Shannon Sharpe donned his gold jacket emblazoned with the Pro Football Hall of Fame logo at his Atlanta home last winter and awaited his brother's arrival.
Sterling ambled down the stairs and into the basement looking perplexed.
"Welcome, bro!" Shannon said.
To what, Sterling wondered, "your house?"
"To the Pro Football Hall of Fame," corrected Shannon. "Class of 2025."
The first pair of brothers who will ever have both of their busts on display in Canton fell into each other's arms, decades of doubts dissipating in a medley of laughter and tears.
Dashed was the notion that seven stellar NFL seasons weren't enough for football immortality.