CANTON, Ohio – Joe Thomas made his mark on the NFL in Cleveland, but his roots are in Wisconsin. And Saturday, the Badger state’s faithful showed up to support one of their favorite players.
In his speech – the final of the nine enshrinement acceptances - Thomas referred to three close friends: Ben Strickland, Steve Johnson and Luke Homan. They formed an immeasurable bond as youths, one that remained and thrived at Brookfield Central High School and then the University of Wisconsin.
Thomas addressed Johnson, saying, “You always kept me humble” and Strickland as someone who “always built my confidence up.”
Their friendship has lasted three decades.
Before the ceremony, Johnson said he knew it would be an emotional day.
On the way in from Wisconsin, Johnson asked in the car, “Do you think you guys are going to cry?” The reply: “No, I don’t think so.”
Then Friday’s gold-jacket dinner, he said, turned out to be “shockingly emotional.”
“When he’s been a person of influence in your life as long as he had, being able to watch him be honored and to see everyone else’s excitement,” said Johnson, a standout guard in high school and long snapper at Wisconsin who now works in commercial real estate.
Johnson said looking around and seeing the contingent from Wisconsin - grade-school pals, high school teammates, friends from college, coaches at all levels – adds to the moment.
“It hits you, all these supporters, some guys are crying. It’s unbelievably special and surprisingly emotional to watch someone you love be recognized. This is the mountaintop. I don’t know where you go from here. Maybe he’ll run for president.”
Strickland remains proud of Thomas, who is godfather to his son.
“I feel grateful I was a part of his journey and got to watch it from a young age,” said Strickland, a speedy running back whose name – along with Thomas’ – still graces the record leaderboard in track and field in the Brookfield Central High School gymnasium. “I’m really proud of him. It’s so deserving of him and even more so of the type of character he is. I’m grateful to be along for the ride.”
Joe Thomas delivered the final of the enshrinement speeches Saturday in Canton.
Strickland, now head coach at De Pere High School outside of Green Bay, speaks about Thomas the way a lot of his childhood pals and teammates do: At the heart of it, he’s a regular guy.
And at the heart of their friendship is Homan, a quarterback and standout on the basketball team. Homan’s father Jerry coached the boys on a youth basketball team, which created good habits in good athletes, so that when the four got to high school they gelled as one.
When Thomas, Johnson and Strickland were in college in September 2006, playing for Bret Bielema, they received the news their friend had gone missing in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he played basketball after transferring from UW-Milwaukee.
Bielema immediately gave permission for the three to help search for Homan. While they were in the college town, they learned the horrific news: Their friend had drowned.
When they returned, Bielema let the three decide if they would play in the team’s next game, against Northwestern. In the throes of grief, they suited up. Wisconsin won, 41-9.
In his speech, Thomas referred to Homan, saying he was watching from above and then made a cute remark, saying, “Hopefully you don’t come for that 3 percent.”
That referred to a moment when the two were kids and Homan had the foresight to have Thomas sign a “contract” promising to let him be his agent.
Thomas also gave an homage to his parents, Eric and Sally, saying his father “shaped him into the man I am today” by instilling values simply by how he acted.
“I watched you go to work every day, no complaints,” he said about his father, who worked in banking. “That’s just what you did.” And his mother kept him grounded and taught him to “strive for perfection,” a trait Thomas would continue with his consistent attention to preparation throughout his career.
Those traits – along with loyalty and friendship – are no surprise to his pals.
“Obviously, he was a special player, but we just saw him as Joe,” Strickland said. “The fact he got this is icing on the cake, and we’re really proud of him.”
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I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. For my recent stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursdays. Twitter: @mbona30. My latest book, co-authored with Dan Murphy, is “Joe Thomas: Not Your Average Joe” by Gray & Co.
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