“22 in 22″ Day 10, Emmitt Smith: “There’s so many people to thank.”

“22 in 22″ Day 10, Emmitt Smith: “There’s so many people to thank.”

Note: This is the 10th part of a 22-part series. Click to view Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, or Day 9.

Some might call it the single most defining moment in a player’s career. Others might say it’s what it takes to be the best.

But, if you had to pinpoint the single most important quality it takes for you to reach sports highest pinnacle of success–where your dreams could one day become immortalized into the Pro Football Hall of Fame–what would you say it is?

What truly separates the 260+ players on this team from the 20,169 players on all other teams since pro football’s inception in 1892? Surprisingly, it is not what you might guess. It’s not ambition, luck, or talent. The characteristic that defines the crème of the crop and what our own Emmitt Smith is made of is. . .commitment.

The commitment to become an all-time champion. . .

The commitment to defy all odds and win multiple Super Bowls. . .

The commitment to do whatever it takes to surpass the “unbreakable mark” and become the NFL’s all-time rushing leader.

To commemorate Emmitt’s achievement, Dallas Cowboys Times presents “22 in 22″: a tribute to perhaps the single greatest running back in NFL history.

In our “22 in 22″ Series, you will find various pictures, videos, and sound clips from Emmitt that we gathered while covering his Hall of Fame induction.

Per NFL rules, we can only post the video and audio clips for a 24 hour period, so be sure to check back each day as we commemorate the career of Emmitt Smith.

Don’t want to miss a day? Sign up for our e-mail updates.

Special thanks to Lorei Reinhard and Eddie Canales, both of whom worked with our own Dave Kraft (bio coming shortly) in Canton to garner some awesome and unique footage of Emmitt which you will see over the next 21 days, as well as Nick Reinhard and Chris Canales (co-founder of gridironheroes.org) for their video editing assistance.

Before Emmitt even arrived in Canton, Ohio for the enshrinement ceremony, we participated in a conference call with the Hall of Famer.

———————————————

With so many influential people in his life, Emmitt told us he knew he would forget to mention someone during his Hall of Fame speech. Who knew it would be the entire University of Florida?

Note: Per NFL rules, this video will only be available for 24 hours. Visit NFL.com for more info.

Don’t want to miss an entry? Sign up for our e-mail updates.

—————————————–

“Time Warp 22″. . .Remember when?

December 27, 1998

Against the rival Washington Redskins, Emmitt scores two touchdowns to surpass Marcus Allen as the NFL’s career rushing touchdown leader. Emmitt ended his career with an astounding 164 rushing touchdowns.