Mason: For me, the dream of Randy Gradishar in the Hall of Fame came true -- for a moment

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — The alarm sounds. 6:55 a.m. EST. I’m in a foggy daze made all the murkier by the melatonin I took before going to bed the previous evening. I needed to take it because I slept barely three hours the night before and couldn’t afford another sleepless night.

My hand leaves streaks in the air, the sunlight from the east horizon making the trail of my fingers glow.

Finally, I find my iPad. I hold it in front of me. Will “Face ID” recognize me even if my eyelids are still nearly shut?

It does.

From here, I can do this without looking.

NFL Network app — tap.

A cheery voice. I believe it’s that of Kay Adams. Wishing the viewers a cheerful start to the day while reminding all that the Centennial Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be announced during the three-hour TV tour of all things pro football.

But first …

Let’s talk about Luke Kuechly’s retirement.

And the outlook for the four teams still battling in the conference-championship round.

My eyes have yet to open.

It seems like the announcement will take a while.

Gradually, I lose consciousness and resume my sprawl across the guest-room bed in my parents’ house.

AAAH!

My eyes open up. Seems like a little while later. I would check the alarm clock, but our merry hosts of “Good Morning Football” are buzzing. It’s time to start announcing the 10 players and three contributors of the Centennial Class.

The grogginess is gone. I chuck two pillows off to the side, jump off the bed and sit in the nearby chair. My attention is rapt on the iPad. The Twitter app is open on my iPhone. I’m poised to share my reaction to whatever news comes next.

I hear Adams’ voice: “And now we’re going to go out to Colorado and check in at the UCHealth Training Center with our own James Palmer. James?”

The camera zooms in on a familiar sign in front of the Broncos’ indoor practice facility. The letters read, “PAT BOWLEN FIELDHOUSE.”

“Guys, you see the name of Pat Bowlen, who joined the Hall of Fame last year.”

Then the shot dissolves into an image of the field house’s interior — the banners proclaiming the Broncos’ Hall of Famers, which proudly hang from the east wall behind the end zone.

Palmer continues.

“And now you see the banners saluting the Broncos’ Hall of Famers. Of course, John Elway was the first in 2004, and you see it includes our own Terrell Davis, Shannon Sharpe, Gary Zimmerman and then last August, Champ Bailey was a first-ballot selection.

“And —“

As the shot of the banners dissolves to one of Palmer, standing on the field, an anthropomorphic horse riding a four-wheeler approaches from the viewer’s right.

“— it looks like we have a visitor.”

The Broncos’ mascot, Miles, disembarks from his conveyance. With a strut in his gallop, he strides to Palmer and hands him a gold envelope.

Miles, of course, says nothing as Palmer receives the envelope.
Palmer looks at the envelope.

“It’s from Canton, Ohio.”

He opens it.

“We have our first player in the Centennial Class, and it’s Randy Gradishar.”

Miles flexes before Gradishar’s highlights flash across the screen.

“And this has been a long time coming for the Broncos,” Palmer intones. “He’s the first member of the renowned Orange Crush defense to join the Hall of Fame. Two-thousand and 49 tackles, seven Pro Bowl appearances, two first-team All-Pro selections and he was the 1978 Defensive Player of the Year.

“And he went to Ohio State,” Palmer continues.

“You had to get that in there!” cackles one of the talking heads from back in New York City!

“Of course I did!” Palmer exclaims. “Woody Hayes said he was the best linebacker he ever coached!”

Meanwhile, I’ve grabbed my phone and am tweeting away.

THE WAIT IS OVER!

The Orange Crush is in @ProFootballHOF!

Randy Gradishar is where he belongs — with the legends, a hardy son of Ohio coming home to Canton and immortality.

I move to tap “Tweet” in the upper right-hand corner of my phone.

Then I hear a loud, shrill beep. It repeats several times.

I’m in a fog again.

I’m stretched out on the bed. My eyelids won’t open, but I can tell from feeling the number of pillows around me that at some point, I have tossed two of them onto the floor.

I hear Adams’ voice again. She’s saying something about she will have Hall of Fame announcements in the second hour of the show.

Are these more players and contributors to join Gradishar?

For the next 10 minutes, I am awake and convinced that this is the case. I know that Gradishar was the first player selected, having been given the deluxe treatment with the announcement inside the field house.

It all seemed so clear, so vivid, so REAL.

If only it had been.