A few miles north on Peachtree Street, though, former Raiders defensive end and current Fox broadcaster Howie Long and his wife were watching quietly on TV in their room at the Georgian Terrace Hotel with former teammate Bill Pickell and his wife, wondering if this would be the year.

	Howie Long, an eight-time Pro Bowler, was inspired by another famous No. 75 -- Mean Joe Greene.

Inside the Hanover room, Hall of Fame representative John Bankert received an envelope from the accounting firm Arthur Anderson, which had overseen the balloting earlier that morning, told the room that it was the first time he was seeing the results, and read the names alphabetically:

"Howie Long ..."

"Yes!" came a sharp, excited cry from a woman in the audience.

The Longs didn't hear that cry, though, or any of the other names Bankert read -- Lott, Montana, Dan Rooney and Dave Wilcox -- because of their own celebratory screams ("I had a little primal-scream therapy," Diane Long said).

Less than 40 minutes later, with Lott having concluded his remarks and Montana still taking questions, the Longs and Pickells slipped quietly through a side door and into the Hanover room. Long caught the eye of Lott, who was sitting on stage, and the two -- teammates during Lott's two-year stint with the Raiders in 1991-92 -- exchanged big smiles, appreciative nods and excited thumbs-ups.

"I've been on the verge of tears since I left my hotel," Long said later.

It wasn't long before others noticed Howie standing to the left of the stage, and soon Montana's remarks were being punctuated by well-wishers slapping Long on the back.

When he finally took his turn at the microphone, after Lott and Montana had departed and Wilcox had concluded a phone interview over the loudspeaker, Long spoke humbly about the announcement.

"I can't put into words the feeling when they call your name," he said. "I certainly remember what it's like when they don't call your name. It leaves you with a very hollow feeling."

Last year, Long narrowly missed being elected. But the one-year delay gave him the opportunity to be a part of a Hall of Fame class that shares many common threads. Montana, Lott and Wilcox will go in as 49ers, and the former Raider Long adds to the Bay Area flavor.

Long also said that when he came out of college he begged a Pittsburgh scout to draft him so he could emulate Steelers great Mean Joe Greene. Fitting, then, that he will enter the Hall alongside Steelers president and lifelong NFL contributor Rooney.

First, though, he will have to come to terms with the fact that this is really happening.

"I was shocked I was drafted, shocked I made the Pro Bowl (which he did eight times) and I'm shocked I'm here," he said.

Dick Vermeil, whose Rams play in super Bowl XXXIV on Sunday, had invited Long to speak to the Rams last week. That reminded Long of some advice Vermeil had given him before he was drafted by the Raiders in the second round in 1981.

"Dick said, 'Make sure they try you at offensive guard before you get cut,' " Long recalled.

Montana and Lott each had the crowd chuckling, both at their self-deprecating remarks and cracks directed at each other. But Long's Vermeil story brought the biggest laugh of the morning.

Long and Montana also managed to avoid getting emotional in front of the cameras, and Lott held it together until the very end of his question-and-answer session. But when asked about having a portion of the pinky finger of his left-hand amputated rather than miss a playoff game, Lott began to choke up.

"We do a lot for each other," he said, fighting to keep his voice steady. "I'm just standing here thinking about Joe, thinking about him walking down the hall after his back surgery. The commitment we have to each other ... We didn't care about winning, we cared about perfection. This guy over here (former 49ers owner Ed DeBartolo Jr.) didn't care about winning. He cared about us as people."

Montana, too, expressed great affection and appreciation for DeBartolo.

"He made it possible for us to go out on the field and compete on any level at any time," Montana said.

And that, Lott said, is what makes a Hall of Famer, what sets himself, Montana, Long and the other 201 members of the Hall of Fame apart -- they were competitors."

"The thread that weaves through all of us is the ability to compete," Lott said. "There are some people who compete better than others."