Hall of Famers revisit the Skins-Cowboys rivalry
They realized their place on this night. Art Monk and Darrell Green weren’t the show, not like they were in August in Canton, Ohio. Not when thousands turned out just to see them get inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Last night, more than 90,000 showed up for the main event: Redskins vs. Cowboys. But for Monk and Green, it was a chance to be honored in front of their hometown fans. They received their Hall of Fame rings in a short ceremony before the game.
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“It gives us a chance to speak to people who meant the most to us,” Monk said.
As in Canton, the loudest ovation was for Monk. The crowd waved its giveaway towels and cheered loudly for them, but it was clear what they really wanted: a win over Dallas.
So it lacked the genuine emotion of their time in Canton.
“If you were there that day, there was only one day like that,” Green said. This time, he was also dealing with the emotion of his older brother, Leonard, dying last week.
For Green it was fitting to be honored before a game vs. Dallas. Not only is he a Texas native, but the first and last games of his career came vs. Dallas.
When a reporter asked Green if he still hated Dallas, he said, “I never hated them, but, yeah, like you said … I certainly didn’t want to lose to the Cowboys. There’s something about playing the Cowboys. To get the ring on Cowboys night and [if they] win the game, that’s another straw in our hat.”
Meanwhile, Monk smiled as he recalled the Fun Bunch celebrating in the end zone after a touchdown in a 1983 game in Dallas.
“That year we were just confident that we would beat them,” Monk said. “To do it in Dallas and to beat them and embarrass them that way made it all the better. It was great.”
And he still thinks about the reception he received in Canton.
“All the time,” Monk said. “I’m still trying to digest the whole thing. It happened; it really happened.”
