Former South Bay star Allen set for Hall of Fame after years of lassoing NFL quarterbacks

By DAVE CAMPBELL Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS Jared Allen will be wearing a cowboy hat next weekend in Canton for his Hall of Fame induction the signature apparel that inspired his celebratory calf-roping act after each sack and still serves as a fitting snapshot of his off-the-field life Raised on a horse ranch in Morgan Hill Allen was audacious enough at age to tell his father he planned to become a professional football player After starring at Los Gatos High Allen fulfilled that vision with a relentless vengeance on the offensive tackles tasked with blocking him and the quarterbacks who tried to escape using exceptional quickness creative moves and pure strength to accumulate sacks and four first-team All-Pro selections as a defensive end over a -year career in the NFL When you re doing what you love to do you want to honor the tournament by being great not in an arrogant way but in a way to show respect and gratitude for all those who came before you noted Allen who will be honored at the ceremony this weekend along with Antonio Gates Eric Allen and Sterling Sharpe I dependably needed to go out there and let people know I genuinely loved playing this tournament First making his mark with the Kansas City Chiefs and then reaching another level with the Minnesota Vikings Allen was one of the largest part fun-loving players of his generation That went all the way down to his routine of running away from the play dropping to one knee twirling his hand as if he had a lasso and pretending to catch a calf in a rodeo before extending both arms outward to the crowd He was a showman who had plenty to show for it The crossroads of Allen s career came upon consummation of the pact that sent him from the Chiefs to the Vikings his promising start in the NFL tainted by off-the-field trouble that followed him from Idaho State Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson who drafted Allen in the fourth round in soured on the prodigious pass rusher after two different citations for drunken driving in and declared him a young man at jeopardy Allen was irked by the lack of front-office advocacy and demanded to be dealt absent a new contract After accumulating sacks in games in after serving a two-game suspension Allen conclusively got his wish Having given up alcohol after the second arrest he redoubled his conditioning efforts in determination to prove his worth I loved Kansas City I longed to spend my whole career there Unfortunately you learn the business side of the match can be a little ruthless and I m just stubborn enough to want to get my way Allen disclosed The Vikings sent their first-round pick and two third-round picks in to the Chiefs then signed Allen to a six-year million deal that at the time was the largest in history for a defensive athlete He earned every penny too without any salary reductions or early releases that often follow big-money contracts in a league that has little patience for declining production by players with large cap hits With a contract like that and a bargain like that comes a lot of pressure Allen revealed It s not in my saddle to rest on my laurels The the greater part impressive thing was I was able to play it out I think I represented myself well Allen averaged more than sacks per season over six years with the Vikings including a career-best sacks in that came within one-half of the record set by Michael Strahan and later matched by T J Watt Allen is officially th on the career sacks list a statistic the NFL didn t compile until Research by Pro Football Reference on all games played before then produced a comprehensive list that has Allen with the th-most sacks in history after winding down his career with the Chicago Bears in and being traded to the Carolina Panthers the following season While he ditched his drinking concern and cleaned up off the field Allen never lost his thrill-seeking lifestyle once running with the bulls in Spain and killing a wild boar in Texas with a knife He was a joke-cracking wide-smiling life of the locker room with the Vikings where he forged lifelong friendships that transcended the bitter disappointment of losing in overtime to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC championship meeting after the season Picked up at the airport in Minneapolis after the contract by defensive line coach Karl Dunbar and the alpha males of the position group Kevin Williams and Pat Williams Allen rapidly knew he was in the right place Related Articles Eight things that have caught my eye after eight ers practices ers Brock Purdy adores his baby daughter and Nick Bosa s pass rush NFL expected to sell media assets to ESPN for an equity stake Bay Area radio legend Greg Papa announces cancer evaluation Will Steph Curry be the Bay Area s last first-ballot Hall of Famer I am as competitive as they come and it was brought to another level walking into that room Allen commented The minute I got into that car Pat and Kevin started talking trash about how I couldn t play the run Allen formed the alpha center of those Vikings teams with the Williamses on one of the best defensive lines in the league He frequently was at his best when the lights were on including a -sack contest on Green Bay s Aaron Rodgers when Brett Favre quarterbacked the Vikings to a conquest in his first revenge matchup against the Packers The Vikings have a long history of dominant defensive linemen with Alan Page Carl Eller Chris Doleman and John Randle all enshrined before Allen in Canton The famed Purple People Eaters Page Eller Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen helped the Vikings reach four Super Bowls and set a high standard for their successor You re never going to race em but I wished people to talk about myself Pat and Kevin Allen announced We sought to be the fiercest nastiest front four you could be and that was all to pay respect to the guys who did it before us