thank my Lord Jesus Christ. He’s my Savior. He died for my sins and my salvation and no really without him I would not be here. He believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself…. I truly thank him for guiding me for so long and keeping me safe, even when I didn’t realize it was him. I really thank him and really, without his mercy, without his love, without his compassion for me as a person, as a human being, as one of his children, I wouldn’t be here. So I say thank you Jesus….

“God has given us a gift — to choose. It’s a power that we normally don’t talk about. I leave you today with these thoughts. Choose. Choose to love rather than hate. Choose to create rather than destroy. Choose to persevere rather than quit. Choose to praise rather than gossip. Choose to heal rather than wound. Choose to pray rather than curse. Choose to live rather than die. Choose Jesus Christ over the world.” ~Rod Woodson at HOF Induction

Rod’s pictured here from his visit to the White House in 2001.