Moon Made His Position Clear From Start

One of the steadiest voices in football history is cracking.

"I never wanted to talk about this ... "

One of the smoothest demeanors in football history is breaking.

"I never wanted people to think I was crying ... "

Warren Moon sighs.

The journey is over. He finally belongs.

Next weekend when he becomes the first African American quarterback inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he is finally guaranteed cheers.

There will be no racial catcalls. There will be no death threats. There will be nobody wondering whether he is smart enough or savvy enough simply because he isn't white enough.

Nothing he can say will keep him out.

So now, finally, he can say it.

"I've had it real, real hard," Moon says. "What I've had to deal with, you shouldn't have to deal with."

For one of the greatest football players from Los Angeles, it will be a day of triumph.

For those many football people who never believed blacks could play quarterback, it should be a day of shame.

"During Warren's hardest times, I always told him, just win, and everything will be fine," recalls his mother Pat. "If you win, nobody cares what color you are."

Today, teams are finally getting it. There were nine black starting quarterbacks last season. Michael Vick is on the cover of video games. Donovan McNabb is the star of soup commercials. Vince Young was the first quarterback selected in this year's NFL draft.

Moon chuckles. He was never the face of anything, and he was never drafted by anybody.

He never made it to the Super Bowl, never made it big in endorsements, never felt the love given John Elway or the respect granted Dan Marino.

"All I ever heard was, 'Have you ever thought about playing another position?' " he recalls.

Thought about it? Never. Not once. Ever. It temporarily cost him his country, nearly cost him his career, and could have cost him his life, but he never backed down.

"Only by sheer force of will did he make it," says longtime agent and friend Leigh Steinberg, who will introduce him in Saturday's Canton, Ohio, ceremony.

Moon's will eventually pushed him into the top five in all five major passing categories, into the Hall of Fame on the first attempt, and, most important, onto the bedroom walls of young black football players everywhere.