By Jessica Costello
SteelerNation.com
As long as schedules don't get pushed back any longer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, September 18th will be the start of a celebration for former Pittsburgh Steelers safety, Donnie Shell.
Shell will be enshrined on that Friday as a part of the Hall of Fame Centennial Celebration. His presenter will be his oldest daughter, April Shell.
"None of my kids remember when I played, so they are going to give a different perspective about me," said Shell. "Everyone knows me as Donnie 'Torpedo' Shell, a four-time Super Bowl champion. All of the fans know me as that. We are more than just football players. They will see I am a dad and a role model to my children. She will give a different perspective of me to Steelers Nation and the fans of the National Football League. As I was praying about it, I felt good about getting her involved."
"What she is going to do is collaborate with her siblings, Donnie and Dawn, and they are going to talk about me and what they want to do and how she is going to present it. She is going to do the presentation from that input," Shell said.
Shell said this wasn't an easy decision for him either. You can probably imagine he's got a lot of important people that could have been his announcer. But his daughter seemed like a good fit.
"It was tough," said Shell. "It was a tough decision. That is why I wanted to pray about it. Once I got a clear idea in my quiet time, my prayer time, it was to be about my family. I knew April would be a good presenter. Her siblings agreed with the choice."
April isn't an only child either, which made the selection even harder. But she'll be getting input from her siblings on what she'll be saying during introductions.
"I told him I've got your back pops, I got you," said April Shell. "When he told me, I knew it was a big stage. It's an honor to present him as others see him, but the other side of it, him being a dad and how he encouraged us all of our lives to be who we are. I will give a snippet of how it was."
"It's exciting. It's encouraging to get that out there, because that story isn't told. It's always the Super Bowls, what he has accomplished. But him just being dad, that story hasn't been told yet."
"It's my dad. I am used to singing his praises. I am not nervous. I am a principal at a middle school, so I get in front of people. But this will be a bigger stage. It's okay. I am really all right. I am really proud to do it."
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