To be honest, I thought he was already retired, but when Devin Hester officially announced his retirement on Tuesday, the talk of Hall of Fame started up again. Considering what he did, there’s only one place he belongs. The one and only exclusive special teams returner that will be in Canton, he deserves his own wing: the Hall of Hester.
Yeah, Neon Deion is in there, but more so for his work as a CB; he was NOT as good a returner as Devin. Brian Mitchell was a heck of return guy back in the day too, but nowhere near the same level. There really is only one. Man… to think back on that magical rookie year; wow, and yes, he was only a rookie.
What was your favorite Devin Hester return? Of course, the most famous one, and probably the top answer for most, is the Super Bowl starter. Who doesn’t remember that? I do… clearly. I was living in LA at the time, and saw most of his returns by myself in my Burbank apartment. But after the Bears beat the Saints in the NFC Championship game, there was no way I wasn’t going back to Chicago for the Super Bowl. Yes, it was a reunion of sorts, back at my old apartment, with all the boys. We were already a few in before the game (go figure) and had full beers for the start of the game. Most of us thought there was no way they kick it to Hester… they did.
Seconds later, I thought we were going to fall through the floor and into H&R Block tax services below us. Jumping up and down, hugging each other, beer spilling everywhere.. it was one of the best Chicago sports moments ever. Yes, we all know what happened after that, but for that moment, we were on top of the world; Devin Hester was the king of the world.
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I remember the one against the Giants… the missed FG that was returned 100+. That was pretty phenomenal too; I also remember the Vasher one against SF of the same variety on that windy day in Soldier Field. But for Hester, on primetime, to do that, something that isn’t all that common; well, let’s be honest, kick returns period aren’t that common, unless you were Devin. Every time he stepped on the field, the threat was there. He was our most explosive weapon, and changed the way opponents played us. How many times did teams kick it out of bounds trying to kick away from Hester? How many punts were shanked? The field position that Hester gave us just with his presence, was crazy; too bad our offense couldn’t cash in on more of those. I rank the Giants return number 3, the Super Bowl one number 2, and then there was one…
Flying from LA to Phoenix to hang out with my cousin; we drove to Vegas from there for a night and then made our way back to Phoenix. We had to be back; he had season tickets. Yes, I was at the famous Monday Night Football game, and yes, that is where my personal number one Devin Hester return happened. He caught the ball right in front of us, and once he made that last cut, I knew he was gone. We, and all the Bears fans in attendance that night, were going bananas. It was one of the best games ever…. the comeback… staying undefeated… Urlacher’s monster game… Hester’s return… they are who we thought they were. Yes, classic all the way around, and I was there in my Butkus jersey to witness it.
Whatever your choice is, you can’t go wrong. I love all this stuff on Twitter… all the highlights of all his returns. There was nobody like him, before or after him. There is no reason why he should NOT be in the Hall of Fame. I understand there are no return men in, and I’m OK with that; again, that’s because there was nobody like Devin. He is the one and only, and he WILL be in. Thanks Devin for all the memories; you were ridiculous.
MK
Congrats Hester! You definitely deserve the Hall of Fame. You were amazing and completely changed games with your punt and kick returns. Aside from setting the return record, you were always a weapon that teams needed to take into account. Too bad the Bears could not do more offensively while you were there, but it was a nice retirement letter thanking Chicago. Way to stay class Devin!
I like the missed fg return vs the gmen and who can forget the punt return vs the cards to give the Bears the W. That would probably be #1 if I was in attendance, too. A couple others stick out for me. The 1st return vs who? You guessed it, the hated cheese. And how about 2 kick returns in the same game vs the rams? Or a kick return and punt return in the same game vs Denver? There are just so many to choose from. #1 for me, though, has to be the Super Bowl opening kick return. I mean, there is just no better way to start a game. We were going nuts and thought for sure it was our day. It didn’t turn out to be, but man, that return and celebration of ours will never be forgotten. Neither will you Devin! Thanks and can’t wait for the enshrinement into Canton as a Bear!
Mo
Hester was super-human on kick and punt returns, gave us a ton of memories which is great…but is he hall of fame worthy? Not to me. Its true, he changed the way teams played against him, but he was not a good CB and an even worse WR. So many other players are deserving of the HOF before him, true players that impacted the game in a more beneficial way. HOF should be made up of the NFL elite, game changers, which Hester was, but doesn’t the Bears special teams, deserve some recognition? NFL RB goes into the hall of fame, but the O-LINE did nothing?
This is a tough one, but he was a BEAR that was a hell of a player to watch.