Getting wrapped up by Alan Page has never felt so good.

The 1971 NFL MVP reached out his arms and brought them together, ushering his former teammate and roommate Bobby Bryant into a custom-fit Vikings Ring of Honor purple blazer on Saturday night at Omni Viking Lakes.

The tailored jacket perfectly fit the 28^th inductee who had been a perfect match for rooming with Page for more than a decade. The Ring of Honor dinner and presentation offered more than 70 Vikings alumni gathered for Legends Weekend the opportunity to celebrate Bryant's impact on the organization.

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell swung by the gathering on the eve of Minnesota dismantling Houston 34-7. O'Connell presented the first of the weekend's handful of game balls and shared how he still incorporates lessons learned during lunches with Bud Grant before the Minnesota icon passed away.

Grant was new to the role of Vikings head coach in 1967 when Minnesota drafted Page and Bryant in the first common AFL-NFL Draft ahead of the 1970 merger.

Page became the third first-round pick selected by the Vikings after the team tabbed Clint Jones and Gene Washington. Bryant, despite being an athlete so good he was drafted by the Yankees and Red Sox as a pitcher, wasn't tabbed until the seventh round (167^th overall) by Minnesota.

Bryant exceeded all expectations of a seventh-round selection by making the sound plays and frequently delivering game-changers, reaching the end zone time and time again.

Small in stature (6-foot-1 and 170 pounds) but often larger than life as a playmaker, Bryant remains humble.

"When I got the news I would be inducted into the Ring of Honor, if I wanted to, I was honored and humbled and still am," Bryant said Saturday night. "I'm not sure if I was good enough to be in it, but some people think I do, so I'm going to be."

As part of Saturday's event, Vikings Legends Jeff Wright, Nate Wright and Sammy White participated in a panel hosted by Mark Rosen.

"I respect and admire Bobby incredibly. If someone asked me how to define Bobby, Alan Page said it the other day in something I read that he was a 'big-play guy,' " Jeff Wright said. "Instinct meets preparation, dedication and commitment. He was always in the right place at the right time, and as a result, made an unbelievable number of big plays."

Nate Wright added: "I couldn't be prouder of Bobby being inducted. He walked with kings, but he didn't lose the common touch. To play in the same backfield with Bobby, Paul Krause, Jeff Wright, that was such an honor."

Bryant was officially welcomed Sunday at halftime when he delivered remarks from a stage after a video tribute and presentation of a portrait commissioned as a gift.

Vikings Owner/President Mark Wilf, Owner/Chairman Zygi Wilf and Owner/Vice Chairman Lenny Wilf joined the Vikings Ring of Honor's first cornerback inducted, presenting him with a ring just before Bryant's name was unveiled for permanent display in the stadium.

"I want to start out by thanking God," Bryant said, "because there's no way outside of God's plan for a 160-pound, skinny guy from the University of South Carolina to be picked by the Minnesota Vikings and then play 14 years on some great teams with some great players, so thank you, God, for that.

"I want to thank my coaches, right from the first ones from when I was in the fourth grade," he added. "My coaches are responsible for my development as a football player, so I thank them for that. I want to thank my teammates. I had some great teammates over the years, and the greatest one was Alan Page, my roommate with the Vikings, so thank you, Alan. You took good care of me."

Bryant thanked the Wilf family "for the way they have not forgotten the old-timers with the Vikings."

"They have been great owners," said Bryant, who added thanks to Vikings staff members Tracy McDonald, Tom West and Brett Taber, as well as his family members and Vikings fans.

The current Vikings repped Bryant and the Legends in attendance well, recording an interception on the first official play of the game and quickly building a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Minnesota scored on the opening drive of the second half and stayed stingy the rest of the day.

In preparation for this past weekend, Bryant visited Vikings Training Camp in August. He participated in a joint interview with Page in which they reminisced about their good times together.

They mirrored humility while reflecting on fond memories.

"I knew I was a pretty good player. I was conceited enough to know for a little skinny corner in the NFL I wasn't bad," Bryant said during the training camp visit. "I had 51 interceptions, and that says a little bit, but I never did think I deserved to be in the Vikings Ring of Honor, but the fact it did happen was the best honor I could have from playing with the Vikings."

As one of two defensive players to ever win an NFL MVP Award and a retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, Page's assessment of Bryant as a player and person carries merit.

"I had the good fortune to play with a number of exceptional football players, and Bobby is one of them. Bobby could do things that you wouldn't expect — not only could but would," Page said. "We had a knack as a team for blocking field goals and extra points, and Bobby had a knack for scooping them up and running them for touchdowns. He had the ability to cover some of the best receivers in the NFL over the years and did it exceptionally well.

"We were really fortunate to not only have talented athletes but really good people," Page added later. "At the end of the day, it's the quality of the people and the character of the people that you spend time with on the field. People you can trust to do their jobs to be where they needed to be to make plays happen, and Bobby was there to do that."

Decades have passed since they last teamed — and roomed — together for the Vikings, but Bryant and Page picked up where they left off, finishing each other's sentences.

As members of the 1967 draft class that was so instrumental in reshaping the Vikings franchise from fledgling to formidable. As one of the NFL's earliest interracial roommate combinations, along with Bears running backs Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo, Page and Bryant didn't think about the significance, or the fact their cohesive relationship strengthened bonds throughout the roster.

Their strong friendship stood in contrast to strained relations across the country. Facilitating societal change was not their intent for choosing to room together. Instead, it was the continuation of a good experience while rooming together at the East-West Shrine Game.

"We didn't see any reason we shouldn't be rooming together because we had met and we liked each other," Bryant recalled. "All of a sudden, we were playing for the same team."

Page added: "Pure serendipity at the all-star game and pure serendipity that we ended up here, so it was actually kind of special because as rookies you don't know anybody, and to have somebody on the team that you know and get to room with [was wonderful]."

And dominate opponents with, on the way to winning conference titles and making Super Bowl appearances.

Bryant's plays loomed large in scale and significance.

In the 1973 NFC Championship, Bryant was heavily involved in a 27-10 win at Dallas to send Minnesota to Super Bowl VIII. He intercepted Roger Staubach at the Minnesota 2-yard line and played a part in another pass being intercepted by Jeff Siemon at the Minnesota 21-yard line.

He then iced the contest with a 63-yard return of an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. It meant so much to Bryant, who had missed Minnesota's appearance in Super Bowl IV because of a knee injury.

In the 1976 NFC Championship, Bryant started the party when he scooped a football — made available when Nate Allen blocked a short field goal — and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown. Bryant added two more interceptions for a 24-13 Vikings win to advance Minnesota to Super Bowl XI.

"The biggest muscle on his body was probably his heart," said Ring of Honor linebacker Scott Studwell, who teamed with Bryant from 1977-80. "He was extremely competitive. … I was so fortunate to have been teammates with him, to have been able to play with him, to learn from him – to just see how the professionals went about their business.

"He wasn't a 4.5 [seconds in the 40-yard dash] guy – never was and never will be – but his instincts were superior," said Studwell, who joined the personnel department after his playing career. "And the fact that he studied the game, he was on top of routes, he wouldn't let people get behind him."

Ring of Honor and Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller was "really pleased" to welcome Bryant to the Ring of Honor.

"Bobby was an inspiration to the whole team and a special inspiration to me," Eller said. "There's something about a team that you need the right number of guys, you need the right combination of guys, and Bobby would fit into any situation. He was always coming back to the huddle, and he'd clap his hands and say, 'All right, let's go, guys.' He would pick us up. He was never down. He was always a guy you could count on.

"I give him credit for being the fire beneath our wings, or cleats," Eller said. "He was always a guy who picked us up, and you remember that."

When asked about his successes — such as 174 games played, 57 career interceptions and six touchdowns (including playoff games) — Bryant always points back to teammates.

The Vikings won 11 division titles during Bryant's 14 seasons with the club and ranked first in the NFL in passing yards allowed five times from 1969-76.

"There are good players and there are great players," Page said. "One of the things I've noticed about the great players, their greatness comes not from striving to be seen or recognized or honored. It comes from wanting to be great … Beyond that, Bobby is somebody who was a master at his craft, who was fun to watch when you had the opportunity and who was tough as nails — actually tougher than nails."

It meant so much to Page to welcome Bryant to the Vikings Ring of Honor — roommates again, this time at U.S. Bank Stadium.

"Alan was a great roommate. He was always asleep ahead of me on nights before the games, but he was always ready to play," Bryant said a few moments into wearing the purple blazer. "Alan was a great player, and I love Alan. I never told you that, but I do love you."