We don't know what we missed by his not being here.
But the moment in which Junior Seau was welcomed into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was stunning and silent and sensational, as Sydney Seau owned Saturday night's enshrinement ceremony every bit as much as her father would have.
After a video tribute, Junior Seau's four children lifted a golden cloth that had shrouded his bronze bust, and daughter Sydney addressed the crowd from the back of the stage inside Tom Benson Stadium.
Not allowed by Hall policy to officially speak in his place, Sydney answered an interviewer's question about what her father would say by ostensibly delivering her own brief speech.