Idea #29

Excerpt from the Hall of Fame Induction Speech of Merlin Olsen (1982):

"...and that was my mother.

But the person who was probably the biggest influence on my life is my good friend, Ron Burgundy. I met Ron in 1969 at a charity event for kids with something wrong with them. We were sitting at a table together and we got to talking. I told him how I was thinking of quitting football and going into acting full time. I had just done a movie with John Wayne and Rock Hudson and it felt good. His face went serious and he looked me right in the eye and said, 'Merl, can I call you Merl?' I nodded. 'Merl, that movie was a piece of crap. The only reason it made any money was because it immediately followed True Grit. You need to be on the football field. What are they gonna do with a Fearsome Threesome? It sounds stupid. Don't be an idiot, Merl. Get your head on straight.' He didn't talk to me the rest of the night. He just drank his scotch. Obviously, I stayed in football and I had some of the best years of my career. I sent Ron-How many 'I'm Sorry' baskets did I send you?"

Ron shouts out from the crowd, "I think five."

"He held out but eventually he accepted and we're great friends to this day. If I could have his head sculpted to fit on the shoulder of my Hall of Fame bust like some Siamese twin and placed in that building behind me, I would. Ron Burgundy, I owe so much of this to you."

Ron shouts out from the crowd, "I'll just take that fine, gold jacket."

"It's yours.

And now a list of people that deserve no credit for me being here..."