PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 21: Fox Sports analyst Jimmie Johnson on air during the NFC Championship game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings on January 21, 2017 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. Eagles won 38-7.(Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Jimmy Johnson got the news he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the half of Fox’s playoff game, and Troy Aikman’s reaction was the kind of stuff that makes this world great.
Just a day after Bill Cowher was surprised on the set of CBS’ NFL Today with the news that he was a Pro Football Hall of Famer, FOX got to have a moment of their own with Jimmy Johnson. The legendary former Cowboys’ coach, who had been snubbed from Canton for years, found out during the network’s halftime coverage that he was also going to be a part of the Hall of Fame’s Centennial Class.
The FOX studio crew mobbed Johnson in celebration after the news was given to him, as you can see in the video below, but the network also cut to a shot of Troy Aikman in the booth of the Seahawks-Packers game. Aikman was moved to tears at the news that his former coach was finally being honored as a Hall of Famer, and it is truly great stuff.
We don’t often get true human moments these days, and football fans got one here, watching Aikman take a moment to shed tears of joy that his longtime friend and mentor is receiving an honor that he always wanted and clearly deserved. This moment was a truly special one, and while seeing Johnson getting mobbed by his coworkers was great, the simple elegance of Aikman’s reaction is real tear-jerking material.