EAGAN, Minn. — Observing the camaraderie in the room, you'd almost guess the guys were back on an NFL sideline.

Newly elected Pro Football Hall of Famer Jared Allen arrived at his Tuesday press conference with the support of former teammates Ben Leber, Jasper Brinkley and Pat Williams, as well as longtime friend and fellow Gold Jacket recipient Randall McDaniel.

The Vikings Legends chatted casually as they took their seats against the wall, exchanging a few more snickers and smiling glances before Leber stepped to the podium to introduce Allen.

"I don't have to go into the reasons we love this game. There's thousands of reasons. But here's just a small sample size," Leber said, gesturing toward the row of chairs. "Pat Williams, you know, one of our favorite teammates, he comes all the way up to share this moment. Jasper's here, Randall's here. And it's really cool, when you think about it, we walk away from this game and we have teammates for life.

"I'm a kid from South Dakota. Jared is from California. We have Louisiana [in Williams], and we all come together in a locker room, and we fight for one common goal, and we have a [heck] of a time doing it, and we make a lot of friends," Leber continued. "So, it's really special that they're all here today."

Allen was described by Leber as "gregarious, fun, playful," but he rode with an on-field persona that was anything but.

"[His personality] was juxtaposed by his tenacity, his intensity and his in-your-face style," Leber noted.

Allen brought both — the playfulness and intensity — to Minnesota in 2008 when the Vikings acquired him via trade from the Chiefs.

He joined a team that in 2007 ranked No. 1 in run defense, allowing opponents just 74.1 rushing yards per game, but 32^nd in passing yards per game (264.1). Whether or not he'd be walking into a welcoming situation remained to be seen.

Allen recalled there "being an expectation" of him from the moment Pat Williams, Kevin Williams and Karl Dunbar picked him up from the airport after the trade.

"I am as competitive as they come. And it was brought to another level walking into that [defensive line] room," Allen said. "The minute I got in that car, Pat and Kevin started talking trash about how I couldn't play the run. I'm like, 'I just had 80 tackles. What are you talking about?'

"I walked into a buzzsaw of competitive people from the defensive side," he added. "Nobody was like, 'Oh, finally, we got somebody here.' It was almost like they were pissed off that I was here, because they felt … 'What, we need this guy to get where we want?'

"They reminded me every single day, 'You know, we're the No. 1 run defense,' and I'm like, 'Yeah, but you suck at getting to the quarterback back.' Well, Kevin did a pretty good job," Allen continued with a laugh. "But that's what I remember. When I look back at what my photo imprint of the Vikings is when I first came here? It was that — embracing Pat, Kevin, and then really getting into the defense, then Ben and then E.J. [Henderson] and Chad [Greenway]."

Over Allen's 12-season career, he excelled on the field, starting 181 of the 187 regular-season contests and all seven playoff games he played in, earning First-Team All-Pro honors four times (three with the Vikings) and five Pro Bowl nods. His 136 sacks in regular-season games from his rookie season through final campaign were the most in the league during that span, topping fellow Hall of Famers DeMarcus Ware (134.5) and Julius Peppers (117).

He racked up 85.5 sacks over just 96 games with Minnesota, the takedown total ranking sixth in franchise history.

The stats got Allen to Canton. Without the performance, he wouldn't have recently been measured for his Hall of Fame bust and Gold Jacket.

But it's not the numbers he most values from his NFL career; it's the relationships.

There's the "wild" training camp evenings playing Yahtzee with Leber ("I'm not a gambler, but I Yahtzee.") and learning how to "speak Pat" in getting to know his now lifelong friend with a heavy Southern drawl — emphasis on heavy — that's difficult to decipher on first meeting. There are conversations with McDaniel, with whom he shares a connection beyond their respective Vikings days, and John Randle, plus reminiscing with fellow "girl dads" Greenway and Leber.

Allen also has formed connections, albeit less rooted, with those Vikings defensive linemen who have gone before him. The legacy of the Purple People Eaters, for instance, is one he's revered since early in his playing days.

"I knew exactly who they were," he said. "It was absolutely awesome to meet them. I think to me, the coolest part was learning the depth of Alan Page; the dude should be 'Citizen of the Century.'

"And then Carl Eller, I'm still afraid of him," Allen quipped. "I'm like, 'My goodness, that is a monster of a man.' He could probably still go out there and get five sacks."

He called Jim Marshall "such a genuine person," sharing an anecdote of Marshall visiting when the Vikings hung their 2008 NFC North Champs banner.

"Jim came to practice that day, and we sat there after practice, we're talking for a while, and he just told me — he pointed to the banners, and he said, 'That's all that matters. Our only job is to hang banners. Those last forever.' "

Allen considered a great honor to walk the same threads the Purple People Eaters had.

And though neither he nor the famed defensive line experienced Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center during their playing days, Allen strolled the halls of the team's current training facility Tuesday and once again felt the weight of the footsteps he followed.

Wearing a freshly shaped Stetson, he admired the Vikings Pro Football Hall of Fame display, admiring the photos of Page and Eller as the franchise's fourth and fifth inductees, respectively, and going down the line … Chris Doleman … McDaniel and John Randle … Randy Moss … and then saw it.

The 16^th photo and 16^th enshrinee who spent most of his career in Minnesota, Jared Allen.

"That was cool," Allen said of seeing his photo installed amongst the greats. "[Vikings Director of Legends Relations] Tom West just casually walked by and just stands there, like twiddles his thumbs, and then he's like, 'You like that?'

"I'm like, 'Yeah, I like it,' " Allen added, laughing at West's wry grin across the room.

Reaching Canton is a special experience for him, there's no doubt. As an NFL player, there's no higher honor to commemorate one's on-field career.

But as Allen looks over those 14 seasons, he's even more thankful for the friendships and esteem he built along the way.

"I played for the respect of my peers and respect of those who played before me," he said.

Allen shared about an email he once received from Hall of Fame defensive end Jack Youngblood.

"He just thanked me for playing the game the right way," Allen said. "That right there? I'm good. … I don't need anything than that right there. If I can go talk to [someone like] Randall [McDaniel] and have a genuine conversation with him, and he doesn't think I'm a complete scrub of a player, I'm good.

"That's the truth. I want to honor those who I think did it the right way. And I hope someday some kid will try to do the same and pass that down," he added.