Marv Levy stepped into his hotel lobby 15 minutes early. It was 10:15 a.m. on the first Friday in August, and Levy and his fellow Pro Football Hall of Famers were gathering to take a short walk to Canton Centennial Plaza for their annual group photo.
The walk from the DoubleTree by Hilton to the plaza is three-tenths of a mile, and it was set to begin at 10:30. But Levy wasn’t waiting. At 10:25 a.m., the former Buffalo Bills head coach took the lead. Levy, who turned 98 the day before, pushed his walker to the front of the crowd – many of whom were still gathering – and began walking.
The Hall’s enshrinement weekend volunteers, likely noting that the procession wasn’t supposed to start for another five minutes, followed along. So did some of the other football legends. Levy was the eldest among them. If he was on the move, how could they do anything but follow?
Soon, Levy’s daughter Kimberly Alexopoulos realized her father was the frontman for the entire crowd of Hall of Famers. “He just led the way,” Alexopoulos said. “The entire walk.” She noticed Jim Kelly, her dad’s quarterback, walk up behind Levy with his hands raised, as if to signal to everyone watching: This is our coach.
Some of the fans gathered along the route called out to Levy. “Happy birthday, Coach!”
When Levy saw a well-wisher wearing a jersey of a former opponent, he teased, “Oh, you’re a Jets fan? Thanks, but you’re the first Jets fan I’ve ever spoken to.”
Several times during the walk, fans called out Levy’s most famous quote: “Where else would you rather be than right here, right now?”
At least once, Levy answered, “In bed!”
He was teasing. At one point, a Hall volunteer asked, “Coach, do you want a golf cart?” Levy demurred. He wanted to walk. He had work to do.
Levy and his wife, Fran, live full time in Chicago, the city where he grew up and where he returned after retiring as the Bills coach in 1997. Even…
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