Gold Jacket Spotlight: Music brings joy, meaning to DeMarcus Ware’s life

Describing the process of giving a Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement speech as challenging would be an understatement. In a matter of minutes, enshrinees attempt to tell the life-changing moments that led them to their sport’s pinnacle, all while thanking the people who helped shape and form them into the person they have become.

During his enshrinement speech, DeMARCUS WARE described his childhood experiences with domestic violence, drugs and gangs. He emphasized that those surroundings taught him to be relentless, limitless and resilient.

“The reality is you are a product of your own thinking, your own mind, and you must learn how to persevere,” he told the audience watching the Class of 2023 take its place in the Hall of Fame.

While these experiences developed a character within DeMarcus that allowed him to blossom into a Hall of Famer on and off the field, this week’s Gold Jacket Spotlight focuses on another passion formed during Hall of Famer No. 371’s childhood.  

“I grew up in a big family in Alabama. One of my uncles, Uncle Willie, used to play the guitar really well, and that’s how I first got exposed to music,” DeMarcus described to The Players Tribune. 

While the introduction came through guitar, DeMarcus found his joy early on through his voice. When he was attending grade school, he used his voice to sing almost anywhere he went — school, church, the shower. You name the place, and DeMarcus usually found a way to sing there.

DeMarcus’ natural gifts and passion led him to befriend three other students in high school who also loved music. The foursome formed an R&B band known as Mirage. They would play in local courtyards or talent shows, anywhere they could get together and showcase their gifts and love for music.

Eventually, they saved their funds and cut an album at a local recording studio.

“We felt like kings,” DeMarcus said. “For those couple of hours in that studio, we weren’t just classmates, or friends. We were Mirage.”

Life happens, though, and the band members from Mirage went their separate ways after high school. For DeMarcus, his football career took center stage.

An edge defender, DeMarcus became Troy University’s first player selected in the first round of an NFL Draft when JERRY JONES and the Dallas Cowboys picked him with the 11th overall selection in 2005. DeMarcus continued to excel throughout his 12-year NFL career with the Cowboys and Denver Broncos, but during his football journey music remained an important undercurrent in his life. 

DeMarcus said music simplifies life. No matter the mood or what a person needs in a given moment, a song can relate and make things a little bit easier.

Music can also be a great way to pay tribute to someone or something. Whether it is Elton John’s, “Candle in the Wind” or more recently “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, songs and performances can be a great way to show honor.

DeMarcus used his gift for that purpose in 2023 when he sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game with more than 6 million people watching on NBC. One of DeMarcus’ former teammates, Demaryius Thomas, lost his life to complications from a seizure disorder in 2021, and DeMarcus dedicated the performance to him.

“This is the reason why I ended up doing it, because me and Demaryius would be on the sidelines singing the national anthem,” DeMarcus recalled. “He’s not here right now, but I knew he was going to be there with me … while I was singing.”

Mike Tirico, play-by-play announcer for NBC, summed up what viewers were feeling in that moment, saying, “Good for you, DeMarcus Ware. That was cool.” His partner, game analyst Cris Collinsworth, added, “I’ve never cheered so hard for a football player in my whole life.”